ATI Powermodule Hybrid Club

[hbrochs]

Ballast failure and replacement

Ballast failure and replacement

ATI is going to cover the shipping cost to send it to them for repair. No idea how much the repair will cost. I just ordered the 6 bulb dimmable Sunpower with controller today to light the tank while the hybrid is off for repair. I'm curious to see how my tank responds to the straight t5 fixture compared to the hybrid. My overall sense is that the LED gives it the shimmer that looks so nice, but most of the growth and color is from the t5s.

I guess I'll sell off one of them when the hybrid comes back.

Overall I'm pleased with the customer support I've gotten from ATI so far.

Howard

 

[africangrey]

I'm curious to see how my tank responds to the straight t5 fixture compared to the hybrid. My overall sense is that the LED gives it the shimmer that looks so nice, but most of the growth and color is from the t5s.

Howard

I hope that isn't the case, do you think the added shimmer justify a $1K increase in price.

 

[jtcplumb]

125 Gallon Tang 72" long 18" wide 23" deep

125 Gallon Tang 72" long 18" wide 23" deep

Hello I just started reading thread. I am upgrading to ATI fixture and would like some help on buying right fixture. They have 4 bulb or 8 bulb I am thinking 4 bulb is good for 18" wide. Also what color bulbs should I place how many each ? Thanks for help.
John

 

[hbrochs]

I hope that isn't the case, do you think the added shimmer justify a $1K increase in price.

I'm going to find out if the hybrid is worth it, cause I'll have the 6 bulb t5 fixture on for a month. Will be really interesting comparison. Gotta remember to take some before after photos.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[gandolf8]

ok just got the ATI hybird 60" . Does anyone have a descent program for it 180 tank ?

 

[lee_d_m]

Hi,

Apologies if this is a known issue but it's a very long thread to read through.

I've been running the hybrid for 18 months and just yesterday I noticed one pair of my T-5's stopped working.

This morning, I ran the preview on light studio and the pair of T-5s came on.

So I left it, and let the light run, at the time the pair of T-5s was supposed to come on, they didn't come on, the other pair on the same channel are working.

I connected back up to my unit via my PC and did a Load from Lamp, and this got the pair of T-5s to turn on, so I did a Save to Lamp and disconnected from the unit.

About 5 minutes later, the same pair of T-5s have gone off again.

Any ideas what might cause this, or what I could do ? The only thing I've done recently is changed out all 8 T-5's but this was done over a month ago.

Thanks

Lee

 

[illumnae]

I just managed to borrow a PAR meter from a friend and the measurements I took worry me.

Background information: My tank is 72" (L) x 28" (W) x 20" (H) (i.e. shallow tank). I'm using a 8x80W Powermodule Hybrid with the following bulbs from front to back - B+ C+ B+ Actinic (LED) P+ B+ C+ B+. My light has been hanging 12 inches above the water based on recommendations from earlier in this thread. My LEDs are at 20% with Blue and Royal Blue at 255, White and Red at 0.

Based on the above settings, I measured PAR in my tank and got a huge shock. PAR directly under the fixture with the sensor directly touching the acrylic shield is about 700. At the water surface (under the water, 12" below the acrylic shield), PAR was under 300. Middle Front the tank floor had about 80 PAR. In the far corner it was under 50 PAR (slightly understandable as it's a 5' fixture over a 6' tank). I had always been told that this fixture is a PAR monster, but these readings are really shockingly underwhelming. I was expected 700 PAR just under the surface!

I have since lowered the fixture to 7" above the water line. Again with the sensor touching the acrylic shield, it's 700 PAR. Just under the surface, it's now 400 PAR; Middle Front tank floor is now 150-180 PAR; far corner of the tank is now 80-100 PAR. These are acceptable PAR readings, but the fixture has to be so close to the water surface, and it's still not "monster" readings like I've been led to believe.

The PAR meter used is a brand new Apogee MQ-500 (the new one) that just got shipped to my friend last month, so I highly doubt that it's a faulty PAR meter that's the issue here.

Do I have my expectations too high, and these are normal readings - or is there something wrong with my unit?


**Edit: Just to clarify, numbers taken were right off the meter, without the "underwater" calculation provided by apogee at this link: http://www.apogeeinstruments.co.uk/content/underwater-par-calculator.xlsx which would increase the numbers. I'm not sure if it's standard to apply these calculations when reporting PAR or to take the numbers right off the meter.

 

[illumnae]

Hi,

Apologies if this is a known issue but it's a very long thread to read through.

