Vertex Illumina Club

[mojo~]

I bought 2 and one red

 

[Padrino]

u have them installed yet?? Has the UV firmware been released yet?

 

[yongpanda]

Can any vertex owners honestly give me their experiences in coral coloration. Straight out of the box, both the 200 and 260 seem to only have the typical white and blue led combination. After reading how AI's led fixtures make the red in corals seem washed out, I was wondering if this is the same with the vertex.

Also, if this is INDEED the case, do the vertex owners WITH the uv and red modules see any visually improved coloration in corals?

 

[Stavanger]

vertex

vertex

Can any vertex owners honestly give me their experiences in coral coloration. Straight out of the box, both the 200 and 260 seem to only have the typical white and blue led combination. After reading how AI's led fixtures make the red in corals seem washed out, I was wondering if this is the same with the vertex.

Also, if this is INDEED the case, do the vertex owners WITH the uv and red modules see any visually improved coloration in corals?

Hi.
This is my second Illumina fixture,and I am very happy with it.This is the 200/1500 mm.I have mounted 3 red pads,2 royal blue and 2 Uv xtra.Hopefully the software for the Uv will be released soon:love1:
Regarding the coral coloration,there was a big difference in it after adding the red pads.A much richer/deeper color so to speak.I have used ATI Powermodule on previous tanks,and the color on my corals are even better with the Illumina in my tank.My opinion is also that the that light itself is more nicer and warmer with the red pads,so I really recomend them.

Br Stavanger

 

[rodneyri]

Stavanger, what corals do you ahve in your tank? what specific imrpovements did you see in coloration ie pinks, reds, blues etc...very keen to hear from your experience.

do you have pics of your tank / close ups of corals?

 

[yongpanda]

For those vertex owners, how would you justify purchasing the light as opposed to the competitor lights? The price, with the sale going on is quite high still with the addition of reds and UV modules. The only way I can find to justify a vertex is the ability to add onto the fixture but can't you do that with the new upcoming vega (for an even lower price as well)?

No trying to bash you guys, but rather would like to hear your opinions.

 

[Stavanger]

illumina

illumina

Hi.
I have a 99% sps dominated tank with some clams and gonioporas.
The improvements of is in all colors.But especially in the blue/purple/red area.
My newly bought hyachintus frag changed from brown polyps and metallic green base to green/blue metallic base and red metallic tips.Its awesome:bdaysmile: So as I mentioned earlier,the red pads is really good for deeper/nicer color on my sps
I dont have any pictures for the moment,sorry.
Ps,I have heard some rumors regarding the launch of the uv software program.any day now.:bdaysmile::bdaysmile::bdaysmile:
Really looking forward to see what the uv light will do to my corals

Br Stavanger

 

[hagarthefish]

I was told that the uv software could be released on Thursday 5th / tomorrow.
Hope so :celeb3::fish1:

 

[Stavanger]

illumina

illumina

For those vertex owners, how would you justify purchasing the light as opposed to the competitor lights? The price, with the sale going on is quite high still with the addition of reds and UV modules. The only way I can find to justify a vertex is the ability to add onto the fixture but can't you do that with the new upcoming vega (for an even lower price as well)?

No trying to bash you guys, but rather would like to hear your opinions.

Hi.
the Vertex is expensive yes.But the unit itself is more versatile compared to other brands.You can customize the color/ pads,change the original pads when new Led technology is on the market.For those who has the tank in the living room,design is also important.And without optics,the lamp can be closer to the watersurface.Nice for us with rimless tanks.The building quality is great,no noise of fans etc.
A friend of mine bought the new Orphek,and I am not impressed by design,building quality/noise of fans or the possibility of different settings like you have on the Vertex.
But this is only my opinion

Br Stavanger

 

[notclear]

Do you guys want to wait for the Red/Green combo module instead of buying the Red module now? I know it may take nine months for them to release something like the UV module although this time may be a lot shorter!

I will wait though.

 

[alanbates12]

I just bought MAcko's 24 in 200 for my 60g cube.

anyone order the UV modules yet? wondered what they looked like. Also you all think I should go with 1 uv ? 2 uv and one red ? just curious . I should have mine this week .

Mojo I think it's 1 uv for every 2'

 

[alanbates12]

For those vertex owners, how would you justify purchasing the light as opposed to the competitor lights? The price, with the sale going on is quite high still with the addition of reds and UV modules. The only way I can find to justify a vertex is the ability to add onto the fixture but can't you do that with the new upcoming vega (for an even lower price as well)?

No trying to bash you guys, but rather would like to hear your opinions.

