Thinking about making the switch.... (1 Viewer)

[Mark L.]

Mark, I'm running the 8 bulb ATI dimmables. Just measured them, butted end to end, they are 94" outside to outside. I just turned one of them 180 degrees so that the exhaust comes out each end. The only drawback is that you have to reach across the top of one of them with a mirror to set the time. Other than that, they are awesome. I'd say they are pretty clean looking. And the cords and cables all come out of the top so they flush mount to each other with no problem. I even attached some supplemental blue led strips for a little more blue pop.

Hmm... I like this setup. So you are running the T5 only fixture? The T5/LED combo has the power cord coming out of the end. If I go with that unit and reverse one like you did the two cords would hit each other. What LED strips did you use? I may have to come by one weekend and take a closer look at your setup.

 

[Mark L.]

BRS just released this review on the new Giesemann Verve
https://youtu.be/xK56iQ2IrYQ

Oh man. Those do look nice. Wonder how they will compare to the new Radion Pro's coming out. I'll keep these on my "maybe list" also.

 

[Mark L.]

I ran the ATI power modules for 2 years on my 700. Spent small fortune replacing all the high end bulbs.
Moved over to leds and aint movin back. The t5s may do better on smaller systems. To tell you the truth
I have seen awesome tanks on MHalides. Leds and T5s I think water chemistry may have more to do with
color than anything else. Ben s tank was awesome long before he started T5s

That is my only hangup with T5s. Buying the bulbs every 6-8 months. I'd rather not have too but it's not a deal breaker. I think I can swing it every 16 paychecks.

Really, I have also. If heat wasn't an issue I'd go MH all the way. There's just no arguing MH is the best all around for growth and color. Hell they are little pieces of the sun in every bulb!

Oh I agree. His tank looked great. I just need more coral in my tank so you can't see the undersides. LOL

 

[steveb]

If heat wasn't an issue I'd go MH all the way. There's just no arguing MH is the best all around for growth and color. Hell they are little pieces of the sun in every bulb!

mmmm... stepping away from the dark side you should Mark...

 

[webster1234]

Hmm... I like this setup. So you are running the T5 only fixture? The T5/LED combo has the power cord coming out of the end. If I go with that unit and reverse one like you did the two cords would hit each other. What LED strips did you use? I may have to come by one weekend and take a closer look at your setup.

I am running the T5 only fixture. The LEDs I added are the Current USA TruLumen blue strip lights. They are for color only. I don't expect any growth from them. But they are dimmable with a controller so it augments the sunrise/sunset effect. As far as replacing bulbs every 6 months, I found that I got almost 12 months out of mine. I can tell when the bulbs are getting weak because my elegance really starts stretching towards the light. That was at about month 10. I'm guessing, because of the dimmable fixture, I am only running the bulbs at 100% for maybe 2 hrs a day. The rest of the time is either ramping up or ramping down. So maybe that helps the life a little. You can see how close you can mount them though.

 

[FarmerTy]

Webster,

I know nothing of ATI fixtures since I've never owned one myself but wanted to pass along the information just in case it was applicable to your setup. I have a buddy that had two ATI powermodules and he mounted two of his fixtures very close together and they kept overheating. When he called up tech support at ATI, they told him to flip one of his fixtures around so it's not blowing the hot air from one of the side vents into the other fixture. Not sure if that only applies to the powermodules but wanted to mention just in case.

 

[webster1234]

Yea, I noticed that could be an issue when I got them due to the end exhaust. I did just that, flipped one 180 degrees and it works perfectly. Thanks for the heads up though.

 

[Mark L.]

Heck I may go with the T5/LED combo unit and still add the Trulumen strips like you did James. That is kind of cool looking and would give me more blue LED. It all rides on what Ecotech comes out with. I think I can wait a couple months.

 

[reeftopia]

Running leds and t5s in the same fixture can be very cool in that its such a neater look.
From a maintenance standpoint it can become a nightmare if either side fails. Even under
warranty, shipping and repairs can darken a large area of your tank.

 

[PSXerholic]

That is my only hangup with T5s. Buying the bulbs every 6-8 months. I'd rather not have too but it's not a deal breaker. I think I can swing it every 16 paychecks.

Really, I have also. If heat wasn't an issue I'd go MH all the way. There's just no arguing MH is the best all around for growth and color. Hell they are little pieces of the sun in every bulb!

Oh I agree. His tank looked great. I just need more coral in my tank so you can't see the undersides. LOL

Mark,

honestly the MH I run is great for growth, but disappointing in color effect.
So I installed T5 in addition but being limited to 4 bulbs, I can not mix that much but it makes a big difference.
Then I installed additional LED's and that makes somewhat the pop.
However, while MH is running, there is not much of the LED effect to see !!!

-Andre

 

[i_am_poor]

I am running the T5 only fixture. The LEDs I added are the Current USA TruLumen blue strip lights. They are for color only. I don't expect any growth from them. But they are dimmable with a controller so it augments the sunrise/sunset effect. As far as replacing bulbs every 6 months, I found that I got almost 12 months out of mine. I can tell when the bulbs are getting weak because my elegance really starts stretching towards the light. That was at about month 10. I'm guessing, because of the dimmable fixture, I am only running the bulbs at 100% for maybe 2 hrs a day. The rest of the time is either ramping up or ramping down. So maybe that helps the life a little. You can see how close you can mount them though.

Which dimmer do you use exactly? And are you happy with the Trulumen strips or would you prefer to upgrade to Reefbrite?

 

[webster1234]

Current USA makes a dimmer called Ramp Timer Pro that will dim 2 channels. You have to buy a bigger transformer to run 4 strips so keep that in mind if you go with 4 strips. I like these because they are sleek and not very expensive relative to the Reefbrite. The Reefbrite looks like it has a little more wattage (37w vs. 30w) but in person, I didn't like how big they were. Besides, I was just looking for a little blue pop and wasn't looking for any growth out of them. I just wanted that 450nm blue that you can't get from the T5s.

 

[webster1234]

Running leds and t5s in the same fixture can be very cool in that its such a neater look.
From a maintenance standpoint it can become a nightmare if either side fails. Even under
warranty, shipping and repairs can darken a large area of your tank.

That is one of the reasons I suspended the lights from that big steel bar instead of individually. If one of the fixtures were to have to go in for warranty, I could slide the other to the middle of the tank and at least keep everything lit and alive.