Pacific Sun Pandora hyperion hybrid Fanclub - Page 3

JPMagyar · 02/10/2014, 06:42 PM

Ok. So I came across some very exciting data today that really raises my expectations with regards to the Pandora fixtures. I would preference my post by saying that personally I consider the Radium bulb to be the pinnacle of acropora growing light technology so far and therefore any light which can emulate and perhaps even improve on the fundamentals of a Radium bulb seems to me to be worth a closer look. With that in mind I was honestly shocked by the spectral graph of the SMT panels. Come to find out the SMT panel closely resembles the spectral output of the venerable Radium bulb with most of its irradiance coming in the same 440 to 460 nm range of the spectrum. What this says to me is that I can expect similar colors and growth from the 75 watt SMT panels as I had with my 400 watt Radiums especially when the SMT panels are combined with the filling light of the T5s. Speaking of which today I tried the ATI Blue Plus but didn't like the too blue color so I tried 8 ATI Coral Plus and found that the color I got was as close to a Radium bulb as I have ever seen.

So to summarize . . . the SMT panels produce light VERY similar to a Radium bulb. Radium bulbs arguably make the most colorful acropora tanks in the world . . . so . . . SMT panels may be the next best thing since sliced bread

. . . well anyways I'm using them now and we'll see how my tank does over the next 2 to 3 years. By then we should have a pretty good idea.

On a wholly other note I wanted to jokingly poke fun at the ATI Powermodule fan club. Hey guys anyone want to do a bulb cost comparison or an electricity comparison . . . remember all in good fun

----------------------------Radium Bulb
----------------------------

SMT Panel

ATI Coral Plus Bulb

JPMagyar · 02/10/2014, 07:18 PM

So a final musing from this evening. I've been posting from a laptop in the "fishroom" while watching the transitions I created using the PAR table. Honestly I must admit now that I finally sat down and watched all the transitions I am truly astonished. I have not personally used the Bali program, but I gather it creates some spectacular light effects during dawn/dusk. I see how I could easily refine my programming, but the power to minutely control the colors on a minute by minute basis is fun and astounding. This is definitely technology that is worthy of further exploration. How to make this easier to access and affect that is the question . . .

But seriously the light effects possible with the PAR table are mind boggling!

echoreef · 02/10/2014, 07:25 PM

I am in the other camp. Instead of creating my custom PAR table, I elected to go with the Bali setting. It's set it and forget it which is exactly what I want. So far, I like the program and sees no reason to customize it.

Dashiki · 02/10/2014, 07:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JPMagyar

Ok. So I came across some very exciting data today that really raises my expectations with regards to the Pandora fixtures. I would preference my post by saying that personally I consider the Radium bulb to be the pinnacle of acropora growing light technology so far and therefore any light which can emulate and perhaps even improve on the fundamentals of a Radium bulb seems to me to be worth a closer look. With that in mind I was honestly shocked by the spectral graph of the SMT panels. Come to find out the SMT panel closely resembles the spectral output of the venerable Radium bulb with most of its irradiance coming in the same 440 to 460 nm range of the spectrum. What this says to me is that I can expect similar colors and growth from the 75 watt SMT panels as I had with my 400 watt Radiums especially when the SMT panels are combined with the filling light of the T5s. Speaking of which today I tried the ATI Blue Plus but didn't like the too blue color so I tried 8 ATI Coral Plus and found that the color I got was as close to a Radium bulb as I have ever seen.

So to summarize . . . the SMT panels produce light VERY similar to a Radium bulb. Radium bulbs arguably make the most colorful acropora tanks in the world . . . so . . . SMT panels may be the next best thing since sliced bread

. . . well anyways I'm using them now and we'll see how my tank does over the next 2 to 3 years. By then we should have a pretty good idea.

On a wholly other note I wanted to jokingly poke fun at the ATI Powermodule fan club. Hey guys anyone want to do a bulb cost comparison or an electricity comparison . . . remember all in good fun

----------------------------Radium Bulb
----------------------------

SMT Panel

ATI Coralt Plus Bulb

My issue with led is the shadowing. If they could put LEDs into a Lumenmax elite reflector it would be great. I bought my hybrid powermodule wanting a t5 fixture with LEDs. Not a led fixture with t5. IMO the led manufacturers need to find a way to reflect light around they tank not straight down.

