Neptune SKY LED

[ReefRxSWFL]

Unless I am misinterpreting your post, you misinterpreted mine

Unless I am misinterpreting your post, you misinterpreted mine

Mine was sort of in agreement to yours. If someone has a different opinion of yours, by yours, meaning anyone, its taken as offensive, which is insane. Everyone gets to pick their favorite flavor of ice cream. No one is wrong for choosing vanilla. And folks should be ok with that.

I also think this light will get other manufacturers out of the box they’ve been comfortable it.

The difference is its on the short list of going on my next build if it does what it claims, and im happy how it performs in the tank, mostly being able to cover a 2 foot area without the need for fill light or extra fixtures to prevent shadowing.

 

[Terence]

mostly being able to cover a 2 foot area without the need for fill light or extra fixtures to prevent shadowing.

In this department you will not be disappointed. The corals in the underhangs of my and pauls tanks can attest to that.

 

[AlainD]

Can you share with us exactly what kind of led color spectrum you use in the Sky
Ex: 8 uv led at 405nm, 8 deep violet at 420nm, etc...

 

[Bpb]

Mine was sort of in agreement to yours. If someone has a different opinion of yours, by yours, meaning anyone, its taken as offensive, which is insane. Everyone gets to pick their favorite flavor of ice cream. No one is wrong for choosing vanilla. And folks should be ok with that.

I also think this light will get other manufacturers out of the box they’ve been comfortable it.

The difference is its on the short list of going on my next build if it does what it claims, and im happy how it performs in the tank, mostly being able to cover a 2 foot area without the need for fill light or extra fixtures to prevent shadowing.

I was misinterpreting you then. And I thought I might be. I mostly was addressing the unprovoked bitterness toward the fact that Neptune is making a light. While it wasn’t said specifically, it is a resounding theme among many posts on here. I get a real “how dare they make a light. How dare they ask trusted and respected reef personalities try it out, how dare they actually market their product, how dare they say positive things about something they’re selling”. I’m not misinterpreting those sentiments (not necessarily from you, just in general among the 9 pages before this).

It offers a similar form factor as the ati straton and the Philips coral care, but with native apex control. To some people that is a big plus. Great. If it doesn’t fill a gap in the market, it certainly resides among sparse company. If someone prefers two channel control, or is not a fan of Neptune products, there are other options.

 

[Kfactor]

I don’t get why lights from any company other then one I know of has over a year warranty for that amount of money and a year warranty shows me the build quality. I have had problems with other led lights and trying to get warranty on one not ever a 6 month old light was brutal . I wish they would stand behind there products better. I know if I had a big name in the reefing community it would get handle immediately but being your average joe your out of luck .

 

[Bpb]

In this department you will not be disappointed. The corals in the underhangs of my and pauls tanks can attest to that.

Do you have a build thread or a link to your tank. I’m genuinely interested in seeing it. No sarcasm and not asking you to “prove” anything. Just want to see. It sounds like a great tank.

 

[ReefRxSWFL]

Do you have a build thread or a link to your tank. I’m genuinely interested in seeing it. No sarcasm and not asking you to “prove” anything. Just want to see. It sounds like a great tank.

I dont. The tank im looking to put the lighting on is a new build that will be replacing the two smaller tanks that were in my living room. Tank is ordered and im hoping to have it by late summer. Im more hoping the contractor gets to work on the tile in my main living area well before the tank gets here.

 

[oreo54]

True. A lot of folks will defend their purchase, even if they hate the item. No one wants to feel foolish for spending $xxxxx on product Y and not be happy with it. Im more concerned about when I can ***** it in person, and give the rest of the opinions based on their merit.

Yea but I was referring to the opposite as well .
Spending big bucks for say 10% " better" can leave a sour taste as well.

Face it people need to take personal responsibility for their choices and never rely on one source.

