PAR 38 spotlights are hugely popular among the nano reef aquarium crowd, and they were probably some of the first LED fixtures people widely used. Now Orphek has decided to upsize the traditional PAR 38 spotlight with the creation of their Orphex PR72, a PAR56 spotlight. So basically think of the PR72 as a super sized spotlight for use in larger and deeper tanks were smaller spotlights might fall short. The fixtures rocks 36 LEDs and draws 70 watts of power. The color spectrum of the light is rated at 16,000K -18,000K featuring a combination of 18x Whites, 14x 450nm Blues, 2x UV/Violet, and 2x Red LED chips.
The design of the Orphek PR72 is very similar to most PAR38 bulb designs and features the classic ceramic top with a circular heat sink design, which means you’ll probably either love it or hate it. The fixture is quite massive (14.9 by 6.7 inches), but surprisingly light weight, which should make it easy to mount anywhere.
The spotlight is dimmable, but unfortunately only through a third party controller, so if you don’t happen to own one you’re out of luck. That said however, Orphek is unfortunately not the only manufacturer guilty of forgoing basic on fixture/ballast control because of third party controller integration, but it is still not our first choice.
Because of the 60 degree lenses and the general design the beam angle of the fixture is quite narrow. This is great for deeper tanks and larger tanks, but keep in mind that you rapidly loose PAR once away from the center in shallower tanks. The lenses are easily removable however, so in the latter case you could always remove the lenses for a wider spread, or you could possibly even replace them if you want to get really fancy.
Beside some concerns, the Orphek PR72 is not a bad light and should meet the needs for basic metal halide and T5 fluorescent bulb replacement. For more info on the fixture, check out the Orphek PR72 product page. The Orphek PR72 is available for sale today and retails for $379.99.
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