Comparison: Reefi Uno 2.0, XR15 G6, XR30 G5

[Justin Thibodeaux]

Wow, diso effect with reefi uno 2.0?

That's the last thing I would say these light have, sure there is a tiny bit based on the design of the light but virtually zero when compared to anything non point source or massively defused. I had Gen 4 radions and they were a complete night club compared to Uno 2.0 and I've seen g5s that have more disco effect. Also, with 9 color channels if you're getting pinks or purples that you don't like your not setting it correctly.

Not claiming that other lights don't have this problem either, but its something that I cannot accept and am willing to go the massively diffused route if needed (my tank is built into a wall with canopy extending to ceiling so glare is no problem for me).

I guess another option that I could have gone with is mounting height. My display will have a canopy that will extend all the way to the 10' ceiling so I've technically got 4' of mounting height to play with. I would imagine that 4' mounting would be best way to eliminate the color separation that I seem to notice more than others. I want to love the reefi and this might be the best way (for me) to implement them. Would love if anyone or @Jon's Reef could chime in on if this is would provide that near perfect blend that I'm looking for.

Also more props to @Jon's Reef for his detailed comparison of the lights in this thread (hope my posts aren't deflecting too much from the point of your original post). Again, great work!

 

[dhnguyen]

You get the Reefi with 120 degree reflectors which will give much better spread.

 

[Jon's Reef]

Test included both 90 and 120 reflectors.

 

[findingsimple]

Thanks for sharing @Jon's Reef ! Appreciate the review and others comments.

I’ve decided to still explore these - hopefully I can share my experience also when I get them.

 

[Justin Thibodeaux]

Thanks for sharing @Jon's Reef ! Appreciate the review and others comments.

I’ve decided to still explore these - hopefully I can share my experience also when I get them.

Yes please share when you get them!

 

[JoeMoynihan]

I just purchased a couple Reefi UNo pros and I’m super happy with them so far. I have had a lot of problems with Mobius so I’m happy to have a tank that doesn’t have Mobius. As far as spread and shadows vs the Xr30, you can literally buy 2 Reefi for the price of one XR30. That gives you a lot of modularity to help get rid of shadows or get the spread where you want it. I don’t notice the disco effect much or it doesn’t really bother me I guess. I also don’t get the hate for hot spots. If you have a spot that has a little higher par in the middle, then that’s where you put a high light coral. I personally like mounting the light higher off the tank and keeping out of the way for cleaning and further from the humidity of the tank. It seems everyone is looking at the spectrum/color that the lights produces from a personal aesthetic prospective and not an animal husbandry prospective. The Reefi is heavier in the 400-440nm spectrum than the XR30 giving it more purple look, which I like, and so do the corals. I get it if it’s not your thing, so run it heavy in that spectrum while your at work and have it fade toward the 450nm when your home. The “biology band” is much wider on the Reefi than most lights and I think I will get better color and fluorescence on my corals, but time will tell. I also have much deeper tanks than most people so the ability to change the angle of the light beam is really helpful.

 

[Richard baker]

I’m on the fence with these as well to replace my gen 4 pro radions . I’m leaning on getting one to place over my biocube to try out befor I go full on and purchase 8 . I have spoken with Daniel and I enjoy supporting small businesses . Has anyone else ran these lights for a little while ?

 

[findingsimple]

Thanks for sharing @Jon's Reef ! Appreciate the review and others comments.

I’ve decided to still explore these - hopefully I can share my experience also when I get them.

I’ve done the initial install and am using 3 uno pros about 25cm above a Cade 1200 on the default profile with default reflectors (70% power)

* there a couple hot spots up high but nothing crazy
* light spill is non existent as far as I can tell - reaches perfectly to the edges which I am pretty happy about
* getting about 200 PAR on the sand (give or take 20 with ripples)
* during peak times I can see the pink mentioned - from what I can tell it is related to the 420nm spectrum more than anything which I haven’t really had ( don’t think) previously in my hydras. Other times of day it doesn’t have the strong pinkish hue. Looks like it is easily adjustable like other colours
* lots of color pop - love it
* already seeing some of my acros respond favorabley to the better spectrum
* build quality is top notch - can’t fault it
* setup was easy - less issues than reef factory products
* I’m not seeing any colour split in shadows - I have a big arch and caves
* I’m not seeing a disco ball effect but there is a more visible shimmer/ripple which I’m actually getting used to

I think YMMV is always at play but for me I’m liking them a lot.

 

[buruskeee]

I’ve done the initial install and am using 3 uno pros about 25cm above a Cade 1200 on the default profile with default reflectors (70% power)

I think 3 on a 4ft has a lot to do with the better spread at decently low mounting height.

The argument is that the unos can replace XR30s 1:1. From all the data I’ve seen, you either have to mount them really high up or get multiple fixtures to defeat the small footprint issues it has (basically point source).

The unos have always seemed to me like a mini version of the Orphek icons (which I really love).