Just because of One Opinion a persons word suddenly is deemed close to worthless .
Shooting the messinger because of the message.
Sad actually
Skepticism is healthy though but not taken to extremes.

Do you have a build thread or a link to your tank. I’m genuinely interested in seeing it. No sarcasm and not asking you to “prove” anything. Just want to see. It sounds like a great tank.

 

[Terence]

Can you share with us exactly what kind of led color spectrum you use in the Sky
Ex: 8 uv led at 405nm, 8 deep violet at 420nm, etc...

We are not releasing these specifics at this time - we want the light to get out there first. You will likely be able to figure some of it out with pics from RAP, users photos, etc.

Do you have a build thread or a link to your tank. I’m genuinely interested in seeing it. No sarcasm and not asking you to “prove” anything. Just want to see. It sounds like a great tank.

Yes, I have an out of date thread here on R2R. Here is a pic right before I trimmed the tank at the end of Feb. Terrible pic, but the last one before the trim.

 

[Hincapiej4]

Im curious what the lights can do when connected to the Apex... If it's just what the GRO light (I have one) does...It's going to miss the mark.

I'm already irritated that I've waited counting a month or so for a replacement to my PH probe for the apex I bought over a month ago. And the Apex that literally was missing screws. I bought one unit and the apex was missing screws and ph probe wasn't working..at least the EB works..

I bought the trident and dos/ddr even after all that, I'm putting alot of trust and money into Neptune. I really hope IF I ever trust enough to buy these lights I don't end up angry again and waiting for a probe (or some light replacement piece) over a month later.

 

[zalick]

We are not releasing these specifics at this time - we want the light to get out there first. You will likely be able to figure some of it out with pics from RAP, users photos, etc.

Yes, I have an out of date thread here on R2R. Here is a pic right before I trimmed the tank at the end of Feb. Terrible pic, but the last one before the trim.

Thanks for sharing. Is that 4 SKY over the tank? do you have a pic of SKY day 1 versus current? Or know anyone that does? I’d be very curious to see a 6month+ progression.

 

[Terence]

Im curious what the lights can do when connected to the Apex... If it's just what the GRO light (I have one) does...It's going to miss the mark.

I'm already irritated that I've waited counting a month or so for a replacement to my PH probe for the apex I bought over a month ago. And the Apex that literally was missing screws. I bought one unit and the apex was missing screws and ph probe wasn't working..at least the EB works..

I bought the trident and dos/ddr even after all that, I'm putting alot of trust and money into Neptune. I really hope IF I ever trust enough to buy these lights I don't end up angry again and waiting for a probe (or some light replacement piece) over a month later.

Sorry to hear about your woes and the pH probe delays, I know we have had a hard time in sourcing different products all through CoVid and this is one of ones that has caused us grief.

In examining the lighting needs for most medium-sized aquariums with refugia, we did not see a cost/benefit to dimming control. Certainly cool, and nice to have, but we decided to keep the price down instead.

The control on the SKY is tilted much more toward ease of use and more specifically ease of being successful. Of course you can tweak channel intensities and all that, but even there we have made it kind of foolproof and limited compared to some solutions that give you the equivalent of a studio soundboard and tell you to go at it. Think of it like your TV where there are different levels of control - pre-curated "looks" such as Vivid, Cinema, Sports, etc. and then there are high level selections like vibrance, brightness, etc. That is what it is like in the SKY. Now think of the "service menu" on your TV, this is what it is like to configure some lights - lots of changes you can make, but you are weary of what the outcome might be. This level of control down to the individual LED is not available - and for 98% of the market will not be missed when they see how easily you can still get a customized look while not killing your corals.

 

[GillMeister]

Im curious what the lights can do when connected to the Apex... If it's just what the GRO light (I have one) does...It's going to miss the mark.

I'm already irritated that I've waited counting a month or so for a replacement to my PH probe for the apex I bought over a month ago. And the Apex that literally was missing screws. I bought one unit and the apex was missing screws and ph probe wasn't working..at least the EB works..