Great Question let me see if I can help you understand a little better. I'll start with some basics. LED Overview, This aquarium light type uses semiconductor technology as its light source. The difficulty in the past (and where many still misunderstand the complexities of LED's) is correct wave length (in nanometers) and ultimately the PUR of the emmiters (PUR = Photosynthetically Usable Radiatiion).
Essentially the best LED Fixtures are not aquarium lights in the traditional sense, even the emitters are not a bulb as many people think. These High End LED Fixtures use complex circuitry to evenly spread voltage over emitters and drivers to control each emitter precisely. Because of this, LED Lights do not loose spectrum quality unlike ALL fluoresent lights.
The emitters utilize certain compounds to provide the essential light energy require.
One way to think of the high end LED Fixtures (not low end LED fixtures which have more in common with an LED flashlight) is that these are computers that emit light placed over your aquarium, which is why certain care should also be provided.
What is also missed by many "lesser" knock off LED fixtures is the drivers/circuitry used to power each emitter. Unlike daisy chaining Christmas lights together, one cannot simply daisy chain an LED emitter without changing voltage and spectrum to each emitter in the chain and it is the circuitry that separates 80% of LED from the 20% that have the correct and expensive drivers to maintain exacting voltages between each emitter.
This is one reason to not consider any LED that uses dozens of emitters to provide the amount of desired light lumens as the circuitry required to properly supply voltage so as to provide more exacting PUR would be considerably cost prohibitive, yet most of the LED fixtures with dozens of emitters are priced well below the cost of providing these drivers;the reason is the LED fixtures are essentially daisy-chained together.
In fact even an emitter from a "better" bin that is simply daisy chaained together will lose emitter quality versus the same emitter that has correct constant current drivers to tie each and every emitter together.
Better would be the LEDs that use fewer quality emitters, yet with better drivers with the end result much better light energy with less electricity used.
So to sum it up it's not necessarily what you see on the outside but the quality of the inside of the fixture and the amount of PUR your get not necessarily PAR. PUR is not easily measured but this is what your wanting in your fixture. After my research I choose the Vertex Illiumina for several reasons, 1st the quality of parts down to the titanium screws that hold the fixture together, the upgradability of the fixture, low power consumption (low power because of the quality drivers and emitters vs the competition. just look at power consumed by each fixture), the control ability with the vlink almost unlimited. No reflectors so I get a more even light spread and no spotlighting effect. Overall just quality and longevity not to mention a 2 year warranty. These are just a few of my likes. Hope this helps
You can do more research on "Aquarium Article Digest"

 

[acesq]

So is there a consensus as to which model is best for a 48x24x24 SPS tank? The website suggests the 200 will do, but it appears many are opting for the 260. Are those of you with the 260 running them at full power?

 

[alanbates12]

The 200 is sufficient for a 24" tank but the 260 is suppose to be 10%brighter.

 

[mojo~]

Mojo I think it's 1 uv for every 2'

I did read that. but I ordered 2 uv pads and one red one... Premium said they will be and ship on friday. So I should have mine one Monday next week.

I have 2 aux spots so I thought 2 uv on outside and a red in the middle.

 

[acesq]

The 200 is sufficient for a 24" tank but the 260 is suppose to be 10%brighter.

Do I need that extra 10% to keep clams on the sand bed? If not, why pay for more light than I'll ever use...

 

[alanbates12]

Do I need that extra 10% to keep clams on the sand bed? If not, why pay for more light than I'll ever use...

You should be fine with the 200. If money is not an issue I'd get the 260 only because you can always dial it back. But don't feel like your cutting yourself short with the 200. The 260 is more for greater than 24" tank. Personally I went with the 260 but it was in my budget, the sale vertex just had, but if not I was going with the 200 myself.

 

[studentdriver]

Did anyone notice that Vertex is coming out with more powerful 320 and 360 series?

I'm currently using the 200 series illumina and satisfied with it's performance, but of course we all want more light. Am looking into maybe upgrading to the newer series, but after some digging. Have some question below maybe someone or Vertex can help anser.

Vertex touts that the light is built to be easily upgradeable. That's great, but with the price of the mains pads that is not a feasible option. Bulk reef list the main pads for the series 260 at around $250. each. So I take it that the newer 320 and 360 will definitely be more. You multiple the price per pad by how many pads you need for you fixture, and it's like the price of a brand new fixture (plus 2 years of new product warranty). That to me just doesn't make any sense for people looking to upgrade their main pads.

I see this type of upgrade cost with a lot of other companies and it's not just Vertex.

And yet below is what Vertex states.
"Furthermore, any increase in intensity or change of color composition can be achieved in a considerably more cost effective manner, since there will be no need to change the primary boards, which represent the main production costs of the fixture (in some cases up to 70% of the total fixture’s cost) and can be extremely expensive to replace"

So if Vertex is saying that up to 70% of a fixtures total cost is the primary board, why are the main pads so expensive?

And for everyone who thinks that the Aux PADS are inexpensive, It's not like the main pad, it's only 4 LEDs on the pad.

Will Vertex offer a trade in program to offset the cost of the newer pads?

 

[notclear]

Good observation!

But based on how much they sell for the Aux modules, and with so many more LED's on the main pads, it is hard to believe they can sell the main pads close to or at most 50% more than the Aux modules! I hope they can.

 

[alanbates12]

Do I need that extra 10% to keep clams on the sand bed? If not, why pay for more light than I'll ever use...

Did some more reading and found that the 260 is 30% brighter than the 200.