ATI Powermodule Hybrid Club
- Thread starter rodneyri
- Start date
Logzor
New member
OK so following in the footsteps of Joe I've also been testing out the short peak of LED intensity. Initially I ran only about 30-45 minutes at 50% power with max blues, some white, and no red. With good results I increase the total time to 60 minutes. Acropora are responding well with lots of new growth tips.
I plan to continue experimenting with the intensity and power of the LED peak. Not sure if should go higher power for the same duration, or more duration with the same power. Anyone else experimenting with this type of schedule?
I plan to continue experimenting with the intensity and power of the LED peak. Not sure if should go higher power for the same duration, or more duration with the same power. Anyone else experimenting with this type of schedule?
Logzor
New member
A single powermodule would be cleaner, and I think you would be surprised how much light spillage there is to the left and right on the powermodule on a longer aquarium. Cost and aesthetic factors aside I think two powermodule would be preferable.
You'll have to raise up the fixtures relatively high. my aquarium is 30" front to back and that's pushing it, in my opinion, for good front to back coverage.
I tried a similar schedule but with peak right before T5s turn off at 75% intensity (mostly blues) but have not seen much difference.
Logzor
New member
ATI Powermodule Hybrid Club
My 60 minute peak is 30 minutes at full T5 intensity and then 30 minutes when my white bulbs have turned off. Glad to hear other people are testing the short duration peak, what percentages are your LEDs hitting?
The impact may be relative to your corals needing more or less light coupled with the available nutrition for growth.
At this point the primary difference is new growth tips on my SPS. I only noticed this after I bumped up the LED peak to the full hour. Hard to say if that's when the growth began or just a delay from the initial peak of 30 minutes.
My 60 minute peak is 30 minutes at full T5 intensity and then 30 minutes when my white bulbs have turned off. Glad to hear other people are testing the short duration peak, what percentages are your LEDs hitting?
The impact may be relative to your corals needing more or less light coupled with the available nutrition for growth.
At this point the primary difference is new growth tips on my SPS. I only noticed this after I bumped up the LED peak to the full hour. Hard to say if that's when the growth began or just a delay from the initial peak of 30 minutes.
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I hit a 75% peak which starts 30 minutes before my T5s turn off and peaks when my T5s are off, then drops off to 35% over 1.5 hours to sunset. I have it set to 100% on blues only and whites and reds are at about 15%. Not sure if it's mirroring your peak which happens midday. I also run royal blue @ 10% during T5 hours so my LEDs are not totally off. Find it adds a bit more actinic spectrum for coral pop.
maxpc99
New member
Hello,
I'm also considering the power module and have some questions I hope you folks can help me with.
I currently run 4 kessil 360s lengthwise down the middle of my tank with a pair of generic 2 bulb t5 units with ATI bulbs in front and in back. My tank is 150G and 62"x21"x24" . ItS stocked mostly with SPS, but do have a lot of fungia and acanophyllias on the sand bed.
I'm trying to decide between the 6 or 8 bulb as we'll as 48" or 60" unit. My concern with the 60" is the lack of dimming and if I care? I'm also concerned with the lack of shimmer from either unit when all the t5s are running. As a Kessil owner, I'm pretty used to a lot of shimmer at this point. One thing I am considering is buying the 48" unit and putting a Kessil on each end to add shimmer and fill in the light on the ends.
Any help is appreciated!
I'm also considering the power module and have some questions I hope you folks can help me with.
I currently run 4 kessil 360s lengthwise down the middle of my tank with a pair of generic 2 bulb t5 units with ATI bulbs in front and in back. My tank is 150G and 62"x21"x24" . ItS stocked mostly with SPS, but do have a lot of fungia and acanophyllias on the sand bed.
I'm trying to decide between the 6 or 8 bulb as we'll as 48" or 60" unit. My concern with the 60" is the lack of dimming and if I care? I'm also concerned with the lack of shimmer from either unit when all the t5s are running. As a Kessil owner, I'm pretty used to a lot of shimmer at this point. One thing I am considering is buying the 48" unit and putting a Kessil on each end to add shimmer and fill in the light on the ends.
Any help is appreciated!
Logzor
New member
You will lose a lot of the shimmer with the ATI Hybrid compared to your current configuration. Mostly because the fixture is so powerful there isn't much need to crank up the LEDs. From what I've seen the fixture has decent coverage side to side so I would keep the 48" on the table. In regard to front to back coverage, my 8 bulb barely covers my 30" front to back depth of my aquarium. In your case you may be able to opt for the 4 bulb and raise the fixture up then run the LEDs at higher power.
