Just sharing my honest thoughts on both lighting options… if you missed full review of ether hit the videos below: AI Blades - EVERYTHING You need to Know ruclips.net/video/5yEqrrGpTSc/видео.html Orphek OSIX lighting System - Setup, Par Reading & Review ruclips.net/video/9VcHYdeT6iQ/видео.html
Nice comparison. What shocked me most was the side view of the Orpheks. You could clearly see the difference in the tank. I thought they would have blended more. My preference is the Blades after seeing both.
Tried to be as non biased as possible.. but yes that was a major deciding factor. If you could only use only blues with the Orpheks they are better. Really depends on your application 💯🫡
Curious to know why the Orphek layout was chosen… was that personally selected or recommended by Orphek? That’s definitely not a setup I would have thought would look uniform given the spread specs that other people have tested and posted online. I have 5 bars over a 20” front to back, set up as Blue Plus, Violet Reef Day, Blue Sky, Violet Reef Day, Blue Plus. I have zero issues with color differences. It blends very well, and I also chose a DIY mounting system on AI HMS arms actually, and they’re next to each other touching.
@@Movens_Horacious started with 4 bars 4 diff colors and noticed half tank being white other half all blue so added a 5th bar (reef day) to spread blues out. The best option 4 bars would have to include 2 Reef days and 2 similar color blue bars otherwise you will only have 1 bar hitting some of the corals. Wether it’s UV , sky blue or blue plus. Corals under that specific bar get the pop but everywhere else they do not. This issue does not happen with the 4 blades I selected mainly due to them only having 2 color options vs Orpheks 4 diff bar color options. It’s something you have to see in person for yourself to understand.. hopefully the video side shots show this. Without a doubt blade color blending is better regardless unless you doing all blues bar combos under orphek 🫡💯
@@CJSAQUARIUMS yea for sure. Very good video showing all of the comparisons… with a workable layout the Orpheks can get an amazing color blend. My Blue Sky that’s right in the middle blends perfectly with the Violet Reef Days on either side of it, and then the Blue Plus act as bookends, and that really adds a lot of nice color that’s very tunable. Thanks for taking the time on these videos…
Tank looks absolutely amazing. I'm running 8 T5 bulbs and 2 reef Breeders. I have tossed around the idea of running 100% LEDs. Its the price tag that make me cringe like I got kicked in the junk. LOL.
As someone who was recently thinking of switching from blades to Orpheks to have more spectrum variation, that color blending/disco ball and lack of control on individual colors is a total deal breaker 😑 thanks for the vid, I wouldn’t have realized this otherwise! 👊🏼
Great comparison and what a beautiful scape! I switched from blades to orpheks. Personally, I think the orpheks give a much more cinematic/natural look compared to the artificial flat look of the blades. they lack atmosphere..but they both do a great job at growing corals so it's all about personal preferences I guess XD. Keep up the good work!
You can’t go wrong with ether light honestly but I think the Orpheks are better suited with all blue bars and another source of white lighting to help blend it better. It’s really a hard choice after having them both I could easily switch back and still be happy 💯
Can you provide the tank light mount your using for the blades? I can only find hanging kits for them, I have 3 on the elevated mounts it’s too much work moving them for water changes etc. thanks
I wish i could send you some pic of my tank with the orpheks on. I did two compacts and two bars. The compacts and the Atlantics are a whole different world of controllability
Definitely would have loved that option… but would you be happy with just the orphek bars without that control? Feel free to sent me the pics on Instagram @ CJs Aquariums 🫡💯
@@CJSAQUARIUMS if i did just the bars and controller it would have been 2 or 3 blue plus and a reef day. Pretty much like you did with your new lights. The larger lights will do what your doing now just won't be able to control with the apex that i know of.
Can you drop me a link for the extension bar for the Blades mounting? I have a 180g tank and want them centered more over the tank so I need to extend the top bar on the HMS mounts.
Thanks for comparing these two lights. Although I love the OR lights (build, colours and the look of them (superb) I would prefer the blanket of light of the Blades; less shadowing I guess. As to the UV light of Orphek: I recently read a post about UV being non-beneficial to the animals. I wouldn't add UV spectrum to my lights. And you have compared four lights of each brand to the other, but there is a noticeable difference in wattage: 240 (Blades) to 160 (Orpheks). Would be interesting to know how this would influence the spread of light of the OR3's.