I bought the trident and dos/ddr even after all that, I'm putting alot of trust and money into Neptune. I really hope IF I ever trust enough to buy these lights I don't end up angry again and waiting for a probe (or some light replacement piece) over a month later.

I had some frustration with my Apex initially, mostly related to how inept I can be with computers. Now, I can't see myself running a tank without one.

Let's keep the thread focused on the new light and withhold prejudgement. I want to hear from someone who has really lived with the setup and everyday use of it. That will likely be months from now.

 

[Terence]

Thanks for sharing. Is that 4 SKY over the tank? do you have a pic of SKY day 1 versus current? Or know anyone that does? I’d be very curious to see a 6month+ progression.

My tank started out with dimmable MH and LED strips. I did not like the level of dimming controllability for the MH so I swapped them out for Gen1 CoralCare with one strip of ReefBrite LED to add back some pop that the CC were clearly missing in this early version. From there last year I switched over to the SKY. . . tank never skipped a beat. So, while the CoralCare and the SKY are not equivalent at all in their LED or spectrum or controllability or pretty much 95% of the light, the layout and approach to light delivery is very similar. And the tank responded accordingly without a hiccup. Coverage in my 96x32x32 is accomplished with just four lights.

 

[Terence]

This is the colony I took out to cut up for some visitors. I think the coverage of a 14x10" light can be proven simply with the size and spread of this colony. This colony had been already trimmed three times in its 32mo life starting as a 3" frag.

 

[Hincapiej4]

I had some frustration with my Apex initially, mostly related to how inept I can be with computers. Now, I can't see myself running a tank without one.

Let's keep the thread focused on the new light and withhold prejudgement. I want to hear from someone who has really lived with the setup and everyday use of it. That will likely be months from now.

I think that the point of possible issues with the lights being DOA or damaged and needing repair to be a decent point to make. Especially when stock of these lights and probably parts would be hard to find. I mean honestly, I got an apex base missing screws..

Anyway, I think it'll be cool to see the controls Terrence mentioned. It sounds like the same sort of deal as my Red Sea 90 leds. Is there something in the controls that I am missing that sets these apart from the Red Sea leds? Seems like the same sort of deal in my estimation.

 

[Bpb]

We are not releasing these specifics at this time - we want the light to get out there first. You will likely be able to figure some of it out with pics from RAP, users photos, etc.

Yes, I have an out of date thread here on R2R. Here is a pic right before I trimmed the tank at the end of Feb. Terrible pic, but the last one before the trim.

Outstanding. Not to further detail, but those butterflies don’t nip your sps?

 

[Terence]

Anyway, I think it'll be cool to see the controls Terrence mentioned. It sounds like the same sort of deal as my Red Sea 90 leds. Is there something in the controls that I am missing that sets these apart from the Red Sea leds? Seems like the same sort of deal in my estimation.

While I may not be a fan of the LED light itself from RS, the interface is pretty solid and I think you will see something similar, but a bit more, from our side. Of course in addition to some new, light specific UI, the existing Apex dashboard will still be valid and usable and is what the NSI are currently working on ATM. It should be very familar for many.

 

[Terence]

Outstanding. Not to further detail, but those butterflies don’t nip your sps?

Not the SPS.

 

[Hincapiej4]

While I may not be a fan of the LED light itself from RS, the interface is pretty solid and I think you will see something similar, but a bit more, from our side. Of course in addition to some new, light specific UI, the existing Apex dashboard will still be valid and usable and is what the NSI are currently working on ATM. It should be very familar for many.

Understood. DO you think there would be some form of relationship (apart from the obvious) between the par meter and the lights?

Like lets say after a week or so it knows how much par you usually run or want/set it to and will automatically -/+ par on it's own and alert you if it falls from that?

Like if your carbon is exhausting sort of deal?