rtparty
Raise The Reef!
Have you ever replaced a ballast in an ATI or seen it done?
Ati dimmable or non dimmable
- Thread starter btb72
- Start date
Have you ever replaced a ballast in an ATI or seen it done?
codydemmel4
Active member
yes i bought mine used with a broken ballast. look it up on youtube, took less then 20 minutes.
rtparty
Raise The Reef!
Man the one I did was way tougher. Cables weren't long enough and it turned into a major gut job to fix it. Like 3-4 hours for one ballast.
Glad yours was easier. Mine was probably 6 years ago though. Maybe they figured out to leave a little more slack
The one I fixed could have been a Powermodule as well. Definitely not easy or quick
codydemmel4
Active member
yeah that might have been a powermodule, mine was just as easy as it shows in youtube. I was skeptical of it being as easy as it shows or a lot of people said, but mine really was.
HuskerBioProf
New member
I run a 24" 6 bulb ATI dimmable on my 40 Breeder. It is plenty of light. I have "lower light" SPS on the edges-- i.e. birdsnest and monti and staghorn acropora. I also have 2 reefbrite strips.
btb72
New member
How high above your tank are your lights?
#1 reason right here.
rtparty
Raise The Reef!
Except the standard Sunpower only has one cable coming from the fixture as well. The others are easily hidden and keeps everything clean as well...
Myka
Reefing since '93
I like dimmable because of one cord, built-in timer, controlled fans, auto dim of the bulbs if the fans aren't working, and also if you have low nutrient issues you can reduce the light intensity. I also like the fade on and fade off.
I bought my fixture used, I think it was 2 years old. I've had it a year and a half. I just replaced a ballast last week. I had one on hand since there are so many rumors. Haha. So it was CAD$80 and about 20 minutes. It was really easy, and would not be a reason to not buy these fixtures. I would buy one again.
Fwiw, I just tested PAR on the weekend. 4x Blue+, 1x ABS, 1x Coral+. Water surface PAR is 1030 (4" off water), and sand is 250 (19.5" below water surface). My highest Acros are 5" underwater and getting PAR around 500. For a 40B you're not going to have anything under 300-350 without dimming.
One nice thing with the built-in timer, you could run CH1 for dusk/dawn and then when CH2 comes on you can have CH1 turn off and run 4 bulbs for peak instead of all 6. You could do this with an aquarium controller with the non-dimmable too. Anything that's digital anyway so the timing would be lined up.
I bought my fixture used, I think it was 2 years old. I've had it a year and a half. I just replaced a ballast last week. I had one on hand since there are so many rumors. Haha. So it was CAD$80 and about 20 minutes. It was really easy, and would not be a reason to not buy these fixtures. I would buy one again.
Fwiw, I just tested PAR on the weekend. 4x Blue+, 1x ABS, 1x Coral+. Water surface PAR is 1030 (4" off water), and sand is 250 (19.5" below water surface). My highest Acros are 5" underwater and getting PAR around 500. For a 40B you're not going to have anything under 300-350 without dimming.
One nice thing with the built-in timer, you could run CH1 for dusk/dawn and then when CH2 comes on you can have CH1 turn off and run 4 bulbs for peak instead of all 6. You could do this with an aquarium controller with the non-dimmable too. Anything that's digital anyway so the timing would be lined up.
HuskerBioProf
New member
I run my lights about 6" from the top right now. I'm sure it is a ton of par in the middle/top, but some of these aquacultured acropora seem to want a ton of light (as long as it is from T5s and not LED...ha).
btb72
New member
Also what reef brites do most people run with the ati fixtures? The Xho or the tech? I am only going to run 1 right now.
codydemmel4
Active member
I have both and the XHO definitely puts off a lot more light so if youre just going with one, I would go with that.
btb72
New member
Do most people use the controller to make it dimmable to act as dawn/dusk.
ReefKeeper64
Wanna be a reefkeeper
I've been running a 8*48 ATI non-dimmable for 3 years. Prior to that I ran a MH 250w fixture for about the same time.
The MH fixture always had a nice gradual warm up in the morning. I never thought much about it really. Then I moved to the ATI non-dimmable to save on the electric bill. I love the ATI, don't get me wrong, but since its non-dimmable, I lost that pleasant ramp up in the morning. The fish seem a bit perturbed each morning and they run for cover but they are alright I guess. The non-dimmable have two power cords so I just have one turn on first and then the other one about an hour later to minimize the change in lighting as much as possible.
For my next fixture, I'll be going to a dimmable fixture for the ramp up and ramp down effect that I like. That's just my personal preference and I'm not recommending anything to anyone.
The MH fixture always had a nice gradual warm up in the morning. I never thought much about it really. Then I moved to the ATI non-dimmable to save on the electric bill. I love the ATI, don't get me wrong, but since its non-dimmable, I lost that pleasant ramp up in the morning. The fish seem a bit perturbed each morning and they run for cover but they are alright I guess. The non-dimmable have two power cords so I just have one turn on first and then the other one about an hour later to minimize the change in lighting as much as possible.
For my next fixture, I'll be going to a dimmable fixture for the ramp up and ramp down effect that I like. That's just my personal preference and I'm not recommending anything to anyone.
codydemmel4
Active member
i dont have any controller, i just have the reefbrites on a hour before the t5s come on and then once the t5s go off, i have them on for a hour after and obviously theyre on the whole time the t5s are on
HuskerBioProf
New member
I have my reefbrites on for 16 total hours so I can see the tank when I'm home (6:00 AM to 10:00 PM). Doesn't seem to be a problem.
codydemmel4
Active member
Yeah i would assume it wouldnt be a problem at all, i mean if you think about it in the wild the corals are getting at least some light almost 24/7 and theyre getting a good amount of light from 6am till around 7-8pm.
I thought about changing my reefbrites on the weekend for a much longer run time since that is when i can enjoy it
.Pandy.
New member
I've order an 8x80w PM non dimmable for my Reefer 525 - would rather have the tank lit all the way to the edges than have a gap either end personally.
I'm not sure if I made the right choice going non dimmable but I guess it's too late now as it should be here next week.
With the standard T5 PM how many cables come out of the light, doesn't anyone know?
I'm not sure if I made the right choice going non dimmable but I guess it's too late now as it should be here next week.
With the standard T5 PM how many cables come out of the light, doesn't anyone know?
Bpb
New member
It's one cord that comes out of the top of the light and after several feet there's a box that has it split for two cords of light power and one for the fans. The wall wart for the fans has a switch on it to select fan voltage. I run mine on its highest setting. Keeping the bulbs cool is more important to me than it being quiet. I like white noise anyway. Makes for good naps on the couch next to the tank
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