Yes this comparison was 4 blades vs 5 orphek bars.. didn’t dive too deep into the watts because both lights put out plenty. I added a 5th orphek bar for additional color blending but it still wasn’t as smooth as the blades. It’s really the biggest diff between the lights visually 💯🫡
350ms pulse is all you need on a 3ft tank.. dial in your frequency depending on your tank size. Only one of my pumps makes the wave the others create other random patterns I don’t believe in syncing pumps
@@CJSAQUARIUMS Thanks a ton for writing this out. I have roughly the same dimensions 75INT and never wouldve guessed 350ms is enough time to get movement to the other side. I'll give this a shot some time
@@queencityreefs also- I currently have an OR3 layout, I’m not advocating any direction between brands, I’m just saying that you can layout the Orpheks in a manner that you won’t get color separation. The Blades have 2 colors, so you really get blending as long as you alternate colors, which essentially is what you should do with the Orpheks. I also spent a lot of time with the individual bars over my tank and saw how they put light out and got a feel for coverage.
Can you define the different between Glow & Grow? I can only afford one... my goal is not to growth corals but to increase its coloration. The point is... mine is SPS. So I am not sure if Glow can keep SPS. I think I've that Growth can but the lack of colors is the problem for me. SPS only goods, if you can see it's colors. Otherwise, what's the point, right?
CJ! Hi sir. Just a little off topic here but when you had your lights on lunar or moonlight setting, did your Chromis fishes ever get aggressive because they were trying to mate?... just curious... cause I ended up having only one left in my tank and was wondering if lighting was the factor at night. 😊
What lid are you using and what kind of aquarium is this? I think those AI blades blend so well, simulates t5s which are the best for coral growth in my opinion.
@@Pontiuspilate666 check out original blade video for full install info AI Blades - EVERYTHING You need to Know ruclips.net/video/5yEqrrGpTSc/видео.html
I’ve been considering trying reefbrite or orphek, I only need one bar so not super worried about the weight of orphek comparatively. If I wanted 3-4 of them and use them solely I might consider the blades. Do the orpheks have diffusers? Sweet vid bro
Not sure if they do or not I know it was something they was working on. 1 reef day looks horrible wit 3 other colors that’s why I had to add a 2nd reef day for 5 total to help balance it out. If you do 4 bars make sure 2 are Reef days
That’s a whole other argument I didn’t want to dive into. But definitely was worth noting that difference in the lights. Coral growth is debatable but how fish look under them is definitely noticeable 💯
Good video man. Nice honest comparison. I'd take the Orphek myself because I think they're going to last longer and do a better job of growing corals. But what would I know I've only been keeping reef tanks for 40 years.
orphek any days over these blades, for sure. you did both justice, but hard to compare them.. cuz they are so diffrent and far from eachother in spectrum and im 100% sure u will get more PAR from the orpheks, by far.. the colorpop is 100% better with orpheks if u look isolated on the blue plus or the blue sky vs the blades.. but yes, the blades look more tight and blend better on blades, but thats obvious since orpheks are using reflectors which is also why the par will be way better. :-)
Every blade light I bought had light blending issues out of the box. I had to send them back under warranty. That said, AI customer service was great, and the new lights were fixed. But... I would rather not go through it.
I think the main points are captured well in the vid and comments. Blades will win the blend battle all day long, but that comes at the cost of glare, mounting height, and reduced spectrum. Orphek, if complimentary bars are selected, will blend well and provide the corals with a more complete spectrum. Simply put, AI wins the flat light/easy operation award. Orphek takes the spectrum/punch win. There's a comment below about AI not including "other colors...[that] aren't needed to grow coral." That all "you need is blue." Yes...the corals may adapt to whatever you give them, but if the blue argument were the case, maybe we'd all be running Red Sea LEDs and the MH reefers got it all wrong. Regardless, take a look at the spectrum of cool white LEDs. It peaks at 450 (royal blue) but it also includes nearly all of the biologist-approved visible light photons, including green and red.
So, you never got to see how corals look under each manufacturers lights. One of the most important things about any lights it what the corals look like under them. That's like buying a car on spec alone. Am sorry but why would you.
@@CJSAQUARIUMS Na man... its always been there. I do think we should have made it more of a visible button, but it's buried in the settings. Might even be 2 menus in. Haven't had a tank set up in a while since I moved.
