Aqua Illumination and Profilux Controller – Tutorial/Review
- Thread starter cerreta
- Start date
Mmckibben
New member
It's only a 12 in light on a 36 gallon corner bow, it seemed to barely cover the 14 gallon you have. Should I get some other light to fill the gaps? Basically I just want to know what you would recommend I should to cover an area about 2' by 1' that's 20" deep for under $700. I'd also like a clam or two.
Sorry about the gazzillion question, and thanks for the help, Mike
:lolspin::fun2::dance:
Sorry about the gazzillion question, and thanks for the help, Mike
:lolspin::fun2::dance:moondoggy4
Team RC
Very nice I went to the Reef-A-Palozza show last Oct at the OC Fairgrounds and I meet the owner of the AI lights. Very nice lights, I have a 120 gallon tank toyed with the idea of getting 3 heads. Nice read.
cerreta
Premium Member
The Profilux comes with a controller and teh socket bar. You will get both. The socket bar connects to teh controller and you can plug up to 6 items into it. I paid $500 for the base model and a bit more for the USB port and Water leveler switch.
They have teh new Profilux III out now and you should consider it. I am upgrading to it as soon as its available.
That tank will be fine for the AI unit. However, like any other light, strategically place high light demanding corals directly under teh lamp.
Cheers,
Scott
They have teh new Profilux III out now and you should consider it. I am upgrading to it as soon as its available.
That tank will be fine for the AI unit. However, like any other light, strategically place high light demanding corals directly under teh lamp.
Cheers,
Scott
plankton99
New member
Mmckibben
New member
From what I can tell, the aquaillumination only has one socket, so how would you control the blue and white leds on different light channels. I ask this because I've been looking around, and the Maxspect has a fixture that covers more area, and you can replace the bulbs, rather than the full fixture. If you could change the bulbs, you could buy crees, and have outstanding output for $150; rather than $600 for one of the aquaillumination units. It has White leds, and blue leds placed on one plug, so I wasn't sure if you could control both on two different channels. The good news is it's equal to a 150W metal halide, and only cost $290. Thanks for your help.
bluetang22
New member
please explain what is a interface to control pump and lighting for example Digital Aquatics come with controlable outlet or SL control all probes, i own one of these myself, i like Proflux and Pacific sun due to full control lighting which included moonphase stimulation, and also where to buy Proflux-II.
bluetang22
New member
sorry i found GHL website
cerreta
Premium Member
mckibben, on ski trip. getting yelled at. so more later. but please post a link to the LED you are reffering too. I will check it out.
In short, I don;t see the point in buying an LED system that does not enable you to control the LED lights individually. You might as well buy MH which has proven technology.
AI is just releasing a new system with greater spread spectrum and intensity that matches a 400w MH. Its hard to beat that! Plus you get all the control. By the time you buy yours, then rreplaces the LEDs (not to mention a power supply or any other components necessary) your cost will be around $450 and you still have no control over independent colors. So again, I don;t see the point.
LEDs are all about the control!!!! And to get it you have to use a Profilux or Elite controller to even get it.
more later
In short, I don;t see the point in buying an LED system that does not enable you to control the LED lights individually. You might as well buy MH which has proven technology.
AI is just releasing a new system with greater spread spectrum and intensity that matches a 400w MH. Its hard to beat that! Plus you get all the control. By the time you buy yours, then rreplaces the LEDs (not to mention a power supply or any other components necessary) your cost will be around $450 and you still have no control over independent colors. So again, I don;t see the point.
LEDs are all about the control!!!! And to get it you have to use a Profilux or Elite controller to even get it.
more later
FranktheTankTx
New member
So the RKL does NOT control the AI LED?
Mmckibben
New member
There's three posts about this product on reef central, so just go to search, and type in Maxspect.
It says you can control when each color comes on, but not the out put. From what I can tell, each channel on the profilux is controlled via power socket, so how do you control two colors, like in your video? I plan to purchase anything in May, so take your time.
It says you can control when each color comes on, but not the out put. From what I can tell, each channel on the profilux is controlled via power socket, so how do you control two colors, like in your video? I plan to purchase anything in May, so take your time.
cerreta
Premium Member
Frank, only the RK Elite can control the AI unit. However, you still have to buy an external module. Furthermore, I don't think you can get teh same level of independant control of blue and white LEDs. If you can't then I really dont see the point. The standard AI controller will do lunar, and sunrise /sunset. If that is all you get from RKE, then I would pass. You will have to contact DA for this. I do not know that product line very well.