I've been running the hybrid for 18 months and just yesterday I noticed one pair of my T-5's stopped working.

This morning, I ran the preview on light studio and the pair of T-5s came on.

So I left it, and let the light run, at the time the pair of T-5s was supposed to come on, they didn't come on, the other pair on the same channel are working.

I connected back up to my unit via my PC and did a Load from Lamp, and this got the pair of T-5s to turn on, so I did a Save to Lamp and disconnected from the unit.

About 5 minutes later, the same pair of T-5s have gone off again.

Any ideas what might cause this, or what I could do ? The only thing I've done recently is changed out all 8 T-5's but this was done over a month ago.

Thanks

Lee

When I had this issue previously, it was a control box issue. Things went back to normal when my control box got replaced.

 

[ksc]

I don't think your numbers are that low. Turn the led's on full power, clean the reflectors and shield, and make sure your bulbs are new. 7-8" off the water is a good height.

 

[JPMagyar]

I disagree. I believe something is wrong. The results shown below have been corroborated with others including others using Ice Cap ballasts like Big E. The readings are 1/4 inch below the fixture with only 2 bulbs on. The first is B+; the second is C+. UNLESS - you are putting the sensor directly touching one bulb. Try putting the sensor 1/4 inch below the middle of two bulbs of the same type and see what you get. If it's significantly less that 1000 umol/m2/s2 then something is not right. Could be many possibilities though.

On a wholly separate note I want to report that I have just finished my first year with this fixture. Due to difficult times at home over the last 6 months I pretty much ignored my tank for a while and never changed the bulbs. The result was I used mostly the same bulbs for a year (at least 6 out of 8). Before changing the bulbs 3 days ago I tested the PAR and then I tested again after the change. The difference in PAR readings from the old to the new was a mere 75 umol/m2/s2. I lost several colonies over the last couple months probably due to Alk swings when my calcium reactor got low towards the end of my negligent period, but in any case I think the year over year photos below show that it is not necessary to change the bulbs more than once a year if you choose not to.

 

[JPMagyar]

Just a warning to anyone who has this issue that swapping out ballasts is not for the feint of heart.

Howard

PS if anyone has a fixture they want to rent me for a month, I'm all ears!!

Honestly, I am devastated to hear of this problem. I love this fixture, but if the ballasts can start failing after 2 years that is a major problem that would have kept me from buying the fixture in the first place.

Howard,

I don't know if this is too late, but I have one Giesamann fixture I could lend you while your ATI is in for repair. (I had a 2nd fixture, but it was ruined in a basement flood this summer from a broken condenser drain )

Drop me a text message or a PM if you still have a need

9 1 4 6 5 6 5 4 1 8

Joe

 

[ksc]

I just fired up my old Sunpower. I checked it with a fairly new MQ-500. The bulbs are 5 years old, probably have > than 6 months use, and the splash shield is dirty. I got around 900 between a Giesman 6000 and Fiji purple. At about 4-5 inches away I got about 500.

Manipulating the sensor trying to get a maximum reading gets you your 1000 par. Putting it in the center of a bulb against the shield gets about 700.

 

[Dee12Dee12]

I disagree. I believe something is wrong. The results shown below have been corroborated with others including others using Ice Cap ballasts like Big E. The readings are 1/4 inch below the fixture with only 2 bulbs on. The first is B+; the second is C+. UNLESS - you are putting the sensor directly touching one bulb. Try putting the sensor 1/4 inch below the middle of two bulbs of the same type and see what you get. If it's significantly less that 1000 umol/m2/s2 then something is not right. Could be many possibilities though.

On a wholly separate note I want to report that I have just finished my first year with this fixture. Due to difficult times at home over the last 6 months I pretty much ignored my tank for a while and never changed the bulbs. The result was I used mostly the same bulbs for a year (at least 6 out of 8). Before changing the bulbs 3 days ago I tested the PAR and then I tested again after the change. The difference in PAR readings from the old to the new was a mere 75 umol/m2/s2. I lost several colonies over the last couple months probably due to Alk swings when my calcium reactor got low towards the end of my negligent period, but in any case I think the year over year photos below show that it is not necessary to change the bulbs more than once a year if you choose not to.

Looks good

 

[Rakie]

Quick question for you guys with the old Powermodule (Pre LED)

Do the standard reflectors and fan power adapter work with these older models? I have a 6x24w, and need a new fan power adapter, and would probably like a new reflector.

 

[illumnae]

Thank you Joe and ksc for your sharing.