Its spectrum is true compared to AI blades and radions. And everyone knows spectrum is what grows corals, not par. False spectrum will cause algae bloom and other problems down the road.
Hard to get past the GB hat being from the Bay Area. Not going to gloat about the last game Packers are a great team, but don't want to see it here. At least it's not the Freakin Cowboys! Thanks for the info though.
![Felix "Unfair" | [Stray Kids : SKZ-PLAYER]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/Oswujxm2Ag0/mqdefault.jpg)
Just sharing my honest thoughts on both lighting options… if you missed full review of ether hit the videos below:
AI Blades - EVERYTHING You need to Know
ruclips.net/video/5yEqrrGpTSc/видео.html
Orphek OSIX lighting System - Setup, Par Reading & Review
ruclips.net/video/9VcHYdeT6iQ/видео.html
Nice comparison. What shocked me most was the side view of the Orpheks. You could clearly see the difference in the tank. I thought they would have blended more. My preference is the Blades after seeing both.
Tried to be as non biased as possible.. but yes that was a major deciding factor. If you could only use only blues with the Orpheks they are better. Really depends on your application 💯🫡
Dépends the bar choice same t5, he not made a good mix, depends also 90 it 120 lens
Curious to know why the Orphek layout was chosen… was that personally selected or recommended by Orphek? That’s definitely not a setup I would have thought would look uniform given the spread specs that other people have tested and posted online. I have 5 bars over a 20” front to back, set up as Blue Plus, Violet Reef Day, Blue Sky, Violet Reef Day, Blue Plus. I have zero issues with color differences. It blends very well, and I also chose a DIY mounting system on AI HMS arms actually, and they’re next to each other touching.
@@Movens_Horacious started with 4 bars 4 diff colors and noticed half tank being white other half all blue so added a 5th bar (reef day) to spread blues out. The best option 4 bars would have to include 2 Reef days and 2 similar color blue bars otherwise you will only have 1 bar hitting some of the corals. Wether it’s UV , sky blue or blue plus. Corals under that specific bar get the pop but everywhere else they do not. This issue does not happen with the 4 blades I selected mainly due to them only having 2 color options vs Orpheks 4 diff bar color options. It’s something you have to see in person for yourself to understand.. hopefully the video side shots show this. Without a doubt blade color blending is better regardless unless you doing all blues bar combos under orphek 🫡💯
@@CJSAQUARIUMS yea for sure. Very good video showing all of the comparisons… with a workable layout the Orpheks can get an amazing color blend. My Blue Sky that’s right in the middle blends perfectly with the Violet Reef Days on either side of it, and then the Blue Plus act as bookends, and that really adds a lot of nice color that’s very tunable.
Thanks for taking the time on these videos…
Tank looks absolutely amazing.
I'm running 8 T5 bulbs and 2 reef Breeders. I have tossed around the idea of running 100% LEDs. Its the price tag that make me cringe like I got kicked in the junk. LOL.
Just think about never having to replace another bulb 😂
Finally someone explaining simple way , i love it ! Thanks man !
As someone who was recently thinking of switching from blades to Orpheks to have more spectrum variation, that color blending/disco ball and lack of control on individual colors is a total deal breaker 😑 thanks for the vid, I wouldn’t have realized this otherwise! 👊🏼
Orphek have more coral pop for sure and the way they look over your tank is 🔥
Great comparison and what a beautiful scape! I switched from blades to orpheks. Personally, I think the orpheks give a much more cinematic/natural look compared to the artificial flat look of the blades. they lack atmosphere..but they both do a great job at growing corals so it's all about personal preferences I guess XD. Keep up the good work!
You can’t go wrong with ether light honestly but I think the Orpheks are better suited with all blue bars and another source of white lighting to help blend it better. It’s really a hard choice after having them both I could easily switch back and still be happy 💯
Thank you for the great video. Your voice is real low volume though. The information you shared was great.
Can you provide the tank light mount your using for the blades? I can only find hanging kits for them, I have 3 on the elevated mounts it’s too much work moving them for water changes etc. thanks
HMS mounting kit and clips for the blade lights
Nice comparison vid. Tank is looking good!