McKibben, the AI unit connects to the Profilux through a serial port. This cable can carry 9 wires. I do not think all pins are used. This is how the Blue and white LEDs can be separately controlled. The Profilux powerbar has nothing to do with the AI unit. In fact, the powerbar is only used to control 110volt devices, like ATO pump, heater, powerheads, etc. The Tunze pumps I use and the AI unit are plugged into a standard wall socket. Then, the Tunze pumps and AI unit are controlled by the Profilux through special low voltage cables and special ports, not the POWERBAR. Hope this helps.
Thanks for the link to the Maxspect. I did some reading and reviews of those threads, plus I looked at the Maxspect website.
I am impressed with the packaging and quality of the modular system and power supply. In fact, for the price I do agree that this is probably the best system when comparing to other DIY LED arrays or those cheap ebay LED banks on a plastic board. Most of those use crappy 1 watt LEDs which have no business on a reef tank. The 3 watt LEDs are a must, but the Maxspect has many limitations.
I would love to have one of the Maxspect systems to to with and do some LUX and PAR measurements, but I don't. So, the following information is simply speculation, but worth considering:
1. LUX and PAR measurements are good directly under the Maxspect LED system, but I did not see any recordings for the angles. This is one of the major limitations of LED systems. Light intensity is gfood directly under the LED lamp, but very poor at the angles. The Maxspect LED array arranges BLUE and WHITE LEDs equally around the array and none use a lens. The AI system has 2 White and 1 Blue LED under a single lens. Without a lens, the LEDs cannot spread the light around a reef tank.
2. Maxspect system has no stock controller or compatibility with any other controller. Again, I argue that LEDs are still an unproven technology. I never would have bought an LED system if I could not controll the hell out if it. I would rather own a MH system and put it on a simple timer then an LED system for the same money that is not proven to grow coral. I simply don;t see the point of owning the Maxspect LED. All you get is an LED light with no more controll than a MH. It sost about the same, and you don;t know if coral will grow under it. Especially without a lens, the LEDs may look good in the tank, but won't perform good. Unless, you stack al lthe coral directly under the LED, I doubt it will grow coral in your larger reef tank.
3. Reliability and customer service. You definately pay more for Profilux and AI, but you get a lot more. You get full controll of the LED system and great customer service. You simply won't get this support from an oversees company that sels the Maxspect.
Examples: The new AI LED module is now available. They use a better lens that promises a much greater spread spectrum and light intensity that compares with a 400watt MH system. I contacted them for an upgrade for my older unit and they said they wil lbe made available in March, for a very reasonable upgrade price. The new version also uses that Cree lamp that you were referring to earlier.
Profilux also listens to its customers. I should be getting the PIII upgrade next week ( I will do a full report on it) for a fair upgrade price. But, the best thing about the Profilux is free software upgrades. I don't know if some of the new upgrades were because of me (I'm sure other customers requested the same things) but, they are in tune with their customers. I had complained about the Tunze pump intervals being lame. The adjustments were in 0.1 second increments. On da Artsy Cube, I use two Tunze pumps in wave mode. The ideal wave frequency is between .6 and .7 seconds. Well, the new software version came out and offered changes in 0.01 intervals. So, now the waves are perfectly tuned at 0.66seconds. The second major software change was related to the AI light. The Profilux offers a storm mode that flashes the LED system as in a thunderstorm. However, it was lame. You could select days of the week and the time you wanted the storm. So, I had storms at 2pm on three days of the week. Like nature really works like that. So, I argued that storms should occur at random times with random durations. Viola, I don't know if it was me (doubtful) but they offered a fix for it. Now, storms are available at random times and durations and you select how frequently they occur. So, storms may even occur in the middle of the night, when no one is around to see it.
I go on this tangent to demonstrate what you really get when you pay more. I have never recieved this level of customer support before on any product in the hobby. These two companies excel in customer service. Tunze is very good too, but they never offered software upgrades for my complaints on thier product limitations. Profilux and AI listen to thier customers.
