Reef Flare Pro M light review

[Armt350]

So my lighting finally came in, 2x Reef Factory Reef Flare pro M'S.

The packaging appears nicely done. and is exactly what I ordered. So Far all good.

The lenses are clear and appear like they will give great dispersion of light. The form factor and build feels quality. The housing is as advertised at just over and inch in height. The built in fan is a nice touch and seems a better solution that the slide on fan that my previous maxspect Mazzara's had. This should reduce vibration noise.

As for mounting options, predominatly it appears these are arm mounted in most setups. There are only two spots for a mounting bolt and both are clearly setup for arm mounting. The mounting locations are not movable either.

Since I am building a custom hood, and that the tank is built into the wall, the arm mount won't work. No biggy or so I thought, they make a cable hanging system. which looks like this (from their website).

When you buy the cable hanger kit, this is what arrives. The nuts don't fit in the grooves (missed opportunity IMO). So the cable kit itself will not see you find a mounting solution.

Those brackets are not included... which is good since they wouldn't work anyways. If you look at the pictures above, you notice there are no side mounting holes and the sides are angled. So the brackets must be for a legacy reef flare product?

Next plan, the cooling fins that hold the mounting nuts appear to be standard aluminum extrusion sized... well they are not. they are the slightest bit too small (Another missed opportunity). So don't be fooled into thinking that. The only other mounting possibility I see that they pitch is an aluminum bar with plexiglass holders. So if you get these lights keep all the above in mind. Also, be aware there

It should also be noted that the downloadable manual for the lights does not cover mounting. Actually, nowhere on the website does it specify what is needed to mount these and what is mounting is compatible with what. It just assumes you are going to use the arm. Under the support tab of the website it lists mounting FAQ pages but they are placeholders and have no content.

As soon as I get a mounting solution worked out I'll get to turning these on and update this further.

 

[Ben's Pico Reefing]

Looks promissing as far as coverage, but so far not good look with the lack of mounting informattion. Maybe able to (depending where you live) take to hardware store. Lots of them have size guages, putting screw in till it fits, setup. Then buy an eye bolt.

 

[Snoopy 67]

The end slots look like a standard slide-in T Nut would fit giving you another option to hook up the cables. (80-20 fitting)

 

[Armt350]

The end slots look like a standard slide-in T Nut would fit giving you another option to hook up the cables. (80-20 fitting)

The standard T nuts used for aluminum extrusion should work. Then it's just matching up hardware after.

 

[Armt350]

I figured out the mounting solution, which is a 1cm wide piece of metal drilled and tapped and a few set screws.

I test fit one of the lights into the hood I'm building and made an attempt to get it turned on to see how the light functioned and looked. Sadly, the lights do not function without being linked to the App.

For the rest here is a TLDR; the backend server is not functioning correctly for email verification.

After downloading the app, you need to register and then verify the email address. This is where the next issue was encountered. The verification email is not timely... as in from the point of registration to verification email reception is in excess of 30 minutes. Also if you during that 30 minutes click on the "did not receive email, send me a new code" button in the app during that timeframe, the code in the queued email becomes obsolete, and no further email appears to be sent out. So eventually the code you receive is non-functional.

Support took about 20 hours to reply since business hours are M-F 9-5, and I tried this out on a Sunday. I will say, they were quick to reply once business hours arrived.

I understand why many companies move towards a single-point app, but to limit something like a light from functioning without an app still blows my mind. Even if you don't want to add an interface on the light, add a USB, Bluetooth or wifi connection for an offline app.

 

[ReefologyRN]

any updates?

 

[Armt350]

Yes! The second pendant was added and linked.

The light quality is really good I have zero complaints in that direction. But there are some app/firmware issues that are plaguing the setup.

The setup loses connection every 4 days or so, which one wouldn't think would be an issue. But when it loses connection, things happen... The first time, it seemed like it factory reset itself and lost the light plan I made for it. The second and third time, the intensity slider(which is redundant btw) sets itself to zero and the lights no longer turn on until you go into the app and set the slider back to 100%

 

[ReefologyRN]

good looking lights, losing connection is a PITA, have you tried them on 5ghz and 2.4ghz networks? i know sometimes connections can be more stable on one or the other

 

[Hurricane Aquatics]

Yes! The second pendant was added and linked.

The light quality is really good I have zero complaints in that direction. But there are some app/firmware issues that are plaguing the setup.

The setup loses connection every 4 days or so, which one wouldn't think would be an issue. But when it loses connection, things happen... The first time, it seemed like it factory reset itself and lost the light plan I made for it. The second and third time, the intensity slider(which is redundant btw) sets itself to zero and the lights no longer turn on until you go into the app and set the slider back to 100%

As Reefology said above, I often find that "band steering" on your home wifi router will cause numerous devices to disconnect or not connect at all. I turn that off and join the lights to the 2.4ghz band and you shouldn't have any issues.