I know pacsun is better at this than others.

My radion was terrible color on the top of the coral and white on the sides. With t5 I have color all the way around the coral.

Dashiki · 02/10/2014, 07:40 PM

And I can't stand people complaining about bulb cost. I can buy my bulbs and still buy all the coral I want. So who cares about bulb cost.

zachts · 02/10/2014, 07:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dashiki

And I can't stand people complaining about bulb cost. I can buy my bulbs and still buy all the coral I want. So who cares about bulb cost.

Well, aren't you among the fortunate, budget free hobbyists. Most of us have no such luxury, and have to decide between new bulbs and a new coral or fish........or other life expenses, like food for our families. Just saying, no disrespect meant but your comment is a bit out of line. The cost of the expendables of this hobby is a big deal to most of us, and bulbs are among the top of the list of pricey items.

Fredfish · 02/10/2014, 08:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by zachts

Well, aren't you among the fortunate, budget free hobbyists. Most of us have no such luxury, and have to decide between new bulbs and a new coral or fish........or other life expenses, like food for our families. Just saying, no disrespect meant but your comment is a bit out of line. The cost of the expendables of this hobby is a big deal to most of us, and bulbs are among the top of the list of pricey items.

You feed your family?

No way am I gonna let my kids read this. They think foraging is fun.

zachts · 02/10/2014, 08:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fredfish

You feed your family?

No way am I gonna let my kids read this. They think foraging is fun.

Foraging builds character I suppose

My folks didn't give me a dime growing up, had to scrap by for anything I wanted other than a roof over head.........

......and I think I turned out OK, aside from this horrible crippling addiction to Reefing......

JPMagyar · 02/10/2014, 08:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fredfish

You feed your family?

No way am I gonna let my kids read this. They think foraging is fun.

Foraging?!? I make my kids load shells and go hunting

We have at least 10 squirrel pie recipes.

Dashiki · 02/10/2014, 08:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by zachts

Well, aren't you among the fortunate, budget free hobbyists. Most of us have no such luxury, and have to decide between new bulbs and a new coral or fish........or other life expenses, like food for our families. Just saying, no disrespect meant but your comment is a bit out of line. The cost of the expendables of this hobby is a big deal to most of us, and bulbs are among the top of the list of pricey items.

I am so sick of reading posts of people complaining about the costs of everything. Really you are going to flame me about $20 bulbs needed once a year? Get a life.

If you have to make a hard choice of corals or diapers for your kids you need a new less expensive hobby.

Food for your family? Give me a break.

zachts · 02/10/2014, 08:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JPMagyar

Foraging?!? I make my kids load shells and go hunting

We have at least 10 squirrel pie recipes.

if only, the neighbors call the cops if I shoot a rabbit out of my porch with a pellet gun in the city.... LOL!

Do you have anything that goes well with likely poisoned squirel? my neighbor hates me shooting things but has no problem putting rat poison in the attic for the squirrels he lets live up there.......

Dashiki · 02/10/2014, 08:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by zachts

Foraging builds character I suppose

My folks didn't give me a dime growing up, had to scrap by for anything I wanted other than a roof over head.........

......and I think I turned out OK, aside from this horrible crippling addiction to Reefing......

FYI my post was about the comment on powermodule owners. If you read any of the previous posts you'd know I am one.

Fredfish · 02/10/2014, 08:15 PM

Thanks for the chuckle fellas.

JP. It looks like you are having fun with you fancy new thingmabob. I think the folks at Pacific Sun have an interesting approach to leds.

I'm still contemplating a multi-chip diy vs trying to replicate a Pacific Sun LED only fixture with small LED clusters. It would be fun to just buy, plug in and play though.

zachts · 02/10/2014, 08:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dashiki

I am so sick of reading posts of people complaining about the costs of everything. Really you are going to flame me about $20 bulbs needed once a year? Get a life.

If you have to make a hard choice of corals or diapers for your kids you need a new less expensive hobby.

