OR3 120 Blue Sky LED, PAR measures, Euro per watt value by DaniReef LAB

Our OR3 Blue Sky LED Bar has already became the must have product among reefers and today it is also the best value per watt according to Danireef blog.

Danireef blog is the greatest Italian source for reefers in Europe and for our surprise and excitement has published recently a long article with an extensive review of our OR3 120 Blue Sky LED Reef Bar, offering a lot of technical information and performance of our newest product and what is really interesting is to check out the extensive PAR measurements results.

He also compares our newest launch to other Orphek OR3 120 LED Bars (OR3 120 Blue Plus ,OR3 120 Reef Day ).

Table of comparison EURO X Watt

*Pls. notice that the given prices of our OR3 120 Blue Sky have slight change for less.

As Danilio Ronchi explains:

“As we have already said for the OR2 Reef Day Plus and Blue Plus sisters , the LED bar is simply impeccably built. Solid, massive and very well assembled. I really like the extruded profiles as well as the finish. No programming ensures perfect simplicity of operation, moreover, several can be placed side by side until the required power is obtained. In this context, the measured PARs must be thought of, since the comparison with a ceiling light is rather merciless...

…But already if we consider the total energy the accounts begin to add up, even considering that the light adds up. So the bars are perfect for growing any coral, the important thing is to put a sufficient number of them alongside. Do you want to double the PAR? Put two of them side by side, do you want to quadruple them? Place 4 of them side by side, and so on. Personally I think that 4 LED bars should be able to get us to about 600 PAR in an average aquarium, variable according to the depth…

And he continues

“The cost per watt is incredibly low, the lowest of all those we have measured, while on the PAR per watt we need to have other bars available, in this case blue, before expressing ourselves. What else to ask from an LED bar?”

Best reef aquarium LED bar 2020 — Credit: Danireef Blog

Want more?

Continuing today’s post we have more exciting videos, photos, graphs, information with all you need to know about our newest launch the OR3 Blue Sky 120 and more Orphek OR3 LED Bars according Danireef LAB.

Unboxing Video

First we have the unboxing video where you will be able to see how your OR3 Blue Sky 120 LED bar will arrive to you.

If you speak Italian you will also be able to have a complete review of the product, a comparison to other OR3 models, PAR measures and his opinion on the product, since he is both an experienced reefer and engineer.

For non Italian speakers we extracted some of his opinions from the article that came with the video:

“The new LED bar of the very successful OR3 series is born with only two types of LEDs, 450 and 470 nanometers…The external aluminum finish works as a passive heatsink, and given the weight and volume of the aluminum we are sure that these LED bars will never have overheating problems. the assembly is practically perfect…The bars are, like the previous OR2, beautiful, solid and appear very well made…” (extracted from Danireef blog)

Let’s get to it!! THE PAR MEASURES:

DaniReef LAB working method for PAR measurement:

The Quantum Meter MQ-510 measuring the PAR , expressed in PFFD or density photosynthetic photon flux ( photosynthetic photon flux density ) in mol m-2 s-1.

Instrument was calibrated to work underwater, so when used in air the measured value must be divided by 1.32 which is the immersion factor.

Since measures were taken with no water the conversion was necessary, but the numbers and results that you will see will always be the correct ones.

In order to test our OR3 120 Blue Sky LED Bar they built a 70 × 70 cm base, with 17 points marked where to place the sensor of the Quantum Meter MQ-510.

The position the ceiling light – 20, 40 and 60 cm heights.

In total the three measurements were taken at 17, 37 and 57 cm away in the air and the corrective factor was applied.

So, with no further due let’s get these results!!

The measurement of PAR at a distance of 17 cm:

Danilo Ronchi from Danireef blog explains “As you can see, the bar creates a curve that looks like a curtain, with the spatial differences due to the type of LED used. Unlike classic ceiling lights, therefore the decay is very linear, being about 20 cm from the light source.”

Let’s see the differences with the graphs of the LED bars that they have already tested with the same scale:

The measurement of PAR at a distance of 37 cm:

Danilo compare results – “Again, as was obvious and reasonable to expect, the Blue Sky bar shows a greater number of PARs. The difference between the three ceiling lights in this case seems to be quite high.”

And finally, the measurement of PAR at a distance of 57 cm:

“By further increasing the space between the ceiling light and the sensor, the difference between the PAR measured at the center and at the edges does not decrease as we would have expected but returns to increase. Uniformity is practically perfect...

