Pacific Sun Pandora hyperion hybrid Fanclub

[jdamon]

I figured I would start this one as there has been one if these for the ATI hybrid for a while now...

Just received my Hyperion Pandora S (SMT) 48" fixture 3x 145w LED's and 4 x 59w T5! Took me a long time to decide on this unit (more than a year), and I think it's the best on the market currently. I have been without a reef tank for number of years due to grad school, and am happy to say that I can now build a sweet tank. Since my last foray in reef tanks(1993-2004) LED's have become available and much better. I was excited to research the forums, but was a little disappointed in the beginning of my search. Long story short, I went from wanting just led's, to MH T5 combo, then finally found the LED T5 combo. Like many others, I saw the ATI powermodule hybrid fixture, but was convinced of the superiority of the PS unit because of their "no white" LED clusters. I also have a local dealer and was able to see a demo of the light, which was awesome!

Now to the nitty gritty:

Picked up light fixture yesterday, got it home, and realized there were a few bits missing... The only thing in the box was the fixture itself, no power cord, no power adapter (not sure if I need one of those as there is also no manual!), no hanging kit. So, I called the shop, and they are looking into it. I am sure it will be resolved quickly, they probably got a little overwhelmed with the last Black Friday sale. I am wondering about the power supply though, as I have a plug that will fit into the port on the back? Would love to fire it up, but I don't want to wreck a brand new light! I looked at the manual online, but it seems to be only for the software. Which brings up the next topic, software. Was totally psyched that this light supported Mac, but after actually downloading the software and looking at it, it seems to be limited in comparison to the PC version. It is beta, so I will hold out that the next version for Mac will be better and use a PC I have for now. I am wondering if I can try running the light from both computers, if that will mess anything up.

I am very excited about this light in general, and will continue to share my experience. Feel free to chime in fellow PS led T5 combo users!

[jdamon]

Lfs notified me that they found the second box that contains the power cord etc., sweet! Will pick that up tomorrow and test out the light.

[echoreef]

Congratulation. I will be joining the club myself shortly. I had order the Pandora S during the Black Friday sale. Should be getting the light shortly as Yorgos has already emailed me about shipment. Glad you are starting the Pac Sun Pandora S club as there is not a lot of information out there at this time.

[Pacific Sun RD]

Hello Jeff,
Thank you for short review.
Native mac version of latest software update will be available after New Year - last test are in progress. We tried to implement all possible advantages from Win version into Mac software.
We hope to release final revision soon - also for Android devices(update to current version).
Im glad to hear that missed parts was found and we hope to see your full review soon :-)
Any questions - please ask.
Best regards

Przemek

[olemiss reb]

I have two Pandora S and a Hyperion R2. Both models are great but the Pandora S can't be beat. I got one of the first pre-orders shipped out and ordered a second one two weeks later to replace a Vertex Illumina.

Pandora S supporting a Gigantea since ~June

[jdamon]

Looks great!

[jdamon]

Update

Picked up the second box from the LFS, and it had everything I needed (hanging kit too)! So, I plugged it in and tested out the light, seems great! I had it leaning against the wall and fooled around with the Mac version of the software, worked well! After a while my family started complaining that they were being blinded and that I wasn't spending time with them, so I turned it off... I need to hang it up now. It appears that the hanging kit only gives you one shot, so I will have to plan it out carefully! Will post some pics after I get it hung up.

[Rudimenta]

Getting my S3 soon, hope it arrives the same day as the tank, 8 jan

[Rudimenta]

Ps mind taking pics of the hanging process, I will be in the same boat soon

[Dashiki]

I went with the ATI fixture because pacsun doesn't have a 24" t5 that I could see. They are great looking lights though.

[Rudimenta]

dont they have a version with 24" t5's? i thought the smaller s1 version had two 24 t5's

[jdamon]

Fixture is hung!

The hanging kit was way easier to deal with than expected. The ceiling wasn't, but that is another story. I was worried that once you threaded the wire through the holders, that you wouldn't be able to back them out (like a zip tie.) But, its really easy to adjust them up and down, no problem. I placed the light ~10" from the top of the tank and it looks good. I have spent the last couple days messing around with the Mac software, it mostly works. There is an update coming toward the end of January, so that is promising. I am going to email pacific sun before I give a detailed review of the mac software, I think I may be missing something.

