Orphek’s new LED aquarium light sure is a looker and the 120 to 160 watts of power for $500 is also a very attractive price. The merger of aluminum and acrylic is a very nouveau LED light design which is already lusted after from boutique light makers like Vitrea, but their cost of entry is nowhere near the mass market pricing of the Orphek. The Orphek LED light is constructed with 60 LEDs, with close to three fourths of them in “16K” white and the rest in blue with wavelength peaking in the 450-460nm range. Orphek boasts that their LED light was especially designed for use with stony corals, using 160 lumen per watt white LEDs but it’s a tad disconcerting to see no mention of what LEDs are being used. We doubt that Orphek’s LEDs are actually performing 160 lumen per watt at the 2-2.5 watts they are probably running but it is possible that that are using Cree-based LEDs. The base model of the Orphek LED light is 2 x 6 x 24″ long and although it does not include a timer, we found mention of a built-in option. It is unclear whether there are separate power cords for the blues and whites but at least there is one channel specifically for moonlighting. What is kind of odd about Orphek LED light is that they are selling direct to the consumer from China, via eBay, with a strong emphasis on how buyers are sheltered from shady deals with eBay’s own buyer protection program. The many product shots featured after the break certainly intimate that this could be one high value aquarium light for $500 but until the Orphek gets strapped to a real reef this side of the Pacific Ocean, we will remain cautiously optimistic about whether the Orphek will become a good choice in the LED reef lighting arena. Continue reading for many more pics and press release.
By using Orphek you will be able to achieve the best Photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) and Photosynthetically usable radiation (PUR). Basically how much of the light output is actually usable by zooxanthellae (the corals symbiotic sugar producers). Independent research has shown the Orphek Power LED arrays produce more PUR and PAR than an ‘equivalent’ metal halide or other LED arrays: Orphek Power LED system developed the most compatible custom made product in the market ,Power LED system designed with a combination of white and blue Power LEDs controlled by timer, so aquarists are able to switch from day light to moonlight, optimizing the intensity and the color spectrum 24 hours a day. Although reef aqauriums grow in saline water, Orphek , totally protected against corrosion, so it can be placed very close to the water for better light penetration.