…The central value still decreases from 488 to 240 to 151 μmol m-2 s-1…The comparison between the three bars increases even more, much in the center, more than we would have expected, while at the edges the difference is minimal.” Explains Danilo.

So, as you all can see the performance of our OR3 Blue Sky is outstanding!

He gives a little more data that we find important to share with you!

The PAR in the center in the different configurations:

PAR measured from center - OR3 Blue Sky LED Bar — PAR measured from center – OR3 Blue Sky LED Bar

Energy variation of the Orphek OR3 Blue Sky LED bars based on distance:

“In my opinion, this is the most significant data among those measured, and the most comparable. The energy variation. The volumes subtended by the three surfaces you have seen previously have been calculated. Because it is obvious that moving away from the ceiling light the PAR values decrease, but they also decrease because the light illuminates a larger space...

…In this way we try to take into account all the light energy contained in the hypothetical square of 60 cm subtended by the ceiling light. And we see that the three values 318,000, 220,000 and 205,000 take on a different connotation with respect to the values measured in the center...

…When the former drop a lot because the distances increase, the underlying area, that is the energy, decreases very slowly. The differences between the three areas is very low indeed. Little energy is sent out of the underlying area.

In fact, looking at the values of the three curves we see that at the edges there is much more light at 57 cm than at 37.”

Consumption

“Orphek OR3 Blue Sky ceiling light : 62.04 watts . Considering that at 17 cm the ceiling light develops 488 μmol m-2 s-1 in the center, it can be said, in perspective, that it has a peak value of 7.86 μmol m-2 s-1 w-1 (PAR per watt ). This value is difficult to compare with a ceiling light because it is more or less constant along its entire length...

…The detection of the instantaneous consumption has been made possible thanks to the use of the handy RCE PM600 instrument which is also able to measure the Cos (fi) (or phase shift ). The result is given directly in watts”.

How to evaluate these numbers in the aquarium?

“Then we filled an aquarium with water, immersed the probe and redid some measurements. This has blown us away, but, as we have already said in previous articles, we will talk about it in a future in-depth article, which we will not fail to link below…”

We hope to see this article soon!

As he continues:

“In practice, while at 20 cm the result is practically coincident, as you immerse yourself, thanks to the glasses that reflect the light, and to the water itself that diffuses it more, you can find values that are even double compared to those measured in air.

…Obviously this is not a detail that can be standardized, so we believe that our calculation method is the most correct, and the best for comparing the coverage of different ceiling lights.”

We will keep you posted, meanwhile…

Orphek OR3 Reef Aquarium LED Bars combined with other brands and other Orphek LED Lighting solutions:

Great posts you might have missed about the OR3

Orphek OR LED Bar highest economic efficiency in the market (euro per watt)!

*Pls notice that OR3 Reef Aquarium LED Bars is an improved version of the OR2, but these articles with OR2 are worth checking because it says a lot about the current product!

The Best 2020 Reef Aquarium LED Bar with Dual core 5Watt !

ABOUT OR3 – 2020

Our new model OR3 – 2020 comes with NEW LEDs! Orphek is worldwide recognized by being the leader in LED Aquarium lighting solutions capable of delivering products that provide perfect intensity/efficiency.

What does it mean?

It means you are getting the same LEDs we are offering in our Atlantik V4 fixtures! It means you are getting new customized high efficiency 5w Dual-Chip power LEDs that are even more technologically advanced, therefore more efficient!

Our new LEDs will last longer than the previous Orphek LEDs because we have improved its life span!! Running at 50% our new 2020 model 5w Dual-Chip advanced LEDs are more resistant to higher heat and it offers the highest PAR longevity with really minimum loss over the years.

Not only that, we have also improved internal lens to make sure you are getting the best Orphek LEDs!

If you wish to read about/buy our Orphek Universal Fixing Bracket Kit:

New Orphek Product Launch – Universal Fixing Bracket Kit
Universal Fixing Bracket Kit (Product Page)

If you wish to read about/buy our Orphek Coral Reef Aquarium Lens Kit:

Thank you Danireef for sharing your passion for the hobby and for Orphek products with all of us!

*All photos taken from Danireef blog were borrowed and proudly published here.

*Excerpts were taken from the original article found at The new Orphek OR3 Blue Sky LED bars in the DaniReef LAB – review published in Danireef blog in June, 8th, 2021. original is written in Italian and it was google translated.

OR3 120 Blue Sky LED, PAR measures, Euro per watt value by DaniReef LAB