Thoughts on Current USA Orbit Marine light and pumps

[LadyMac]

How many gallons is your tank? Mine is 27, I was trying to decide between one and two power heads

About 40/ 45 in the display. 70 total gallons in the system, give or take a little. I use two powerheads, the smallest. Could go up the next size on both, my flow is pretty low for a reef probably.

 

[jayoman]

I bought a current USA 36” ic marine light to replace my power compacts over my 46 gallon mixed reef. I choose them Because they were designed to work with the corals I was keeping (Softies and some LPS) as time went on I added another 36” ic marine light for a more power and the ability to keep more light loving corals. the included loop controller and it’s capability to run current USA pumps with a common remote is still a great deal especially for the price.

My experience with them has been very positive. Do they grow corals the fastest? No, but for me with a 46 gallon tank I was not trying to grow birds nest and other sps. If you want to the ability to grow more light loving corals I would suggest starting with a pair of them. Just recently, I decided to try some sps and added a reef brite lumi blue. So far everything is responding well. If you have already invested in current usas, I found adding supplemental lights to be my best option rather than replacing but again I am keeping a mixed reef with just a few sticks. the website and literature for the product is very upfront with what these are designed for so as long as you are realistic with what you can keep with the lights, it can be a very good value. While I love kessils and radions, I was not happy with the ideal Mounting heights nor the 1k price tag. With $400 total investment, i was able to get both lights and included wave pumps, the controller and the lumi light and with it the ability to keep most of the available corals in the hobby.

 

[First-time Reefer]

So I can't comment on the wave pump, but I current-ly have the newest orbit marine over a fluval evo. I have had the light for about six months. When I first set it up, I wasn't impressed with how much I paid for it. I love the level of control and time scheduling from the app and it's a huge step up from the stock light, but I wouldn't recommend it for a tank any deeper than 12".

I recently just bought an ai prime hd and it clearly packs a much stronger punch with exceptional freedom when it comes to programming spectrum and schedule. Only have a couple days with the prime, but I'm much more pleased with it's performance so far.

Hope that helps.

 

[First-time Reefer]

And here's a pic of the evo with the current orbit marine.

 

[Brokecoloadoreefer]

I would get the version with the Bluetooth because anything has to be better than the remote control system.
I too bought this system off of Amazon , and returned it within the 30 day grace period. I needed more light , doesn’t sound like you do. Be prepared for a lot of wires !
I give the system a c+. Could have been a b+ if I had something other than the remote and wanted a softie tank.

 

[Doctorgori]

I paid a small fortune for the 72” reef light ...It’s gimmicky and low par but built decently... I use it and the 4ft model on 2 tanks just for dusk dawn effects and for red light if I need to catch a fish...
the orbit powerheads small form factor attracted me and since I already. had that goofy manifold deal I got 5 ...after 1 year only 1 works

 

[rockdiver]

So confused now. I was really sold on the Orbit ic pro's duel lights 48'
Going on a waterbox x110
Its 21' deep figure 2 to 3 inches sand that puts it around 18.
I really like the deal pump 2 powerheads lights Bluetooth for less then 800. The app works great
Not looking on keeping sps. Just softies and an anemone or 2.
So what do you think.

 

[LadyMac]

As long as you don’t want corals that are very demanding, or plan to add supplemental lighting sometime later, then it’s a good setup. I’m still running it in my 70.2. I like the company, I just wish these lights were more powerful. I’m sure they are working on a new setup.

 

[rockdiver]

Thanks LadyMac !

 

[smacbride]

So I installed a single 18" IC light in the hood of my Red Sea Max 130 in August and so far it's doing great with my soft corals. I have Palys, Xenia, GSP, Kenya Trees, and a Cabbage Leather. Great growth so far on all of those.

What I like about it is that is lights up my rock work and doesn't grow algae on my glass as much as the stock light did. I'm also able to run it with a 10AM sunrise to a 10PM sunset which is about 11 hours of full light. My old lights I could only run about 8 hours or it would be an algae factory.

What I don't like about it is that the way it sits in my stock hood, I doesn't light up the front of the aquarium as nicely as I would like. So when the fish swim up to the front they are harder to see at night.

I'm contemplating adding a second light bar to it as it has an extra port for it. I would have to cut up my hood to get it to fit, which I had to do a bit for the first one so not a big deal.

Here is a shot taken last week: