Vertex Illumina Club

[aufo8mycat]

Originally Posted by rodneyri

Ok so PAR results are in, i have the vertex set at 60% for these readings and will take further readings as i boost the light up of the coming weeks.

RED - ATI 8x54w
WHITE - Vertex Illumina 1200-200 @ 60%

can i ask what you used to mesure the par, as i tried mine and was a little dissapointed, but i think was maybe a cheap par meter

[dnf]

Hello everyone*

I'm from Portugal and this is my first time in Reef Central.

I have a 420 litters (112 gallons) reef tank with 112 litters (30 gallons) sump. The tank dimensions are 120x70x60 *("48 x "28 x "24).

At the moment this is my equipment:

- skimmer: bubble king super marine 200
- return pump: red dragon 3.500
- circulation: 2 x tunze 6105 with multi controller 6095 and 2 x tunze 6045
- chiller: aqua medic
- lighting: 10 x T5 54 wats (540 wats)

I will start the balling method next week.

I heard and read very good reviews of vertex illumina and because of that I'm thinking to change my tank lighting, but I have some doubts:

- what is the best model for my tank, sr 200 or sr 260?
- is the 90 ("36) enough or is better the 120 ("48)?

Thanks in advance

Regards*
Dnf

[Kolognekoral]

Dnf,

I take it the tank is 70cm deep. Although the SR200 would be enough for most corals, the SR260 would allow more choice on the sand. Also, with the SR260 you should be able to use the 900 length without a problem. I have the 120 length over my 136 cm wide tank, which is a few centimeters deeper than yours (about 78cm deep) and it is plenty of light.

[dnf]

Tank you Jamie

My tank is bare bottom and is 60 cm deep.*

Is 240w enough? At the moment I have 540 wats T5!

What is the main difference between sr 200 and sr 260?

Tanks

Dnf

[AGYDAL]

Originally Posted by dnf

Tank you Jamie

My tank is bare bottom and is 60 cm deep.*

Is 240w enough? At the moment I have 540 wats T5!

What is the main difference between sr 200 and sr 260?

Tanks

Dnf

Dnf -
LEDs don't go by Watts, they use a different term for the watts synonym on LED but I can't remember it(Jamie mentions it in a previous post i think) you want to be concerned with looking at PAR.

The difference in the 200 vs. 260:
-a larger portion of your paycheck gets "invested" in your tank
-I have the 200 I bought it before the switch too Cree, so mine has the Rebels...as of November '10 the 200's also use Cree but are not as strong as the 260 Cree's. (Look a few pages back at Aufo8mycat's picture taken looking at the front window of his residence...)


Jamie-
I like your answer to your stairwell! As a kid my Mom and I always wanted a freshwater tank in the loft of their entry way like that lol! My Dad gave us some excuse why we couldn't...we had 2 skylights in the loft that would have taken care of any lighting and directly below was a large closet we could have plumbed it all through...it was perfect, but Dads love was for cars so the tank had to go in the kitchen...though Dads love for cars trumping Moms and my tanks was forgiven when I turned 16 haha!

Gotta love where fish people find an excuse to get/put a tank...I have a 3gallon corner eclipse with some guppies in it as a bathroom night light, haven't stubbed my toe on the door since! But it's not so bright it wakes me up like the lightswitch controlled lights do

Thank you for the pictures.

[Kolognekoral]

Originally Posted by dnf

Tank you Jamie

My tank is bare bottom and is 60 cm deep.*

Is 240w enough? At the moment I have 540 wats T5!

What is the main difference between sr 200 and sr 260?

Tanks

Dnf

Dnf,

as AGYDAL wrote, Watts are not what one counts with LEDs, except for the electricity consumption. This is why LEDs are taking over, so to say, their energy efficiency. What you want to look at is lumens per Watt and spectra.

The numbers attached to the two model series, SR200 and SR260, is the PAR rating done in the lab. At 50 cm under the water surface, with the lamp about 30cm/12" above the tank, the PAR is 200 or 260 respectively. Now, as most of us are hanging the lamp a meer 6" above the water surface (which is perfect, by the way), the PAR ratings are much higher. Vertex recommends the SR200 series for tanks up to 24" deep and the SR260 series for tanks up to 40" deep, when keeping high light corals. A bit of this is ball park, as a great deal will depend on what one is keeping , as well as how high one hangs the fixture.

Hope this helps,

[dnf]

Thanks

Ok. I think I will go to the sr 200 120 length. The difference €€ between sr 200 vs 260 is huge!!

Regards

[Kolognekoral]

Originally Posted by dnf

Thanks

Ok. I think I will go to the sr 200 120 length. The difference €€ between sr 200 vs 260 is huge!!

Regards

I would probably recommend you take a 900 instead of the 1200, as it is a bit longer than 120cm and would hang a bit over the edge due to the end caps.

[dnf]

I don't have any experience with led's but I'm afraid that 900 will be shorter for my tank!

[rodneyri]

So a friend of mine came over with a cool little gadget called a CIE Chromaticity Meter to measure the light spectrum and intensity of my new Vertex LED. here are some pretty graphs the unit puts out

im thinking the Violet and Red parts of the spectrum need some boosting, so Vertex if your listening these are the color pads

[boxer385]

i have the marineland 250 gal tank 60x36x27 would the 260 work for me with a depth of 36, i have sps dominate system?

[Kolognekoral]

Originally Posted by boxer385

i have the marineland 250 gal tank 60x36x27 would the 260 work for me with a depth of 36, i have sps dominate system?

Boxer,

if hung about 6" over the water you will be fine to about 40" depth, so you have a bit of room to play

[Kolognekoral]

Rodney,

very cool! Thanks for posting these. Based on the graphs, I would certainly like to see violet LEDs available, as well as the coming red.

[x19]

Very interesting graphs, thanks for posting. I'm having a bit of a bubble algae problem, so the lack of red spectrum is great at least in the short term.

[Kolognekoral]

Originally Posted by x19

Very interesting graphs, thanks for posting. I'm having a bit of a bubble algae problem, so the lack of red spectrum is great at least in the short term.

And long term, as the Illumina is missing their main funtional spectrum.

I've noted some new types of alga(?) showing on my rocks. Sort of a bright olive, encrusting type. Very discrete and makes a nice combination with the various red-purple kalkalga. I suspect deeper water forms I finding a niche without the strong red spectrum.

[rodneyri]

I think we need red and violet to bring out colors lost with LED like my birdsnest looks average under my light where previously it looked awesome

[Kolognekoral]

Rodney,

tha red pads are on their way, followed by violet. I agree, for the aesthetic the red will be interesting, although I think we will need to learn to dose the red in order to keep alga under control (still, most algal problems are closer connected to excess nutrients, than excess red light). The violet spectrum from 390nm-420nm would be nice, although the only violet leds of quality are at about 405nm. When one reads what statistics are available on corals PUR, below this range is not really important.

[x19]

I received my Illumina today, hanging and installation was a breeze but I have 1 question (so far). I programmed a schedule in expert mode via the v-link that goes from 10 am - 10 pm, uploaded it and set the clock accurately on the unit. However, when I click start program it seems to only light up the first pad as though it was sunrise instead of going to current moment in the schedule.

What am I missing?

Thanks.

[x19]

Apparently it was a problem with that program, so I just hit erase all and started over..its working fine now.

[Animadverto]

Jamie,

Do you know the time frame for when the red and violet pads will be available? Will these pads be modular upgrades that we can simply pop in and out or will they require soldering? Are the diode drivers on the Vertex Illumina constant-current driven or constant-voltage? Lastly, is Vertex planning to introduce a full-spectrum LED fixture anytime soon?

I currently have a Maxspect Led fixture, and I would like to upgrade it to a fixture that has a full color spectrum like the Orphek and the ability to control color temperature and light intensity like the Vertex. If Vertex can introduce a full color spectrum led fixture with the existing platform, then I'm sold.

Thanks.

David

[studentdriver]

My backlight LCD used to turn off after about a minute or so. Now, after playing around with the "Expert Mode" it constantly stays on.

Is everyone's LCD on the Illumina constantly on? Can someone advise me how to program it so that it turns off after a while.

[notclear]

The LCD display contantly on also happened to me before. By turning off the main power of the fixture and then turning it back on fixed the problem for me.

[Kolognekoral]

Originally Posted by Animadverto

Jamie,

Do you know the time frame for when the red and violet pads will be available? Will these pads be modular upgrades that we can simply pop in and out or will they require soldering? Are the diode drivers on the Vertex Illumina constant-current driven or constant-voltage? Lastly, is Vertex planning to introduce a full-spectrum LED fixture anytime soon?

I currently have a Maxspect Led fixture, and I would like to upgrade it to a fixture that has a full color spectrum like the Orphek and the ability to control color temperature and light intensity like the Vertex. If Vertex can introduce a full color spectrum led fixture with the existing platform, then I'm sold.

Thanks.


David

OK,

the pads will be pop-in and screw down, self-integrating. The programm will recognize them and add them to the menu. I hope to have the first red ones in the hand this month.

Vertex is using a constant current from Meanwell.

On the subject of 'full-spectrum', this is difficult to define. Vertex produces the Illumilux line, which is modular and comes in white/cool white, RB/cool white, RB, Red, etc. and is actually aimed at the freshwater market. Of course, they may be used for marine tanks, too, just they are not an individual unit and not as powerfull. Developement is still going on and more possibilities will come.

For marine tanks, the current statistics show that marine full spectrum is not daylight full spectrum, even in shallow waters. At some point one has to decide what they want to see, coupled with what is good for the corals, etc. The reason the extra pads are being developed , which will allow a truly custon lamp. Needless to say, the developement of future Vertex pads will depend on the developements in LEDs. Plus, things do need to be tested. One doesn't want to put somehting on the market, just because it is currently en vogue. Vertex is striving for dependable quality, not flavour of the month lighting. As things develope, you'll be reading about them.

[Beenalongtime79]

The vertex illumina LED light is quite amazing! Good par numbers at only 60% intensity!

[studentdriver]

notclear,

thanks, that did the trick.