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ORPHEK OR3 Light Bar Review
Last updated on November 17th, 2023
Who is ORPHEK?
Disclaimer: As an ORPHEK Retailer, though I try to be objective, there may be a positive bias. Keep this in mind while reading the review.
ORPHEK Saltwater Aquarium Lights are among the top brands of reef tank lighting. The ORPHEK Atlantik line, is one of the strongest lights available, competing directly with the Ecotech Radion line.
ORPHEK provides a variety of aquarium lighting options, from the simple OR3 Light Bars, to the Atlantik SMART LEDs, up to the commercial grade Amazonas SMART LED line. Making ORPHEK an ideal supplier for a wide range of applications.
Additionally, ORPHEK provides Research, Reef Lighting News, Product Announcements, and more on their
ORPHEK OR3 LED Light Bar
More Light for Less Money!
The ORPHEK OR3 LED light bar is currently the lowest cost option available from ORPHEK. Don't let the price fool you though! The ORPHEK OR3 light bars provide a lot of power in a simple form factor. In fact, according to a comparison by danireef.com the ORPHEK OR3 Light Bars provide the MOST PAR for your Dollar (or euro).
This means that compared to a number of other top quality brands of saltwater aquarium lights, the ORPHEK OR3 LED Light Bar gives you the most light for your money.
Orphek OR3 Light Bars - Color/Spectrum Options
The Orphek OR3 LED Bar comes in 3 different lighting options; UV/Violet, Blue Plus, and Reef Day Plus. Each of these have their own benefits and when combine, provide a complete spectrum for your reef tank as well as an amazing florescent "POP"!
OR3 UV Violet
For SPS/LPS/Soft coral growth and Actinic fluorescent coral “pop”.
OR3 Blue Plus
For SPS/LPS/Soft coral growth and wide fluorescent coral “pop”.
OR3 Reef Day Plus
For SPS/LPS/Soft coral growth, color and illumination
Great for Supplemental or Primary Lighting
Supplemental
OR3 Light Bars are not just a primary lighting option; they can also be used to supplement other lights. The color provided by the ORPHEK OR3s make coral simply pop! The colors after adding the OR3 Blue Plus over my reef tank has made all of the corals' color deeper and more vibrant! But like many of you, I wasn't ready to replace my Ecotech Radion lights without trying them out for a while.
So I started by adding 1 OR3 Blue Plus bar, and removed an XR30 Gen 2 (WAY Outdated, I know). The difference is INCREADABLE! My Zoanthids have never looked as vibrant, and my acropora have never been as happy! Supplementing your other lights this way, much like supplementing with T5s, provides better coverage and color, without fully committing to changing all of your lights!
Primary
The OR3 Light Bar uses the same leds as the larger ORPHEK Atlantik V4 Gen2 light fixture. Meaning the output is plenty to act as a primary light for your reef tank. You will need to decide how many OR3 light bars, and which spectrum you want, however, as this is not controllable. That's not as much of a concern as many believe however. To adjust intensity, you can raise or lower the light bars. The higher they are, to lower the intensity.
How Many OR3 Bars Do I Need?
If you are using the ORPHEK OR3 LED bar for supplemental lighting, meaning you are using another form of lighting such as the Ecotech Radion or the ORPHEK Atlantik V4 light fixture, you only need one or two. Simply choose an OR3 bar that is about 12 inches shorter than your tank, in the color you want to add. The most common example would be a 4ft tank where you are looking to add more blue lights for coral coloration. This can be achieved with 1 or 2 ORPHEK OR3 90 (3ft) Blue Plus LED Bars.
If you're looking to use the low cost Orphek OR3 LED Bar as your primary light source, the real question is "how many of each OR3 do I need?". The best way to decide, is really to look at what someone else is doing! You will likely need at least 4 Orphek OR4 LED bars if this is your primary light source. You can always add more, but 4-6 led bars will likely meet all of your PAR needs.
So, to help you decide what color combination you like best, here are some images from Orphek's Gallery of reef tanks using only Orphek OR3 LED Barss
And if you're looking for even more "POP", you could add another OR3 Blue Plus or an ORPHEK OR3 UV/Violet LED Bars!
What Are You Missing?
Let's be honest, nothing is perfect. The ORPHEK OR3 Light Bars do have a few downsides, as you would expect with the lower cost. The first is that the OR3 Light Bars only provide On/Off control; much like T5s. There is no built in scheduling and it can't connect to ORPHEK's mobile app. Meaning to provide a Sunrise/Sunset, you will need to use a series of outlet timers or a reef controller such as the Neptune Apex to make it more of a SMART LED. Though this is minor to me, and many others; this can be a deal-breaker for some.
The second thing you will notice is that there is no intesity setting on the ORPHEK OR3 Light Bars. The LEDs are set at 50% to preserve the lifespan of the fixture, and it cannot be adjusted. Making the OR3 light bar even more like a modern T5 bulb. The only way to change the intensity of the OR3 light is to change the height the light bars are hung above the tank, or change the number of OR3 bars used.
Finally, we are all so accustom to changing the color spectrum of reef tank lighting with a web interface or an app. Unfortunately, the OR3 light bars do not offer this functionality. They only have the specific LEDs and cannot be changed. Meaning you will need to mix the different OR3 Light Bar color options to get the spectrum you are looking to achieve.
Conclusion
Hopefully this Orphek OR3 LED Bar Review has shined some light on a GREAT reef tank lighting option. Pun intended. If you are looking to have the output of the most expensive lighting fixtures on the market, at 2/3rd the price, the Orphek OR3 is a great option to consider. Despite not having timers, or WiFi connectivity, there are much lower cost timer solutions. In fact, a standard outlet timer is just over $5. The OR3 LED Bar is one of the Reef Stable top picks for reef tank lighting!
Recommended Articles:
- Ecotech Radion Gen 5 Review
- A Complete Guide to Saltwater Aquarium Lighting
- Why is my Coral Bleaching?
About the Author
John Krenzer
John is a Software Engineer with a passion for saltwater aquariums, as well as the founder and president of Reef Stable. He started in the aquarium hobby as a child with a 20 gallon freshwater aquarium. His interest in aquarium life grew and in 2008, John set up his first saltwater aquarium.
Today, John maintains an over 300 gallon reef tank system, consisting of a 120g reef and a 210g reef. These large tanks are contained within the same system, sharing a sump as a means to reduce total maintenance and increase total water volume.
John writes articles for the blog as a means to learn about more reef aquarium topics. These articles act as a reference for the readers as well as himself. John updates these articles frequently to provide additional information or make corrections as new information becomes available.
If you would like to request an article, tank tour article, or to collaborate, let me know via the
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