Orphek IR4

[siege]

I'm thinking of adding an Orphek IR4, considering they seem reasonably affordable - the Natura iCon is out of my price range for the foreseeable future. Given this claimed spectrum and PAR below on my current lights, any thoughts as to which model I should choose? I feel like I need more red/IR, but the "Red plus grow" seems rather overkill for anything other than a refugium?

My tank is 17 & 3/8" deep, for reference, though the sand bed will be 2" deep, so bottom will be approx 15". For reference, however, the light bars I have are 24" long, and the tank is 35".

 

[Adam]

You're going to need 3 to maybe 4 bars to cover that tank. Four is going to cost almost as much as a Natura.

This is more than enough to get you started.

We can get them if you're interested in a quote. But that is a pretty good price.

 

[chaples55]

I would also lean toward getting a proper fixture or two since you already have bars. I've seen the Orphek OR3 bars. They look nice but aren't very powerful. The specs for the OR4 say 30w for the 24" and 40w for the 36". That ain't much.

These are both way more powerful and are an all around excellent value:

NOOPSYCHE K7 V3 aquarium led saltwater coral light for USA

Better spectrum out / Excellent Growth / Feed Almost all the of the SPS/LPS coral in one reef tank isn't a dream especially red coral Perfect mixing and Shimmer / Superior Color Mixing / The best mixing spectrum technology / Affordable price LED reef lighting/ about 1.4watt per dollar

noopsychereeflight.com

Amazon.com

That reefbreeders would also be a good choice

 

[siege]

You're going to need 3 to maybe 4 bars to cover that tank. Four is going to cost almost as much as a Natura.

This is more than enough to get you started.

We can get them if you're interested in a quote. But that is a pretty good price.

Well... that was why I was thinking (hoping) I could maybe use one of these or something like it to bolster what I currently have up to a sustainable level, and maybe with a little luck be able to ride what I have another year or two, until the tank is mature and ready for more light-demanding stock.

I've already spent too much of a tax return I haven't even gotten yet, and still have a lot more to spend - I'd have a hard time convincing myself to drop another $550 in lights, much less convincing my wife, who is then going to wonder what I'm going to do with the two perfectly good lights I got for Christmas besides let them go to waste. At the moment, looking at my shopping/wish lists at Amazon and BRS, I'm still looking at like, $850 - $1k worth of stuff before I add anything living to the tank, and that's not even everything I need to QT, nor some things I want, but don't per se, need, like a roller filter.

 

[dball711]

I would also lean toward getting a proper fixture or two since you already have bars. I've seen the Orphek OR3 bars. They look nice but aren't very powerful. The specs for the OR4 say 30w for the 24" and 40w for the 36". That ain't much.

These are both way more powerful and are an all around excellent value:

NOOPSYCHE K7 V3 aquarium led saltwater coral light for USA

Better spectrum out / Excellent Growth / Feed Almost all the of the SPS/LPS coral in one reef tank isn't a dream especially red coral Perfect mixing and Shimmer / Superior Color Mixing / The best mixing spectrum technology / Affordable price LED reef lighting/ about 1.4watt per dollar

noopsychereeflight.com

Amazon.com

That reefbreeders would also be a good choice

I'll challenge that, with 5 Orphek OR3 bars and 2 generic bars from eBay I'm pulling some serious PAR. 600+ 6-7" from the surface and 350-450 @ 12"

I abandoned my gen 5 radios on favor of my current OR3 set up based on the PAR readings.

 

[siege]

I would also lean toward getting a proper fixture or two since you already have bars. I've seen the Orphek OR3 bars. They look nice but aren't very powerful. The specs for the OR4 say 30w for the 24" and 40w for the 36". That ain't much.

These are both way more powerful and are an all around excellent value:

NOOPSYCHE K7 V3 aquarium led saltwater coral light for USA

Better spectrum out / Excellent Growth / Feed Almost all the of the SPS/LPS coral in one reef tank isn't a dream especially red coral Perfect mixing and Shimmer / Superior Color Mixing / The best mixing spectrum technology / Affordable price LED reef lighting/ about 1.4watt per dollar

noopsychereeflight.com

Amazon.com

That reefbreeders would also be a good choice

Actually, I noticed @aquarium speciality news posted today the noopsyche K7, right after I posted this.

That would be a better adjunct for the price with my current lighting?

I admit I did not see how low the wattage is on the OR4. The 36" would still be a 75% boost over what I currently have, but it is indeed not a lot at only 40w for $130 - $200 per bar. That K7, for only a little more or the same as one of the OR4's, is throwing 140w.

Wow, wish I'd found those on Amazon to stick randomly into my wish list before my mother spent rather more than that on the lights she got me for Christmas. Sadly, probably rather too late to return them.

 

[chaples55]

I'll challenge that, with 5 Orphek OR3 bars and 2 generic bars from eBay I'm pulling some serious PAR. 600+ 6-7" from the surface and 350-450 @ 12"

I abandoned my gen 5 radios on favor of my current OR3 set up based on the PAR readings.

Well, 7 light bars at once will do that . I'm sure the spread is excellent too

 

[chaples55]

Actually, I noticed @aquarium speciality news posted today the noopsyche K7, right after I posted this.

That would be a better adjunct for the price with my current lighting?

I admit I did not see how low the wattage is on the OR4. The 36" would still be a 75% boost over what I currently have, but it is indeed not a lot at only 40w for $130 - $200 per bar. That K7, for only a little more or the same as one of the OR4's, is throwing 140w.

Wow, wish I'd found those on Amazon to stick randomly into my wish list before my mother spent rather more than that on the lights she got me for Christmas. Sadly, probably rather too late to return them.

I definitely think in terms of PAR per $ those would be a better bet. It may be hard to get adequate spread with just one light though, although your light bars would fill in the gaps. Would help to know your exact tank dimensions.

Btw I own the smaller 60w version of that Amazon light and I really really like it. I recommend it every chance I get lol. I've got it on a 15g cube. My bubble tips are big, bubbly, and splitting and rock flower anemones are spawning under it. Colors look great. Spread is much better than my noopsyches thanks to the multiple lenses.