A par test with both lights would be interessting in the spectrum you use
All that was covered in detail on the individual review videos linked in the comments 💯
@@CJSAQUARIUMS ah thanks for that info, I will look into that
You also didn't mention cost differences, unless I missed it.
Your right I left cost off. Didn’t want to spread such negativity 😅
I wish i could send you some pic of my tank with the orpheks on. I did two compacts and two bars. The compacts and the Atlantics are a whole different world of controllability
Definitely would have loved that option… but would you be happy with just the orphek bars without that control? Feel free to sent me the pics on Instagram @ CJs Aquariums 🫡💯
@@CJSAQUARIUMS if i did just the bars and controller it would have been 2 or 3 blue plus and a reef day. Pretty much like you did with your new lights. The larger lights will do what your doing now just won't be able to control with the apex that i know of.
Great video. Very helpful comparison
Can you drop me a link for the extension bar for the Blades mounting? I have a 180g tank and want them centered more over the tank so I need to extend the top bar on the HMS mounts.
www.bulkreefsupply.com/multi-light-hms-track-aqua-illumination.html?queryID=2bc88840e74cc6ab43792ddd7e2bc0c7&objectID=6013&indexName=brs_prod_m2_default_products
Thanks for comparing these two lights. Although I love the OR lights (build, colours and the look of them (superb) I would prefer the blanket of light of the Blades; less shadowing I guess. As to the UV light of Orphek: I recently read a post about UV being non-beneficial to the animals. I wouldn't add UV spectrum to my lights. And you have compared four lights of each brand to the other, but there is a noticeable difference in wattage: 240 (Blades) to 160 (Orpheks). Would be interesting to know how this would influence the spread of light of the OR3's.
Yes this comparison was 4 blades vs 5 orphek bars.. didn’t dive too deep into the watts because both lights put out plenty. I added a 5th orphek bar for additional color blending but it still wasn’t as smooth as the blades. It’s really the biggest diff between the lights visually 💯🫡
The shade you made for the blades looks awesome. Can you run blades without Wi-Fi just Bluetooth??
@@gregprevite8548 yes mobius is Bluetooth
Love that scape, can you explain how you got that wave going back and fourth with your powerhead settings/syncing?
350ms pulse is all you need on a 3ft tank.. dial in your frequency depending on your tank size. Only one of my pumps makes the wave the others create other random patterns I don’t believe in syncing pumps
@@CJSAQUARIUMS Thanks a ton for writing this out. I have roughly the same dimensions 75INT and never wouldve guessed 350ms is enough time to get movement to the other side. I'll give this a shot some time
Orphek makes coral pop like crazy
hey cj! what HMS mounting kit did you use for the blades?
That’s the name HMS mounting kit
Great comparison 👏
Both great lights. Cant go wrong with either but being able to see the color separation on the orphek, i think id choose blades too
You can easily layout Orpheks without color separation.
@@Movens_Horacious any videos showing how that is possible?
@@queencityreefs also- I currently have an OR3 layout, I’m not advocating any direction between brands, I’m just saying that you can layout the Orpheks in a manner that you won’t get color separation. The Blades have 2 colors, so you really get blending as long as you alternate colors, which essentially is what you should do with the Orpheks. I also spent a lot of time with the individual bars over my tank and saw how they put light out and got a feel for coverage.
@@Movens_Horacious thanks for that info. Is there a forum where you share pics or videos?
@@queencityreefs all my replies are getting deleted for some reason lol
Can you define the different between Glow & Grow?
I can only afford one... my goal is not to growth corals but to increase its coloration. The point is... mine is SPS. So I am not sure if Glow can keep SPS. I think I've that Growth can but the lack of colors is the problem for me. SPS only goods, if you can see it's colors. Otherwise, what's the point, right?
Glows best color pop
another nice alternative for the led bars would be Micmol's Felix
Great work, thank you
CJ! Hi sir. Just a little off topic here but when you had your lights on lunar or moonlight setting, did your Chromis fishes ever get aggressive because they were trying to mate?... just curious... cause I ended up having only one left in my tank and was wondering if lighting was the factor at night. 😊
Have not noticed it but I can watch. For most part they hide out and sleep
@CJSAQUARIUMS overall I like the AI blades personally too. Reminds me of Current USA lights but lower wattage.
What lid are you using and what kind of aquarium is this? I think those AI blades blend so well, simulates t5s which are the best for coral growth in my opinion.