 

[Armt350]

Originally I thought it was a frequency issue as well. So I changed the network it was on from 5GHz to 2.4GHz between the 2nd and 3rd connection loss. It appears to not be the issue. The fact that they are 3 meters from the router with no walls between rules out signal quality issues and no other device on the network has had a loss of connection.

 

[Armt350]

So I finally got a par meter to give these lights a good measurement. The lights are about 8 inches above the water. The tank from waterline to sandbed is 56 cm. These measurements were taken at 60% strength so you could likely get higher numbers out of it. Also keep in mind if you are referencing these readings against apogee measurements, multiply them by 1.21.

 

[Hurricane Aquatics]

So I finally got a par meter to give these lights a good measurement. The lights are about 8 inches above the water. The tank from waterline to sandbed is 56 cm. These measurements were taken at 60% strength so you could likely get higher numbers out of it. Also keep in mind if you are referencing these readings against apogee measurements, multiply them by 1.21.

What PAR meter were you using? I disagree with multiplying PAR by a number. You do what you want to of course, just stating my opinion.

Thanks for posting these, always wondered how those lights are. Seems they have lenses that direct the light downward instead of spreading it. I'll have to look and see if they give a lens angle.

While you were checking PAR, did you have a chance to see how far to the sides the PAR starts to drop off for coverage?

With that PAR, assuming it has fairly even coverage, you should be able to keep whatever you want.

 

[VintageReefer]

Curious - what made you pick these over anything else? What stood out as a quality or feature that led you to pick these?

I have a 48” build starting soon, and I have been set in my ways with ReefBreeders, used them for 10 years on several size tanks, but I am open minded and am considering other options also. Reefi Uno, Noopsyche, Blades, etc.

Wondering if these should be on my list to consider

 

[Armt350]

What PAR meter were you using? I disagree with multiplying PAR by a number. You do what you want to of course, just stating my opinion.

I agree with you. I used a ITC Parwise to measure these numbers. Measuring devices like this should generally only be referenced against themselves. Similar to engine horsepower numbers on dynos, you don't reference a mustang vs a dynapac dyno and you shouldn't reference a Parwise to a Apogee or a Seneye. But I included the multiplier for reference for those with other devices.

Thanks for posting these, always wondered how those lights are. Seems they have lenses that direct the light downward instead of spreading it. I'll have to look and see if they give a lens angle.

They seem to be 30 degree lenses and seem to disperse the light fairly evenly across that 30 degrees. That's why I tried to make the lines convex.

While you were checking PAR, did you have a chance to see how far to the sides the PAR starts to drop off for coverage?

there was a notable drop off after about 30 degrees.

With that PAR, assuming it has fairly even coverage, you should be able to keep whatever you want.

 

[Armt350]

Curious - what made you pick these over anything else? What stood out as a quality or feature that led you to pick these?

I originally was out to use tried and true Radion XR30's but saw these in person at a local LFS. The coloring they were able to get out of independently controllable channels was ultimately what sold me.

I have a 48” build starting soon, and I have been set in my ways with ReefBreeders, used them for 10 years on several size tanks, but I am open minded and am considering other options also. Reefi Uno, Noopsyche, Blades, etc.

Wondering if these should be on my list to consider

The lights are great, but the app leaves room for improvement. The absolute worst thing though is that you cannot use these lights without the app. If you don't register them with the app, they will not turn on.

 

[Reefin' Alaska]

I originally was out to use tried and true Radion XR30's but saw these in person at a local LFS. The coloring they were able to get out of independently controllable channels was ultimately what sold me.



The lights are great, but the app leaves room for improvement. The absolute worst thing though is that you cannot use these lights without the app. If you don't register them with the app, they will not turn on.

Has the app improved?

I'm looking at new lighting. Seriously considering these.

 

[Armt350]

Has the app improved?

I'm looking at new lighting. Seriously considering these.

I guess? It's more that I finally got the lights setup how I want and now I don't go into the app anymore.

 

[Reefin' Alaska]

I guess? It's more that I finally got the lights setup how I want and now I don't go into the app anymore.

Fair point.

 

[Billyreef-ita]

Thanks for the interesting thread. I’m considering buying them for my 75g new tank. I’m curious about the noise of the fan. I will install them in the living room and I’m pretty sensible to noise. What’s your option on this? Are they silent?

 

[VintageReefer]

Thanks for the interesting thread. I’m considering buying them for my 75g new tank. I’m curious about the noise of the fan. I will install them in the living room and I’m pretty sensible to noise. What’s your option on this? Are they silent?

Will just throw out a suggestion, my 75gallon is adjacent to my living room and I didn’t want fan noise. I have a reefbreeders photon 48v2 and it’s completely silent. There are fans but they basically only come on in emergency situations. The entire 48” shell/casing is designed handle the cooling passively