Truelumen pro VS ReefBrite .... Better?

[tetor]

heyy guys im thinking in add one of this led in 453nm actinic to my t5ho fixture and save some money and time change bulbs every 10 months so, i was wondering wich of this will be better?

- Truelumen pro (current usa)
- Reef Brite

i want to hear some comments before take my desicion
i want a make a good purchase
i'll apreciate your help
thanks

[wildman926]

Reef Brite's are brighter per strip than the Curren LED Pro, BUT the Reef Brites have the gaps between leds, so you have to mount them up high to over come that. I did not want that. Also, the Current has 3 colors to choose from -

12k - Bright Direct Sunlight
453nm - Deep Water Blue
Fusion - Cool White, bright white with a tint of light blue.

You can mix and match to get the color and wave length you are looking for. I am very happy that I went this route.

HERE is a thread I posted of my 80 gallon (39x21x24).

HERE is where I put them on my 110xhigh (48x18x31).

[tetor]

thanks wildman926 nice tank your corals looks happy
by this moment i think im going to use only the 453nm LED and im going to continue with atis aquablue special 12k
i just want to replace the actinics bulb for led
im still wondering wich will be the best one .. reefbrite or truelumen pro?

[wildman926]

Thank you for the compliment, the tanks have only been running 2-3 months. I am starting to fill them slowly with stock.

Just for reference to see how they 453 looks, here is a pic of my tank with the 453 on only. Very strong. You better have strong lighting to over power this, or it will be too blue, IMHO. Hope this helps.

[BigKahuna]

Originally Posted by wildman926

Reef Brite's are brighter per strip than the Curren LED Pro, BUT the Reef Brites have the gaps between leds, so you have to mount them up high to over come that.

True but the new XHO Reef Brites have 50% more LED's so there are less gaps between them to go along with the extra brightness. They are more expensive but if you want bright they are going to be tough to beat and if you are trying to add some pop that drives through the whites brightness can be critical.

[wildman926]

Originally Posted by BigKahuna

True but the new XHO Reef Brites have 50% more LED's so there are less gaps between them to go along with the extra brightness. They are more expensive but if you want bright they are going to be tough to beat and if you are trying to add some pop that drives through the whites brightness can be critical.

Yes, almost twice the price of the True Lumen. It really ends up costing the same once you start adding it up. Again, I like how you can mix it up with the True Lumen, whether you want more blue, cool white, or mid day sun. Putting them on timers will simulate the sun movement during the day. I will be doing that myself. Here is bright for you, 2- 12k, 1 - Fusion, 1- 453nm on my 110.

[rtparty]

You guys need to understand that "bright" doesn't equal PAR. The human eyes can be tricked very easily when it comes to this.

I would go with the Reef Brite stuff myself or even the new Ecoxotic Panorama PRO LED's. If the TrueLumen's are anything like other items that Current USA builds, avoid them. They will fail prematurely and not live up to the expectations.

Reef Brite setups have been around for years now and are proven.

[BigKahuna]

Originally Posted by rtparty

You guys need to understand that "bright" doesn't equal PAR. The human eyes can be tricked very easily when it comes to this.

I would go with the Reef Brite stuff myself or even the new Ecoxotic Panorama PRO LED's. If the TrueLumen's are anything like other items that Current USA builds, avoid them. They will fail prematurely and not live up to the expectations.

Reef Brite setups have been around for years now and are proven.

I agree with the PAR not being the the same as "bright" but the OP seemed more interested in supplementation for his T5's so PAR didn't seem to be the all out goal here. One more thing I would mention is that Reef Brites are capable of being the primary light source when used in multiples. I bought my first all blue one to supplement my 3x48" VHO set-up a few years back and loved it so much I scrapped the VHO's and added another 50/50 Reef Brite augmented with some PAR38's. I just ordered a new XHO 50/50 RB and a 3way bracket for them and going all Reef Brite.

It might not be the cheapest way to go but if you like to upgrade over time RB's won't kill your wallet all at once. A side note is I love the directionality of the reflectors because they keep my front glass low on algae. When I had VHO's the glass would film over quickly and need cleaning daily. I can get away with 2x's a week now because so little light is directed on the glass. Also the shimmer is pretty nice too.

[tetor]

so, looks like Reef Brite its wining...?

[wildman926]

Originally Posted by BigKahuna

One more thing I would mention is that Reef Brites are capable of being the primary light source when used in multiples.

iAlso the shimmer is pretty nice too.

That is what I am doing with the Current LEDs, if you read my posts above, and they are the sole lighting. Lots of beautiful color, everything is very happy. Four strips, 2 - 12k, 1 - Fusion, 1 - 453nm Deepwater Blue.

Everyone can say what they want, but they don't fork out the "$$" for the strips, just their "opinion", which is free...

[BigKahuna]

Originally Posted by wildman926

That is what I am doing with the Current LEDs, if you read my posts above, and they are the sole lighting. Lots of beautiful color, everything is very happy. Four strips, 2 - 12k, 1 - Fusion, 1 - 453nm Deepwater Blue.

Everyone can say what they want, but they don't fork out the "$$" for the strips, just their "opinion", which is free...

Your photos look good and you make a good case for the True Lumens but the base Reef Brites are only slightly more expensive yet give nearly 2x's the PAR. The XHO RB's are nearly 2x's the price of the True Lumens but you get probably 3x's the PAR. Premium Aquatics did a PAR comaprision in this thread:
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh....php?t=1992015

Also don't you need to buy separate power supply units for the True Lumens? All RB's come with their own PS and they are supposedly releasing a PS that allows for dimming them which might be nice.

[wildman926]

The True Lumens are configured two per power supply. They have a very small footprint, and can be laid right down on the rim of the tank. I can simulate dawn to dusk affect easily with timers or controller using the various models they have. If I want dim, i just shut off a strip or two. Why people pay all that money for nice lighting, and then want to dim is beyond me. It is just a win win for me, may not be for others.

Here is a pic of the 36' strips on my 80g(39" wide) -

[Tron_954]

Lmao

[Lacktaters]

I have three 48" reefbrite strips to supplement my 4x54w T5 fixture. I'm happy with them.