LED who hs the bug.

Flexibility. A bit more light intensity in the Vertex 260. Also a decent more actinic in the 260 compared to 200. I have an APEX but control the light through bluetooth with my Mac. It is very simple and I did not have to call in someone smarter than me to figure out how to program it.


Simple is my style, but I want something easy to have maximum control features. I know the vertex are expensive, but saving a couple of hundred a year in light bulbs, power savings, and the lack of heat issues has me allmost convinced.
 
Simple is my style, but I want something easy to have maximum control features. I know the vertex are expensive, but saving a couple of hundred a year in light bulbs, power savings, and the lack of heat issues has me allmost convinced.


That is the same logic I used to present the idea to my wife. No chiller, no biannual MH bulbs, less power consumption, " these things pay for themselves!" I love the vertex but AI is also good. If I did not have to look at my fixture, I would easily go AI due to the lower cost but my cube is in my office at home and rimless. That was the other argument I used, hey honey which would go better with you decor, the AIs or this slim little vertex fixture.
 
I am interested in more info on what and how you made yours. I don't have enough room above my tank to fit my lights so I am looking for other options.

there are a lot of options out there, your best bet is to go with cree 3w leds, 1:1 ratio of white to blue if you want a 14k look or 1:2 ratio of white to blue if you want a 20k look, i would throw in a couple of red osram leds in the mix too.

Then you have the option of making dimmable or not, you can dim individual string of blue or white, or just dim them together. Read up on it a bit and if you still have questions, let me know and i'll do my best to help out.

You also have the option of dimming it manually w/ certain drivers and if you want to dim it with the apex, you can do that too
 
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Eugene why the vertex 260 and not the 200, it seems like unless you have a deep tank the 200 should be adequate?

also what systems have good cohtrollable features without an apex?

I know the vertex are cotrollable as well as the acan LEDS, but it seems from what I have seen the vertex controls are the best but maybe I am missing some.

I believe with the new Ecotech fixture, you'll be able to control it w/o using the apex or keepkeeper ect.. i heard you will also be able to set control points throughout the day to ramp up the leds gradually for dusk/dawn, but the price is a bit harsh to swallow :headwallblue:
 
You can buy a controller for the AI Sols that allows you to control them without the Apex. I think it's an additional 79.99. Just throwing it out there. I'm not saying AI is the best by any means but it is what I know the best.
 
Oh yea I forgot to mention. Don't buy from AuraLED or Aquatop LED, both have terrible customer service and delayed my LED upgrade by nearly 2 months.
 
Orphek seems to be drawing me everytime I start looking. I love this hobby but man it really know how to drain you pocket.
 
The only thing that I am worries about is the amount of light that is going to come over the tank. The fixture is 24" and my cube is 24 x 24. I am guessing that 90 angle on the lens would be better for me than 120 just on the size of the tank? I feel such a newbee
 
decisions, decisions, I am lost as well Ade trying to figure out what fixture and the price tag. I am going to wait a little to see some more feedback and hope prices will come down a little as competition increases. I really like the vertex and aqua illumination fixtures from what I have seen but may need a second mortgage for two rows of those.

I am planning a 150 gal as a corner unit 36"x36"x27" and am guessing for those dimensions I will need 2 rows of lights or 2 three foot fixtures and that will take some saving to swing. I can save on other stuff however if I tie this system into the 220.
 
Yes i do like the AI Jorge but without a canopy I am not sure I would like it. The Orphek fixture is slick looking but would like to see one in person before I pulled the trigger
 
decisions, decisions, I am lost as well Ade trying to figure out what fixture and the price tag. I am going to wait a little to see some more feedback and hope prices will come down a little as competition increases. I really like the vertex and aqua illumination fixtures from what I have seen but may need a second mortgage for two rows of those.

I am planning a 150 gal as a corner unit 36"x36"x27" and am guessing for those dimensions I will need 2 rows of lights or 2 three foot fixtures and that will take some saving to swing. I can save on other stuff however if I tie this system into the 220.

One of the reasons I chose the vertex lights was the non-use of optics. Many people favor the use of optics however vertex illumina bucks this trend. It gives less of a spotlight look and this is really emphasized in reef photography. The other advantage is the spread is better since the light is less focused without optics. The argument against the lack of optics is the PAR goes down since it is less concentrated but most all LED users are dimming their lights significantly down anyways. I think you could get away with one 3 foot vertex illumina 260 even for tank with with your depth especially if you are keeping the beautiful mixed reef style like you have. I am going to get a par meter soon so I can give you the results of the par given the spread over a 3 foot area.
 
The only thing that I am worries about is the amount of light that is going to come over the tank. The fixture is 24" and my cube is 24 x 24. I am guessing that 90 angle on the lens would be better for me than 120 just on the size of the tank? I feel such a newbee

My tank with the LEDs is 24x20x20. I have a one foot LED and there is not area with insufficient PAR. I can't keep a pink lemonade or red planet in the bottom corner probably without scorching the top corals but who really keeps nice SPS in the bottom corner of their tank.

The orphek fixture looks nice. I think they and AI are in the same class. No doubt the orphek looks better but you have more cables coming off the light since the controller is not built in. I will be interested to see what you pick. If I had any skill, I would try building my own LED but my wife would disown me after the the time I spent building it or the time I spent being frustrated why I could not figure it out.
 
Oh, one more thing, imported lights like the vertex are actually dropping in price likely due to the current european banking crisis resulting in a brief strengthening of the US dollar. Had I bought my fixture today, I would have saved $150. It is going for around 900$ right now in certain places.
 
There is only one cable that comes from the fixture on the orphek. For the price they use all gold terminal pionts and they are stating that the led at 100% are good for 10-15 years.
 
I just switch to an AI sol blue from a 250w fixture. And love it. AI has a reasonable price...no heat...no chiller....less on electricity bill...only problem is getting corals adjusted but other than that LEDs are the future....hands down. 2c

Sent from my PC36100 using Tapatalk
 
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