ATI Sunpower Question....

SunnyX

SunnyX

New member
So i picked up an new 6x39w ATI Sunpower the other day from my new frag tank and love the fixture, but I have a couple of questions.

Do you guys have the fan on a timer and at what voltage are you running it on?

I find it strange that the fans have separate outlets and are not connected directly to the lighting like my Constellation fixture.
 
i have my fan running off of my ACJR at max voltage.it turns on with my actinic bulbs and turns off 10 minutes after all bulbs are off.
 
Thanks for the info. I ask about the fan because the instructions say that it is recommend to run the fan at 4.5v but it doesn't seem like it is enough to compensate for the heat.

I just to be sure that the bulbs are run at the optimal temperature as I have heard that the Sunpower is over driven.
 
i dont believe they overdrive the bulbs in the sunpower.i was told they run them at 39w to get max life out of them.
 
CMcNeil said:
i dont believe they overdrive the bulbs in the sunpower.i was told they run them at 39w to get max life out of them.
Click to expand...

I hope so. I read somewhere that the Sunpower 39w was actually running on 54w ballasts. I am not an electrician so I don't know how much that would affect the bulbs.
 
from what i read he is running his fans at 6v for max PAR,i just lowered mine down from 12v to 7.5v.at 12v the fans are kind of loud but at 7.5v i cant even tell they are running.thanks for the link solitude :thumbsup:
 
Yeah Greg at RG told me 7.5 or 9v. I have my fans run 15min. after the lights go out to cool the ballasts.
 
Sonny,

I think it depends on the wattage and amount of bulbs you are using. I can imagine that the same fan cooling a Sunpower 4x24 watt requires a lower voltage then the Sunpower 4x80 watt :)
Also, the 6 bulb version has two fans, so actually one fan per 3 bulbs instead of four. That also effects the cooling abilities.
The PAR results can only be applied to the tested ATI pendants. Besided that the test was performed using a Powermodule which has MUCH better cooling.

I would suggest to let the fans run 15 minutes after all the lights are off to cool the ballasts, like stated before.

To get the optimum output without the ability of testing with a PAR meter, try to aim for the ideal temperature for T5 HO bulbs (35 C)
I measured the air when entering the bulb ends, and at the end of the pendant. When you take the average and get around 35 C I think that's the best setting.

Said that I did some tests myself and my ATI Sunpower 4x39 pendants (one fan) gets 31 C at the bulb ends and 55 C at the end of the pendant at 12 V.
So the cooling is insufficient on the Sunpowers to say at least. I'm thinking about modding the Sunpowers with larger, high quality fans.

I suggest to run at 12 V Sonny, and ignore the sound ;)

Leonardo
 
Besides that, cooling too much affects the average PAR the same as cooling too little. But especially with the overdriven bulbs in the ATI pendants, cooling too much actually is better for the lifespan of the bulbs then cooling too little :)
And that will give you better average PAR over a longer time.

Leonardo
 
Last edited:
Thanks everyone for the help!:D

Leonardo_ said:
Besides that, cooling too much affects the average PAR the same as cooling too little. But especially with the overdriven bulbs in the ATI pendants, cooling too much actually is better for the lifespan of the bulbs then cooling too little :)
And that will give you better average PAR over a longer time.

Leonardo
Click to expand...

Thanks for the detailed info Leo. :) So the Sunpower is in fact overdriven?
 
I run mine at 7.5v though Grim recommended 9v. The 9v was a little loud for my living room setting so I tuned it down one setting. Also got lazy on hooking them up to a timer so they run 24/7 at the moment.

What bulbs did you go with on your new setup?
 
I guess I am luck that the frag tank is in the back room so I don't have to worry about noise from the fans. I went with 3x ATI Blue+ and 3x ATI Aquablue special for maximum growth and color. :D
 
Leonardo_ said:
Sonny,

I think it depends on the wattage and amount of bulbs you are using. I can imagine that the same fan cooling a Sunpower 4x24 watt requires a lower voltage then the Sunpower 4x80 watt :)
Also, the 6 bulb version has two fans, so actually one fan per 3 bulbs instead of four. That also effects the cooling abilities.
The PAR results can only be applied to the tested ATI pendants. Besided that the test was performed using a Powermodule which has MUCH better cooling.

I would suggest to let the fans run 15 minutes after all the lights are off to cool the ballasts, like stated before.