I did some further testing out of the water today, and found that when I put the sensor in between 2 bulbs 1/4 inch below the acrylic shield, it still reported approximately 700-750 PAR. However, if I put the sensor directly below 1 tube, I am able to get about 950-1000 PAR. I have tried this with both B+ and C+ bulbs.

I also get about 500 when the sensor is 4-5 inches below the acrylic shield, under the B+ and C+ bulbs.

So can I conclude that actually 7-8" above the water is the recommended height for this fixture instead of the previously recommended 12"? Even at 7-8" above the water, I'm definitely not getting what some people report - 600-700 PAR below the surface of the water.

Also, I know that 20% on my LEDs is not helping my PAR values, but at 7-8" above the water, will the LEDs be getting sufficient spread to affect PAR throughout the tank from front to back? I'm afraid that if I turn the LEDs up, I end up getting a burnt strip in the middle of the tank, but still low values towards the front and back.

 

[JPMagyar]

Thank you Joe and ksc for your sharing.

. . .

So can I conclude that actually 7-8" above the water is the recommended height for this fixture instead of the previously recommended 12"?

You're welcome :thumbsup:

I run my fixtures very high at 12 inches or more above the water (2nd photo). Big E whose tank is shown below (1st photo) uses a mere 4 T5 bulbs on Ice Cap ballasts.

Light is only a small part of the total equation and whether you run your lights at 8 inches or 12 inches is not as important as the rest of your reef keeping routine if your goal is healthy coral.

My recommendation is set the lights at 10 inches above the water, run the LEDs at a maximum of 30%, and set maximum light for no more than 8 hours. You can have low light longer, but I think Big E (who runs 100% on for only 8 hours per day with no dawn/dusk) has shown us that too long a photoperiod can be harmful.

Again, I want to emphasize that it really doesn't matter what height you run. The ATI fixture puts out way more light than is necessary to keep healthy corals in a typical aquarium. Even if it had some kind of bad ballast and was running at partial power, it would still be pushing out plenty of light. Today's light fixtures make providing adequate light simple and easy, the rest is hard.

 

[illumnae]

But based on numbers, wouldn't 100-280 par throughout the tank be insufficient? That's what I was previously measuring and my corals were noticeably growing slowly and losing colour.

 

[JPMagyar]

100 umol/m2/s2 would be too low if that were your readings in the middle, but I have a hard time believing that is what you are getting. A picture is worth a1000 words. Can you get a picture of the whole thing? Do you have a screen on top?

280 would be fine. The corners of my tank show 100-150 on the bottom and my fixture is 48 inches and the tank is 48 inches.

Again, with 8 bulbs there is little chance that you are not getting enough light no matter what the "numbers" say and even if the unit is somehow under performing.

If the issue is coral coloration, I would recommend focusing on other issues first before worrying about lighting.

 

[coolxborg]

Hi all - I was very excited to purchase a 60inch used power module then while testing, found that the LED’s are not working!

Prior to sending this back to the seller, Id like to determine root cause and figure out if its worth fixing. Ive reached out to ATI but they have been slow in responding so posting on RC if I can get a better response. (Side note, theyre quite helpful when they respond, but i wish they responded more promptly).

I searched this thread and ran into one case where it was a control box issue.

Anyone else run into this issue?

Here are some pertinent details:
- 60 inch 8 bulb, 4 cluster leds’
- In demo mode, leds do not turn on, but T5’s turn on.
- I programmed via ati software in a PC, loaded to light, but led’s still do not turn on. Again, T5’s turn on.
- According to control box, the temp of the LEDs are 72.3 C.
- The led fans also do not turn on. T5 fans turn on.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

 

[illumnae]

100 umol/m2/s2 would be too low if that were your readings in the middle, but I have a hard time believing that is what you are getting. A picture is worth a1000 words. Can you get a picture of the whole thing? Do you have a screen on top?

280 would be fine. The corners of my tank show 100-150 on the bottom and my fixture is 48 inches and the tank is 48 inches.

Again, with 8 bulbs there is little chance that you are not getting enough light no matter what the "numbers" say and even if the unit is somehow under performing.

If the issue is coral coloration, I would recommend focusing on other issues first before worrying about lighting.

Prior to lowering the light, it was 100-150 bottom middle of the tank, 50 at the corners. 280 was at the surface just below the water line.

Now that it's lowered, numbers are much better and I get about 400 at the surface, 100 at the corners and 200-300 throughout where the corals are.