ATI Powermodule Hybrid Club

[lee_d_m]

I really think, unless you plan to put SPS everywhere in the tank, that the 4 bulb is good enough. You'll probably not have a ton of stuff in the back 4-6" anyways, so I think the 8 bulb is overkill.

My tank is 24" wide, and I would still have gone with the 4 bulb (knowing how powerful these lights are) even with a tank up to 30" (front to back or side to side)

My tank is 24" deep, and I have the light 12" off the water to keep from burning stuff.

hmmm, now you've got me thinking. From a budget perspective, the 8 tube unit is going to cost me £300 more, so not a massive amount more in the great scheme of things.

Apart from cost, what other negatives are there against the 8 tube, is there likely to be excessive light spill (I have a pelmet on the top of my tank right now), or heat, anything else I should think about ?

If I do go for the 8 tube, what's the recommended bulb combination to go for ?

Thanks

Lee

 

[flamron]

I think heat would be the main drawback.

I'd love to have the configuration ability with 8 tubes. You can get much better color with it.

I would go with:
4 blue plus
2 actinic
2 aquablue special

Or
4 blue plus
3 actinic
1 aquablue special

Folks will tell you to stay away from actinic, as they don't have the pAR, and that is true. But with these fixtures (LEDs), you don't need the massive par bulbs.

I currently run:
2 blue plus
1 actinic
1 aqua blue special

That combo is amazing for color, and I'm seeing great growth as well. The LEDs let me adjust some to go more blue since thee aquablue is a white bulb.

 

[lee_d_m]

ok thanks for your advice, I've given myself the week-end to decide.

Any other opinions on 4 vs 8 tube and combinations ?

Thanks

Lee

 

[Ashr]

ok thanks for your advice, I've given myself the week-end to decide.

Any other opinions on 4 vs 8 tube and combinations ?

Thanks

Lee

You just get so many more options with 8 bulbs than you do with 4. But also remember you will need to spend the money on 4 more bulbs per year too. Just some thoughts.

I would go 8 over 4 for sure

 

[lee_d_m]

yes, I see your point completely, I am leaning towards the 8 tubes I must admit. I'm not overly concerned with the extra £80 per year in bulb costs. Out of interest, assuming with the amount of PAR these units output, do you run the T-5's at less than 100%, and does doing so increase the life of the bulb ?

 

[flamron]

I run mine at 100% as I had a couple burn out early with them dimmed.

 

[wheelman76]

As I said earlier 8 bulb all the way , the 4 bulb will be a real stretch on a 28" tank. I run an 8 bulb on a 30" tank and with a par meter you can see the difference on the front and back edges of the tank. The 8 bulb unit is 20.4" wide so it will be a perfect fit over a 28" wide tank. Plus as other people have said , you have so many more choices when it comes to bulb combos.

 

[wheelman76]

And as you said the price between the units isn't that much more , and you're not concerned with the extra bulb cost. Easy choice , get the 8 bulb

 

[lee_d_m]

ok, I'm pretty much sold, my only remaining concern is light spillage, is the 8 tube going to light up my room much more than the 4 tube. My tanks' pelmet extends about 6 inches above the water line, but I understand these units should hang about 12 inches above, is light spillage something I need to be concerned about ?

 

[wheelman76]

I think you should be fine , I run mine about 8" above the water and I don't have much spillage. It will light up the room though because it's damn bright lol

 

[bfin3]

For a tank that's 37 x 19 should I go 24" or 36" ? I really think I want 2 led clusters.

 

[sahin]

I am building a new tank this month and wanted some info on these lights.
The tank will be 36x30x20.

I am looking at the 8x24w 1LED hybrid or the 8x36w 2LED

Will the 24w work on this tank? I didnt want over kill and the cost is a lot better on the 24w as well.

Any thoughts?

Thanks!

If you can afford it, get the 8x36inch unit.

I have the 8x24inch unit over my 30L x 20D x 18H tank and I think you will like the dual LED unit version, plus full coverage. Some may say its overall, but I like all areas of my tank fully lit.

 

[lee_d_m]

Just ordered the 8 x 54w + 3 x 75LED powermodule, should be with me by the end of the week, can't wait !!

I have a couple of questions that I'd like some help on please

1) I'm changing from Hydra 52's to this module, and after reading this thread I realise that I'm likely to see a huge increase in PAR, what steps should I take to ensure I don't cook my corals once this unit is in place ?

2) I read about "burning in" the T-5's, could someone explain to me how this is done and why ?

Thanks

Lee

 

[sahin]

Just ordered the 8 x 54w + 3 x 75LED powermodule, should be with me by the end of the week, can't wait !!

I have a couple of questions that I'd like some help on please

1) I'm changing from Hydra 52's to this module, and after reading this thread I realise that I'm likely to see a huge increase in PAR, what steps should I take to ensure I don't cook my corals once this unit is in place ?

2) I read about "burning in" the T-5's, could someone explain to me how this is done and why ?

Thanks

Lee

1. I just setup and PAR mapped my buddies large tank with 4 Hydra 52's. I can tell you that the ATI will blow the PAR of the Hydra 52's. Run the LED clusters dimmed way down and run the T5's on full (to burn in) BUT only for a few hours to begin with.

