Reef Factory Reef Flare Pro M Blue Spectrum Review

This is my detailed review of the Reef Factory Reef Flare Pro M Blue Spectrum reef tank LED light! I've had the Reef Flares up and running for 3 weeks as at the date of this review, and I've had the Full Spectrum Reef Flare on my 2nd tank for the last 18 months.
Here's my review of the Reef Flare Full Spectrum - • Reef Factory Reef Flar...
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0:00 Intro & disclaimer
0:41 What are the Reef Flare Blues?
1:08 Build quality and design
3:40 PAR and colour
8:11 Shimmer
8:45 Practicalities and features
10:42 5 things I like
12:24 5 things I don't like
13:46 Final verdict
14:25 Outtakes

[@kalamazoo_reefer]

I’d rather watch your reviews of new products than Thomas at BRS. Not a knock against him, but yours are both quite professional and much more relaxed - definitely my speed. Plus, you strike me as a straight up guy, so even if the product is provided to you, I feel you’re being level and honest with your audience. Hope more companies start regularly sending you products to test out.

[@ReefDorkXtra]

Thank you, I really appreciate that - I put a lot of work into making this video balanced and open 🙂

[@FoolOfATuque]

Honestly I don’t trust BRS anymore. There’s too many conflicts of interest with them now since the company that owns them also owns AI, EcoTech, and Neptune systems.

[@darylbaer355]

I couldn’t agree with you more @bimmerboy1989. In the recent BRS videos you can see the frustration on Ryan’s face when his guest answers his questions in a way that isn’t promoting the AI blade or other new products. It really is plain as day.

[@AnyFinAquariumMaintenance]

Mate - what a belter of a product vid...imagine trying to get 1% of that info out of most lfs when it's buying lights time- it's not just the specs reefers like me crave but the actual day-to-day 'living with' honest pros & cons - there's nothing worse than getting a spendy bit of kit home to then only discover it's faults and foibles... brs' granular detail vids are okay to get yer geek on to but are at times dryer than the Sahara desert... i think this hobby (obsession?) could definitely benefit greatly from the honestly this video wholeheartedly demonstrates... bang-on fella👍

[@ReefDorkXtra]

Thanks buddy 🙂

[@jaysrealreefuk]

Dare I say it, these sound like a keeper 😂😬. Great video, a thorough and detailed review - these look an impressive option 👍

[@ReefDorkXtra]

Let's see 😁

[@MrCav35]

I've got the Pro Blue S over my tank and love it. Way nicer colour and spread than my old AI Prime 16 HD.

[@BgDve]

I love the bloopers bits

[@EmadKhashibunchanel]

Another great video

[@acuariomarino5075]

Nice video 👏🏻

[@spicyreef]

I think ur right, I never noticed that wall paper as much as I do in this vid. They make colored plastic "paper" you can squeegee onto the back of your tank... it's all a personal preference...

[@user-bq2ky5ix3m]

When I grow up I want to be like Reef Dork. Your Reef is amazing, I would be so relaxed watching that all night.🤤

[@ozzman31982]

Can you do a tank coral livestock tour, bonus points if you give us some insight on what each coral likes in your experience. That's a hell of a tank, first time I'm seeing it. I listen mostly

[@NicksReef213]

Great video as usual Alex. I really enjoyed your balanced review.. Also I can't wait for your next light review in 3 months time 😂. That tropic thunder is gobbling up its neighbours again I see.. kill it with 🔥 this time round ☠️. I really appreciate your content. Keep up the great work

[@J_ellis709]

The 'king of lights' has done it again, lol!! Your coral have a real pop!

[@Pontiuspilate666]

Have you had any problems with the app? Frag ox corals and some other people have been saying they have some problems with it. Thanks for the video, this is the best bang for my buck light i have found.

[@ReefDorkXtra]

I saw the Frag Box video on the lights coming on in the middle of the night and checked mine (the app records when the light is on). Mine was fine. Reef Factory has updated the app recently and I think they've made it worse. It's still very good but it's a bit more messy now. I went through a spell about 6 months ago when the app was giving me problems - wouldn't connect to some of my dosing pumps intermittently for example. I think that issue was quite widespread and went on for a while so pissed a lot of people off! I still like the app but they need to pull their finger out. Build quality on their newer devices is better than before too but still not as good as I'd like (except for the lights which are solid). I'm less excited by new stuff from them now than I used to be so I think they've got work to do.