To get the optimum output without the ability of testing with a PAR meter, try to aim for the ideal temperature for T5 HO bulbs (35 C)
I measured the air when entering the bulb ends, and at the end of the pendant. When you take the average and get around 35 C I think that's the best setting.

Said that I did some tests myself and my ATI Sunpower 4x39 pendants (one fan) gets 31 C at the bulb ends and 55 C at the end of the pendant at 12 V.
So the cooling is insufficient on the Sunpowers to say at least. I'm thinking about modding the Sunpowers with larger, high quality fans.

I suggest to run at 12 V Sonny, and ignore the sound ;)

Leonardo
Click to expand...

Leonardo_ said:
Besides that, cooling too much affects the average PAR the same as cooling too little. But especially with the overdriven bulbs in the ATI pendants, cooling too much actually is better for the lifespan of the bulbs then cooling too little :)
And that will give you better average PAR over a longer time.

Leonardo
Click to expand...

1) The Sunpower and Powermodule have the same cooling design. The Sunpower just uses less fans.

2) I run my 4x24W Sunpower at 7.5v and the temp exiting my fixture is about 107F or so. Meaning the air around the end caps is 95F. This all depends on the air surrounding your fixture though. If you have hotter air around your tank, you may need a higher fan speed.

3) No ATI is overdriven. They all use standard spec T5 ballasts. They have used Vossloh Schwabe for some time now.

Go throw a 39W bulb on a 54W ballast and see how long that bulb lasts. Not long, trust me I tried it at a store I used to help out at. The 54W ballast is specifically designed to run a 54W bulb, no other.

Sunny,

I would have grabbed an actinic bulb for sure and only gotten the 6x24W version. I bleached out an ORA Pearlberry in 2 days under my Sunpower. I had it under a 150W Phoneix MH before hand.

I have to be very selective where I put low light SPS and ANY LPS under my Sunpower.
 
While the light is strong I haven't had any issues with the corals bleaching. This is likely due to the corals coming from my main tank which as you know is run with T5. Plus, I just changed my bulbs on the main tank a few weeks ago already shocking some of the corals anyway. :p

I do like the Sunpower but prefer my Constellation fixture. I like the fact that the constellation is constructed better along with much better cooling. I also like the fact that the constellation has power switches controlling 3 separate sets of bulbs.
 
rtparty said:
1) The Sunpower and Powermodule have the same cooling design. The Sunpower just uses less fans.

2) I run my 4x24W Sunpower at 7.5v and the temp exiting my fixture is about 107F or so. Meaning the air around the end caps is 95F. This all depends on the air surrounding your fixture though. If you have hotter air around your tank, you may need a higher fan speed.

3) No ATI is overdriven. They all use standard spec T5 ballasts. They have used Vossloh Schwabe for some time now.

Go throw a 39W bulb on a 54W ballast and see how long that bulb lasts. Not long, trust me I tried it at a store I used to help out at. The 54W ballast is specifically designed to run a 54W bulb, no other.
Click to expand...

Thanks for your reply.

In my previous reply I stated that the Sunpower and Power module differed when it comes the the amount of fans and the separation of air chambers to cool the bulbs. (powermodule seperates per two bulbs, Sunpower not).

A local hobbyist opened his 39 watt Sunpower pendant to change the ballasts for dimmable, and found 54 Watt Ballasts. I assumed this was the case with all the pendants, but maybe this was a fault with assembling by ATI. I haven't opened my own pendant yet.
Maybe the older models were overdriven and the recent models aren't?

I think because of the longer way the air travels with longer bulbs then the 24 watters, the fan speed have to be higher to prevent the overall temperature to rise above 95 F.
Not only the temperature at the caps is important, but also around the whole bulb.

Some posts claiming the overdriving bulbs aren't a problem as long as you don't let the bulbs overheat. (+95F) This overheating will burn the phosphors faster and reduce the lifespan. I will search for them again.
What is you experience with this? Does it work this simple or is cooling just a part of the problem with overdriving and reduced lifespan?

I'm not trying to be smart, but enjoying an informative discussion that allow us to light our reefs better :)

Leonardo
 
In addition to my last post. The Ballasts used in the previous GEN Sunpower used ballasts that were capable of running two wattages of bulbs (for instance 24 and 39 watt). The ballast automatically burned the bulbs with the right wattage. So in fact they weren't overdriven. You were right Ryan :)

Leonardo
 
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