Innovative marine 75ext. Clear view lid 🫡
@@CJSAQUARIUMSthanks man, what mount are you using too? I wanna put 4 on my tank and can't find one like yours online. Sorry for all the questions!
@@Pontiuspilate666 just the standard HMS mount bro and blade mounting clips.
@@Pontiuspilate666 check out original blade video for full install info
AI Blades - EVERYTHING You need to Know
ruclips.net/video/5yEqrrGpTSc/видео.html
I’ve been considering trying reefbrite or orphek, I only need one bar so not super worried about the weight of orphek comparatively. If I wanted 3-4 of them and use them solely I might consider the blades. Do the orpheks have diffusers? Sweet vid bro
Not sure if they do or not I know it was something they was working on. 1 reef day looks horrible wit 3 other colors that’s why I had to add a 2nd reef day for 5 total to help balance it out. If you do 4 bars make sure 2 are Reef days
Another great video
Great video again, thanx for sharing ^5
AI doesn't provide the other colors in the Grow, because they aren't needed to grow coral. The only spectrum you need is blue.
That’s a whole other argument I didn’t want to dive into. But definitely was worth noting that difference in the lights. Coral growth is debatable but how fish look under them is definitely noticeable 💯
@@CJSAQUARIUMS ask Greg... He'll tell you the same thing. Blue light is all that's needed.
Good video man. Nice honest comparison. I'd take the Orphek myself because I think they're going to last longer and do a better job of growing corals. But what would I know I've only been keeping reef tanks for 40 years.
Just bought these blades !!
orphek any days over these blades, for sure. you did both justice, but hard to compare them.. cuz they are so diffrent and far from eachother in spectrum and im 100% sure u will get more PAR from the orpheks, by far.. the colorpop is 100% better with orpheks if u look isolated on the blue plus or the blue sky vs the blades..
but yes, the blades look more tight and blend better on blades, but thats obvious since orpheks are using reflectors which is also why the par will be way better. :-)
Bro that fit fresh man !!! Let’s go packers!!!!
Every blade light I bought had light blending issues out of the box. I had to send them back under warranty. That said, AI customer service was great, and the new lights were fixed. But... I would rather not go through it.
I think the main points are captured well in the vid and comments. Blades will win the blend battle all day long, but that comes at the cost of glare, mounting height, and reduced spectrum. Orphek, if complimentary bars are selected, will blend well and provide the corals with a more complete spectrum. Simply put, AI wins the flat light/easy operation award. Orphek takes the spectrum/punch win.
There's a comment below about AI not including "other colors...[that] aren't needed to grow coral." That all "you need is blue." Yes...the corals may adapt to whatever you give them, but if the blue argument were the case, maybe we'd all be running Red Sea LEDs and the MH reefers got it all wrong. Regardless, take a look at the spectrum of cool white LEDs. It peaks at 450 (royal blue) but it also includes nearly all of the biologist-approved visible light photons, including green and red.
I got orpheks lights and they are amazing. Colours of corals are crazy. Orphek all the way.
Have you used blades on your tank? Hard to say you know until you know with your own eyes 💡
@@CJSAQUARIUMS I still love my orpheks 😃
May I hug the aquarium?
Nicest thing I’ve heard you say… but no I don’t share 😅
@@CJSAQUARIUMS Fine, Imma hug you then instead
So, you never got to see how corals look under each manufacturers lights. One of the most important things about any lights it what the corals look like under them. That's like buying a car on spec alone. Am sorry but why would you.
@@sezles1 tank full of corals? No the tank had some under orphek but was a lot more packed since adding blades. I got a good look at both
Oh no...thats not true...our Orphek lights you definitely can Group them together.
Just need to go to Settings>Create Group.
Not within the Osix software unless they had an update since I last used them
@@CJSAQUARIUMS Na man... its always been there. I do think we should have made it more of a visible button, but it's buried in the settings. Might even be 2 menus in. Haven't had a tank set up in a while since I moved.
👍
Orphek looks so much better tho
Its spectrum is true compared to AI blades and radions. And everyone knows spectrum is what grows corals, not par. False spectrum will cause algae bloom and other problems down the road.
Hard to get past the GB hat being from the Bay Area. Not going to gloat about the last game Packers are a great team, but don't want to see it here. At least it's not the Freakin Cowboys! Thanks for the info though.