[@leem7924]

Great video 👌🏼.. Off subject, have you scratched your Peninsula tank using an algae scraper before? I got a Tunze Magnet Strong great bit of kit, but managed to get a bit of what I believe a vermitide snail between the scraper and the glass and got a very slight scratch in my Red Sea Reefer 425XL 😢

[@ReefDorkXtra]

Ah, gutted. I have a 1 inch scratch on it somewhere but I don't know how that happened - probs the magnet but I didn't notice at the time...

[@leem7924]

@@ReefDorkXtra yeah so annoyed not one scratch for 14 months then yeah oops .. luckily it’s not obvious 👌🏼

[@ricardopimenta2668]

With those lights is it possible to have them near the water surface to avoid light spill, I have stratons now but with the sofa near the aquarium I had to make a DIY shade to be able to view the aquarium when I'm sitted on the sofa. Would like to have a light I could install near the surface even if I had to lower their intensity.

[@ReefDorkXtra]

It's totally possible, it's just that they're better raised up because of the angle of the reflectors. RF recommended a 12 inch mounting height. 8-10 inches will be fine but anything less than that and I'd personally get a Radion G6 which is designed to sit closer to the water. The RF will still do the job at low height, but you'll get much worse spread.

[@davideamer8617]

Evening, good video 👌 question do you have a par meter or was this hired from a LFS ?? If it's yours can I hire off you as I live local 😂 need one to test mine as I've had some zoas melt on me

[@ReefDorkXtra]

It's mine - Seneye Reef but I don't hire it out I'm afraid! You can buy them on eBay quite cheap then sell them after you've finished and you'll only lose a few quid that you can think of as a hiring fee!

[@airtoulei9872]

Dude, i really love your vidéos... Thanks a lot! I Saw you have the same pro S full spectrum as me. Only 1 of this light in my45 gal reef tank ! Really love that! Please could you share me your best settings for the only one reef flare pro S full spectrum ? Please please 🙏 thanks my Friend

[@ReefDorkXtra]

Will do - I've scheduled the video for this Friday 🙂

[@airtoulei9872]

@@ReefDorkXtra you mean it will be online this next friday? Sorry for my english

[@ReefDorkXtra]

@@airtoulei9872 Yes, 12th May

[@davechippendale8998]

Alex, your DT looks fantastic, yet you change lights so often, how does this work when I am constantly reading that stability is the key?

[@ReefDorkXtra]

I actually don't change lights as often as it seems! I've regularly added supplemental lights or tweaked some of my setup, but a full change like this is relatively infrequent. But really the answer is because light is only one piece of the puzzle, and my water chemistry is very stable, the tank is established and settled and I've nailed other key areas like flow.

[@ozzman31982]

If you had to do it again would you get the full spectrum or stick to the blue?

[@ReefDorkXtra]

I can't make my mind up on that! I think ideally I'd have 2 of each for the best of both worlds. And I did expect to be able to get the white looking the same as the FS before I got these. So I think I'd recommend the FS to most people as it's a better allrounder.

[@rolisreefranch]

How’s the light spill compared to your previous setup?

[@ReefDorkXtra]

Hmm, can't say I've noticed on either setup but only cos I don't tend to pay attention to that! Given how high they were both raised, a normal person would probably notice the spill!

[@MarkThor_11]

Maybe you should have 2 full spectrum and 2 blue

[@ElementEWFW]

Why do you think that we dont see comparisons between this light to other big brands?

[@ReefDorkXtra]

They've only just made it to the US recently so I suspect BRS will pick them up soon. Lighting is already a pretty crowded market...

[@russelmuldowney8736]

Thought you were done changing lights

[@ReefDorkXtra]

NEVER! 😅

[@Sammy31Dee]

Bro buy some neptune skys and quit playing games with your lighting every 3 months....you keep trying these booger leds

[@PhongHuynh0981314893]

with all your money paid for that vers of led i can go with 2 metal, 2 t5, 2 led bar for supliment, and money enough for buy metal bulb replace for next 10 years. with metal you cant go wrong. change led every year is so much expensive.

[@BlazedReefer]

Another great video