Mounting height is the main convergent for me (getting multiple fixtures defeat the purpose of the price).

 

[blebs]

Man, the disco ball effect is really disappointing. I had a few of them in my cart, but I cant stand that disco ball effect. That's a bummer.

Anyone try with t5 supplements or something else to see if it "smooths" over the color disco?

 

[blebs]

The biggest difference to me was the color, which always seems to have a pinkish color and the color mixing. For example, if there is a shadow from a rock, the Radions show either a sharp or blurred shadow, but it is 1 shadow. With the reefi, there are multiple distinct shadows with slightly different colors. I believe this is due to the color distribution in the reflectors. This also manifests as disco on the shimmer lines. Perhaps it would not be present if the “color” LEDs were distributed with the blue and violets.

did you notice any difference with mounting up high??

 

[Jon's Reef]

did you notice any difference with mounting up high??

Look at the data from the 90 reflector at 8” vs 24”. In particular, the shadows of the rocks. When you see a double shadow, this is coming from the different reflectors giving different shadowing. Since the colors are not mixed in the reflectors it causes this color seperation (see marketing pics of the light and you can see the blue/ purple are in the majority of reflectors with 4 of the more center ones having the other colors). Disco is similar to the shadows, but it is a shadow/ lensing due to the surface agitation.

 

[Richard baker]

I have one running on my small tank I have to say and I’ve only been running it for like two weeks the build quality and the light I am impressed with . I had a gen six blue on this tank and I honestly like the look of the uno better as for the disco ball effect I’m using a Ecotech stock rms mount and I do t notice any . I do notice a little more violet in the very early morning and late evening but the light to me seems like it makes the tank go from standard definition with the radion to HD definition with the uno . I love both lights both have pros and cons but I feel the uno is a better bang for your buck if you don’t want to integrate with your apex if you run one . My 220 I run gen 4 pros and reefbrites and I’m not willing yet to give up my apex integration to replace the lights .

 

[Richard baker]

Same par levels adjusted and similar schedules

 

[SpursFan]

Man, the disco ball effect is really disappointing. I had a few of them in my cart, but I cant stand that disco ball effect. That's a bummer.

Anyone try with t5 supplements or something else to see if it "smooths" over the color disco?

They don't have any disco ball effect compared to anything on the market short of defused lights like radion and sky which gives you virtually zero shimmer.

 

[Jon's Reef]

They don't have any disco ball effect compared to anything on the market short of defused lights like radion and sky which gives you virtually zero shimmer.

Please post pictures/ evidence. The look can be clearly seen in the original posts. Also the origin is easily understood due to the isolation of the color channel to specific reflectors. This thread is about facts, not anecdotal statements.

 

[danlu_gt]

Please post pictures/ evidence. The look can be clearly seen in the original posts. Also the origin is easily understood due to the isolation of the color channel to specific reflectors. This thread is about facts, not anecdotal statements.

First, thanks for sharing you detail testing/reviews.

Just looking at the pictures you posted, I see tons of disco effects on your 4 Radion XR15. Look at the sandbed! I see a series of yellow, red, blue, and some green patterns all over the place.

Here's more closeup:

 

[aaron186]

I’m really enjoying my Reefi uno pro 2s. I have 3 of them over a Reefer 425 and get 350 plus par on top of rocks and 200 at sand pretty evenly my lights turned down pretty low.

I just adjusted my spectrum off the SPS default setting though since it was a bit too blue.

What do you think of this setting?

 

[SpursFan]

Please post pictures/ evidence. The look can be clearly seen in the original posts. Also the origin is easily understood due to the isolation of the color channel to specific reflectors. This thread is about facts, not anecdotal statements.

You do realize that every single LED fixture has individual point sources they will represent in a photo?? That does not mean it has disco ball effect. I've had just about every LED fixture on the market prior to G6s and Sky and not one comes close to lack of disco ball effect as the Reefi.

IF you want stick to facts stick to them and not your opinionated observation.

 

[Jon's Reef]

First, thanks for sharing you detail testing/reviews.

Just looking at the pictures you posted, I see tons of disco effects on your 4 Radion XR15. Look at the sandbed! I see a series of yellow, red, blue, and some green patterns all over the place.

Here's more closeup:

That is not disco. Disco is a combination of 2 effects: shimmer and color separation. The above is shimmer. The distribution of the color diodes combined with mixing lead to no color seperation in this case.

The origin of the color separation is in the color LEDs being separated into their own reflectors. The reflector effect is so strong that this point origin is maintained as it passes through the disturbed water surface which results in the disco. If the colors were distributed with the blue/ violet diodes, the effect would not be present. To mix I attempted placing a Radion diffuser beneath the light. If the diffuser is located right at the glass (similar to frosting the glass) it is not enough to mix the light (you can still see the individual reflector cups). Placing it ~8” below the light does mix it. Tests were also performed without reflectors, but par drop and side glare mitigated any benefit.