I am thinking of running this schedule:

9am sunrise 120 minutes Led's
11 Led's at 30% (all color channels at 100%)
12 pm T5's on (2 blue plus, 2 coral plus)
4 pm T5's off
7 Pm Sunset start 120 minutes
9 pm Moonlight

What is everybody else doing?

[Rudimenta]

Pictures!

[JPMagyar]

Subscribed and eager to join the fray once I get my fixtures! Ordered two Pandora S2s!

[jdamon]

Couple of photos... not as exciting as if there were fish and coral in there, but a taste of the light none the less!

The blue-er photo with the lights on is middle of the day, T5's on and 30% power to LED's (3 x 145w), with all the color channels turned to 100%. And the second lights on photo is in the middle of sunset, really col how it dims and changes color!

[Rudimenta]

nice jdamon!

I see you left the string on the top, so you can adjust the hight to perfection later? cool i thought that would be a one time action.

[zachts]

Originally Posted by olemiss reb

I have two Pandora S and a Hyperion R2. Both models are great but the Pandora S can't be beat. I got one of the first pre-orders shipped out and ordered a second one two weeks later to replace a Vertex Illumina.

Pandora S supporting a Gigantea since ~June

Beautiful anemone! Keep it happy or else we'll be coming to get you

[zachts]

Originally Posted by jdamon

Couple of photos... not as exciting as if there were fish and coral in there, but a taste of the light none the less!

The blue-er photo with the lights on is middle of the day, T5's on and 30% power to LED's (3 x 145w), with all the color channels turned to 100%. And the second lights on photo is in the middle of sunset, really col how it dims and changes color!

Cool! I can't wait to see it stocked. I've been debating one of these but I tend to prefer to DIY for the fun of it, but we'll see once I get around to my tank upgrade in the next year or so.....

Following along!

[echoreef]

Originally Posted by jdamon

Couple of photos... not as exciting as if there were fish and coral in there, but a taste of the light none the less!

The blue-er photo with the lights on is middle of the day, T5's on and 30% power to LED's (3 x 145w), with all the color channels turned to 100%. And the second lights on photo is in the middle of sunset, really col how it dims and changes color!

I have not seen the light mounted in that manner before with the adjustment against the ceiling instead of down before at the light fixture. Are you sure you did not mount this upside down?

[jdamon]

Pretty sure it's correctly mounted... Do a google search for "pacific sun led mounting kit" and you will see how it works. Each cable is threaded through the fixture (4 holes in fixture) and each cable has a stud crimped to one end that holds up the light. The chrome cylinders mount to the ceiling (or whatever) and the cable is threaded through that (which has the adjustment).

[Pacific Sun RD]

Hello,
Yes, its ok - because its 4 ropes hanging kit model.
We have also two steel ropes - Kanlux type - which is used with smaller lamps - like Tritons, Hyperions etc.
Double hanging kit have regulation close to lamp, four steel rope - near ceiling(and on this photo its correctly installed)

Regards

[echoreef]

I thought I would bring some life back to this thread. Here is some initial photos of the Pandora S2 4x75w LED + 4x80w T5 combo. The fixture is 65" long and will be used in my 6' 250 gallon SPS tank.

[echoreef]

I was able to mount the light last night after having it sit in my living room on the floor for the past 3 weeks. I am using the latest Firmware and Software version 1.1 which is still in Beta. Instead of messing with the PAR table, I am using the Bali program to simulate the lighting in the shallow reef of Bali.





In this picture you can see that I have hidden the extra cable at the ceiling by drilling a small hole next to each toggle and tucking the wires into the ceiling to conceal it.

[jdamon]

Lookin' good echoreef!

Seems you are having a little trouble finding time to mess with the tank like me It will be interesting to see which one of us can post the first pics of stuff growing under the lights! My goal was to have my live rock today, and then in the tank in 3 weeks or so. But of course, that didn't happen! I'm close to having all my plumbing done (salt mixing station one floor down, and tank), I just can't seem to get enough time in a row to finish. Oh well, it will happen soon enough!

[therra978]

where did you purchase the lights from?