2. "Burning in" in the past was required to burn off impurities and stabilise the gas mixture inside the tubes. Oliver has confirmed that with modern quality tubes, this is not required. However, I think most of us burn in the tubes for at least 50 hours.

Easiest way to do this is let the T5's run continuously for 2 days BEFORE you place it over the tank. That way the tubes are burnt in etc. Just ensure to place the fixture safely so that it has ventilation AND is not lighting close to material/wood floor and burn things.

 

[lee_d_m]

1. I just setup and PAR mapped my buddies large tank with 4 Hydra 52's. I can tell you that the ATI will blow the PAR of the Hydra 52's. Run the LED clusters dimmed way down and run the T5's on full (to burn in) BUT only for a few hours to begin with.

2. "Burning in" in the past was required to burn off impurities and stabilise the gas mixture inside the tubes. Oliver has confirmed that with modern quality tubes, this is not required. However, I think most of us burn in the tubes for at least 50 hours.

Easiest way to do this is let the T5's run continuously for 2 days BEFORE you place it over the tank. That way the tubes are burnt in etc. Just ensure to place the fixture safely so that it has ventilation AND is not lighting close to material/wood floor and burn things.

Thanks Sahin,

When you say "a few hours", what sort of time period would you suggest and how long should I keep it like that, or is it a case of just observing how my corals react and slowly increase if they are ok ?

My current photoperiod with my Hydra's is 12 hours, with a 2 hour ramp up and down, then 8 hours of constant light. Would it be ok to ramp up the T-5's over a period of say 4 hours either side of the max or would this be too much. I have a PAR meter so I guess I could measure, but interested get your thoughts.

Thanks

Lee

 

[sahin]

Thanks Sahin,

When you say "a few hours", what sort of time period would you suggest and how long should I keep it like that, or is it a case of just observing how my corals react and slowly increase if they are ok ?

My current photoperiod with my Hydra's is 12 hours, with a 2 hour ramp up and down, then 8 hours of constant light. Would it be ok to ramp up the T-5's over a period of say 4 hours either side of the max or would this be too much. I have a PAR meter so I guess I could measure, but interested get your thoughts.

Thanks

Lee

Lee, since you have a PAR meter then utilise the data from that and observe your corals. My corals were acclimated to very high PAR so when I swapped to the ATI Hybrid, I had no issues. Only 1 or 2 corals lightened up and I moved them.

Setup the lights so that the PAR is roughly 250 on your meter (around mid level). Then run that sort of light level for around 4 hours to begin with. If you notice lightening in your corals, reduce the photo period or dim down more. If corals look fine after a couple of days, increase the photo period by 30 mins each day. Once you are up around 7 hours, then increase the intensity until you get to a point where you are happy with the brightness of the tank and the corals are happy too.

FWIW most of my corals get 350+ PAR, some even upto 500+, even my LPS get 350+ and are fine. It all depends on your corals and how much light they are used to.

As long as you take it slowly and follow what I have described, you shouldnt have any issues at all.

 

[lee_d_m]

Lee, since you have a PAR meter then utilise the data from that and observe your corals. My corals were acclimated to very high PAR so when I swapped to the ATI Hybrid, I had no issues. Only 1 or 2 corals lightened up and I moved them.

Setup the lights so that the PAR is roughly 250 on your meter (around mid level). Then run that sort of light level for around 4 hours to begin with. If you notice lightening in your corals, reduce the photo period or dim down more. If corals look fine after a couple of days, increase the photo period by 30 mins each day. Once you are up around 7 hours, then increase the intensity until you get to a point where you are happy with the brightness of the tank and the corals are happy too.

FWIW most of my corals get 350+ PAR, some even upto 500+, even my LPS get 350+ and are fine. It all depends on your corals and how much light they are used to.

As long as you take it slowly and follow what I have described, you shouldnt have any issues at all.

Ok, that makes sense, would you also recommend to use the T-5s predominantly to begin with and then and once my corals are acclimated to these, slowly ramp up the use of the LEDs ?

 

[sahin]

Ok, that makes sense, would you also recommend to use the T-5s predominantly to begin with and then and once my corals are acclimated to these, slowly ramp up the use of the LEDs ?

If you burn in the T5's with the unit over the display then yes, I would run the T5's only at first and then start to run the LED's. It all depends on the light levels too...eg you can have 15% intensity on the LED's which would add too much PAR etc.

 

[lee_d_m]

If you burn in the T5's with the unit over the display then yes, I would run the T5's only at first and then start to run the LED's. It all depends on the light levels too...eg you can have 15% intensity on the LED's which would add too much PAR etc.

Ok, great, thanks very much for your help, I really appreciate it.

 

[sahin]

Ok, great, thanks very much for your help, I really appreciate it.

Meant to say if you had the LED's at only 15% for example, it WOULDNT add too much PAR, so depending on PAR, you can run LED's as well, but proabbly dimmed way down to start with.

In any event, since ATI had designed the LED's with REFLECTORS, rather than lens, you wont get a hotspot of PAR immediately under the clusters. It is quite spread out.

Enjoy your new light. You have a nice unit.