McKibben, the AI unit connects to the Profilux through a serial port. This cable can carry 9 wires. I do not think all pins are used. This is how the Blue and white LEDs can be separately controlled. The Profilux powerbar has nothing to do with the AI unit. In fact, the powerbar is only used to control 110volt devices, like ATO pump, heater, powerheads, etc. The Tunze pumps I use and the AI unit are plugged into a standard wall socket. Then, the Tunze pumps and AI unit are controlled by the Profilux through special low voltage cables and special ports, not the POWERBAR. Hope this helps.
Thanks for the link to the Maxspect. I did some reading and reviews of those threads, plus I looked at the Maxspect website.
I am impressed with the packaging and quality of the modular system and power supply. In fact, for the price I do agree that this is probably the best system when comparing to other DIY LED arrays or those cheap ebay LED banks on a plastic board. Most of those use crappy 1 watt LEDs which have no business on a reef tank. The 3 watt LEDs are a must, but the Maxspect has many limitations.
I would love to have one of the Maxspect systems to to with and do some LUX and PAR measurements, but I don't. So, the following information is simply speculation, but worth considering:
1. LUX and PAR measurements are good directly under the Maxspect LED system, but I did not see any recordings for the angles. This is one of the major limitations of LED systems. Light intensity is gfood directly under the LED lamp, but very poor at the angles. The Maxspect LED array arranges BLUE and WHITE LEDs equally around the array and none use a lens. The AI system has 2 White and 1 Blue LED under a single lens. Without a lens, the LEDs cannot spread the light around a reef tank.
2. Maxspect system has no stock controller or compatibility with any other controller. Again, I argue that LEDs are still an unproven technology. I never would have bought an LED system if I could not controll the hell out if it. I would rather own a MH system and put it on a simple timer then an LED system for the same money that is not proven to grow coral. I simply don;t see the point of owning the Maxspect LED. All you get is an LED light with no more controll than a MH. It sost about the same, and you don;t know if coral will grow under it. Especially without a lens, the LEDs may look good in the tank, but won't perform good. Unless, you stack al lthe coral directly under the LED, I doubt it will grow coral in your larger reef tank.
3. Reliability and customer service. You definately pay more for Profilux and AI, but you get a lot more. You get full controll of the LED system and great customer service. You simply won't get this support from an oversees company that sels the Maxspect.
Examples: The new AI LED module is now available. They use a better lens that promises a much greater spread spectrum and light intensity that compares with a 400watt MH system. I contacted them for an upgrade for my older unit and they said they wil lbe made available in March, for a very reasonable upgrade price. The new version also uses that Cree lamp that you were referring to earlier.
Profilux also listens to its customers. I should be getting the PIII upgrade next week ( I will do a full report on it) for a fair upgrade price. But, the best thing about the Profilux is free software upgrades. I don't know if some of the new upgrades were because of me (I'm sure other customers requested the same things) but, they are in tune with their customers. I had complained about the Tunze pump intervals being lame. The adjustments were in 0.1 second increments. On da Artsy Cube, I use two Tunze pumps in wave mode. The ideal wave frequency is between .6 and .7 seconds. Well, the new software version came out and offered changes in 0.01 intervals. So, now the waves are perfectly tuned at 0.66seconds. The second major software change was related to the AI light. The Profilux offers a storm mode that flashes the LED system as in a thunderstorm. However, it was lame. You could select days of the week and the time you wanted the storm. So, I had storms at 2pm on three days of the week. Like nature really works like that. So, I argued that storms should occur at random times with random durations. Viola, I don't know if it was me (doubtful) but they offered a fix for it. Now, storms are available at random times and durations and you select how frequently they occur. So, storms may even occur in the middle of the night, when no one is around to see it.
I go on this tangent to demonstrate what you really get when you pay more. I have never recieved this level of customer support before on any product in the hobby. These two companies excel in customer service. Tunze is very good too, but they never offered software upgrades for my complaints on thier product limitations. Profilux and AI listen to thier customers.
Mmckibben
New member
Do you know the optics used, or angle that the Aqua Illumination has. I'm going to do a DIY Led instead of a fixture. I plan to buy 20 of the Cree XP-G, and 12 Royal blue Cree XR-E. It's the same system, but there's 4 more white LEDs, 2 more blue, but no fancy cover. That would give me the light coverage I need, for only $400. I can connect the blue and white LEDs on different channels. The only problem is the Cree XP-G data sheet says it has a light output angle of 120 degrees. So if you can give me the optics on the Aqua Illumination, or a rough estimate of the viewing angle. Thanks
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