Don't sweat not being able to dim the T5s. I don't think it has a major impact, there are plenty of successful tanks with on/off only settings.
Visually, I think running both the Kessils might look a bit cluttered, it may not matter depending on how your aquarium is setup, though.
Bottom line is that you will lose shimmer if you opt for more T5s and that the fixtures should pack enough punch not to need extra Kessils. I think you could squeeze by with the smaller fixture but for the best coverage go with the 60".
maxpc99
New member
Thanks for the reply Logzor, I pulled the trigger on the 48" 8 bulb unit. I don't plan on going with the kessils out of the gate, but it's a nice option to have if I can make it look nice. I kind of want less light on the ends as I have a lot of sand bed LPS that need lower light so it will give me some places for them. I think the only time I'm going to like the dimmable option is when I first set the light up to acclimate the tank. After that, I agree it's probably not an option that make or break the decision. Can't wait to get this baby!
Logzor
New member
Glad I could help, I think you'll be happy with that choice, it's the same fixture I have! Have you decided on your bulb combination?
maxpc99
New member
I'm thinking 3 b+, 3 c+, 2 actinic to start. I'm ordering an extra b+, c+, 2 blue special and 1 purple so I can play around a bit. Ill also get a ge6500, but the place i ordered from doesn't have it. I have used that in the past with good results in my 10 bulb red sea unit.
What are you running?
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Logzor
New member
I need to double-check but I think I'm running almost that exact same combination: 4 b+, 2 c+, 2 actinic. Can't recall if I'm running 2 or 3 c+. Either way it's a solid combination.
My present set up has 2 C+, 1 B+, 1 ABS, 1 KZ Pink, 1 Geis Actinic Blue, 2 KZ Super Blue and I love this set up. Run the KZ SB and C+ 7.5 hours and the rest 4 hours. Find this combo really works great. I am also using an LED spike before my T5s go off (see earlier posts) but a bit modified from the way the others are running the LED spike. I prefer the KZ Pink over the ATI P+. I think KZ makes the best pink/purple bulb. Also 2 actinic bulbs and 1 purple/pink might be overkill since they are mainly supplemental and not your main lighting. Another option would be to use Geis Aquablue Azures in place of 1 C+ and ABS for a crisp whiter look. The Geis 6500/Tropic bulb is far too yellow IMO. I ran that initially and quit using it months back.
You should be fine with the 48" unit and T5 spread. The main issue you will have is with the LED spread at the ends of your tank since the LEDs don't go till the end of the unit. Then again if you place low light corals there you will be fine. I did not use T5 dimming the first year with the lamp, since I thought it was a gimmick, but now do and love it's functionality. Hope this helps.
May I ask why you choose KZ SB over B+? More PAR?
I am trying to figure out best 10 bulbs combo . I have Gies Blue Actinic and i see this tube is dimmer vs B+
Logzor
New member
I've ran both the KZ blue and the ATI B+ and I can't tell any visual difference between the two bulbs. Haven't done any research on PAR differences. I also didn't stare at them that long, but they looked very similar.
ATI recommend that bulbs have 100 hours of burn time before using the dimming feature.
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maxpc99
New member
Awesome, thank you! Yes, very helpful. I have primarily used ATI bulbs, but a few Geis as well. I'll have to pick up some KZ bulbs and try various combos. If I added a pink I'm sure it would be in favor of an actinic. At minimum I'll be running 3 b+, 2 c+ and 1 actinic, the last 2 will be a lot of experimentation.
There is a very good chance I'm going to put a kessils on each end of the unit, if for nothing else some added shimmer.
Visually there might not be much difference, but the nm range is different and according to the manufacture their research indicates it matters to the corals. I wish I could recall the exact article or post that I read that, because they went into more detail.
Thanks, I've read more recently they are saying 50 hours. In either case I'll be playing it safe, maybe I'll split the middle at 75. [emoji846]
ATI Powermodule Hybrid Club
I find the ATI B+ has a hint of green whereas the KZ SB or Geis Actinic Blue don't. Par wise I'm sure they are comparable.
I find the ATI B+ has a hint of green whereas the KZ SB or Geis Actinic Blue don't. Par wise I'm sure they are comparable.
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