After the announcement of Orphek we were extremely curious to be able to try out the brand new Orphek OR3 Red Plus Grow/Refugium, a ceiling light designed and dedicated for refugium, the first by the way that we were able to get our hands on and try it out in the now famous DaniReef LAB.
This article is also available in: Italiano
The bars are beautiful, solid and appear very well made, as Orphek has always accustomed us to. In addition, Orphek has finally made available a dimmer, called Osix, which allows on-off dimming. A dimmer that we have been eagerly awaiting, since, perhaps, it is the one thing these ceiling lights have been missing. Although, by the way, in LED bars the dimmer is much less important than in actual ceiling lights. But this is something we will see later, as we are testing it for you. And also because, honestly, the dimmer in a dedicated refugium led bar we think is rather unnecessary.
Technical Specifications Orphek OR3 Red Plus Grow/Refugium 60 LED Bars
- Driver: exterior;
- Input Voltage: 100-240VAC;
- Frequency: 50-60Hz;
- Consumption: 30 watts +-5%;
- Cos(phi) > 0.9;
- Input Current (Amps) 0.55;
- Length: 63.5 cm;
- Width: 5 cm;
- Height: 3.6 cm;
- Weight: 1.20 kg;
- LEDs employed: 2×585/595nm, 2×600/610nm, 2×620/630nm, 6×655/665nm, 2×670/675nm, 2×680/690nm, 2×730/740nm.
- Price to the public: $200.
The Orphek OR3 Red Plus Grow/Refugium 60 cm ceiling light is obviously suitable for use above a refugium about 60 cm wide. It also exists in larger cuts, namely 90, 120 and 150 cm, although we have a hard time imagining such a large refugium. But perhaps it is better suited for refugiums that can be found in large public aquariums rather than small home aquariums. Where by comparison even a 500 liter can seem small.
Above you see the extended spectrum, and also the type of LEDs used in the OR3 LED bars of the various lengths.
The special feature of Orphek OR3 Red Plus Grow/Refugium.
The new LED bar of the highly successful OR3 series was born with an advanced and broad spectrum, stated to be red, orange, and infrared. The broad spectrum ranges from 580 to 780 nm, and is optimized to grow many types of macroalgae. These absorb nutrients that other types of unwanted algae take up to grow, thus biologically counteracting the growth of algae in the aquarium and promoting their development in the refugium. In this way it follows that the development of macrolgae obviously helps to reduce phosphate (PO4) and nitrate (NO3) levels in the aquarium.
The coloring is odd, since it is dedicated just for refugium with a predominance of red orange and yellow colors, since we have always been used to seeing ceiling lights that were basically blue. But that matters little given where we’re going to have to put it…. On a refugium precisely….
The suspension kit
The bars are sold together with a suspension kit, which is very short and not very suitable for hanging from the ceiling (which, by the way, would not make sense here), but if you want to hang them in the sump it might do the trick. It’s a kit that might be good for connecting to Orphek suspension arms. We’ve said it before, but we’ll say it again, the Orphek OR3 Red Plus Grow/Refugium rods are excellently built. The aluminum exterior finish functions as a passive heatsink, and given the weight and volume of the aluminum we are pretty sure these LED bars will never have overheating problems. The assembly is virtually flawless.
The Programming
LED bars generally are not programmable, and the Orphek OR3 are no exception, at least for today. Some competitive bars come with, or can be purchased separately, a controller that allows dimming in on, off, and as total intensity. Orphek has long announced the arrival of a dimmer, and we are just testing it for you, soon you will also find the article of the long-awaited Osix. Although using a dimmer on a refugium seems to us a rather strange practice… we think that a very normal on-off is already more than enough.
Unlike usual, we cannot give you the power consumption and values of the various LED channels, because in the bars the LEDs all light up simultaneously.
All the values we have collected, and our working method called DaniReef LAB can be found on page two.
