Bill, did you decide on a light yet? I have been eyeing lights for the new build as well and I also came across the orphek via brs review.
Price wise, orphek and ecotech appear to be in the same ballpark give or take a couple of hundred dollars.
The variety of bulbs to cover more of the spectrum seems pretty nice as well! Though ... not sure if that should be a make or break factor if I stick with a hybrid system of leds and t5s...
I'm not too concerned about the shadowing effect with radions because the t5s will take care of that. And if I ditch the t5s, then I'll end up adding more radions to cover the tank front to back anyway, so shouldn't be a huge deal.
My biggest hesitation in "trying out" these $900 lamps, is the reviews regarding support. Ecotech support is top notch ... I've been reading some not so positive reviews about Orphek support. I'll try to get a hold of their distributor and try to get a sense how things will be if I decide to go that route. Basically arrogance test and market knowledge test .. if he is down to earth, knowledgeable, helpful, and willing to go the extra mile for customers, I'll feel far more comfortable making the investment..
Do keep us posted on which way you decide to go .. I think I am about a month or so out from setting up my tank.
- Archit
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