Food for your family? Give me a break.

Sorry to side track, but it can be a very expensive hobby, and not everyone has unlimited pockets for their addiction.

The amount I've spent on bulbs in the last decade could have bought a brand new car had LEDs been around back then, and as good as they are today.............

Peace out!

zachts · 02/10/2014, 08:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dashiki

FYI my post was about the comment on powermodule owners. If you read any of the previous posts you'd know I am one.

I read those posts, my comment was only about your, cost of the hobby statement. nothing else, I've laughed it off already, no hard feelings.

Dashiki · 02/10/2014, 08:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by zachts

Sorry to side track, but it can be a very expensive hobby, and not everyone has unlimited pockets for their addiction.

The amount I've spent on bulbs in the last decade could have bought a brand new car had LEDs been around back then, and as good as they are today.............

Peace out!

It is an expensive hobby.

If you look at what we spend starting, stocking and maintenance spending $160 a year in bulbs doesn't break the bank.

Dashiki · 02/10/2014, 08:21 PM

No feelings at all. Complaining about cost especially in a thread of one of the most expensive lights in the hobby just hit a nerve. Especially when I was joking.

zachts · 02/10/2014, 08:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dashiki

No feelings at all. Complaining about cost especially in a thread of one of the most expensive lights in the hobby just hit a nerve. Especially when I was joking.

Sorry, missed your joke,

had this fixture been around a decade ago, I'd have saved countless thousands on bulbs as the t5s could have ran till they burned out or a not at all really not even needed..........

done...

jdamon · 02/10/2014, 10:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JPMagyar

So a final musing from this evening. I've been posting from a laptop in the "fishroom" while watching the transitions I created using the PAR table. Honestly I must admit now that I finally sat down and watched all the transitions I am truly astonished. I have not personally used the Bali program, but I gather it creates some spectacular light effects during dawn/dusk. I see how I could easily refine my programming, but the power to minutely control the colors on a minute by minute basis is fun and astounding. This is definitely technology that is worthy of further exploration. How to make this easier to access and affect that is the question . . .

But seriously the light effects possible with the PAR table are mind boggling!

Thanks for posting those spectral plots Joe! Its nice to see how the pac sun compares with the "gold standard" MH bulb. i am also happy to see that you are starting to really warm up to the fixtures

I sincerely hope your corals do well them!

As far as the electricity usage, I was definitely attracted to the LED's for their potential cost savings in the long run (less electricity, and less bulb or no bulb replacement.) I think its a difficult thing to measure though, as we all have slightly different times and intensities. But if I ran everything on my fixture at 100%, I think i am somewhere in the range of 650watts! I don't plan to run everything at 100% though. I plan to run the T5's for 3-4 hours a day, and I did opt for the 145w squares so as to be able to run them at lower power, to make them last longer and have the option to run them at greater intensity for short periods (full mid day sun). I believe the power module is dim able, but a 48" 8 bulb would be ~400w, and then you could add the led's for comparison. I think the proof will be in the electric bill, but I don't have much to compare personally. I know the apex gives you a read out of amperage, but I am not sure if you track/graph individual outlets. That would be the most accurate way to compare though, if possible.

JPMagyar · 03/06/2014, 07:31 AM

Here is a summary of my experience with the Pacific Sun Pandora S2:

1) The lights were shipped without the latest software installed, and the CD shipped with the fixtures was not the latest software either.

2) The initial software Setup.exe file from the CD did not work, and I had to call for technical help to get the lights to work, and the only answer was to open individual files inside the file folder.

3) The same was true for the updated software which I downloaded online. The Setup.exe file did not work.

4) Once installed it turns out that you must buy an external Bluetooth transmitter because you need a strong enough signal to overcome the system's sensitivity to electromagnetic noise. Even then I had to stand less than a meter away to insure safe connectivity.

5) Numerous items can cause the software to crash and if you crash the software during an update you must reboot the entire fixture, but there are no instructions included to explain this. You again must call for help.

6) Today one of my cooling fans failed. Since there are at least 2 examples on RC alone one can assume that the failure rate is higher than it should be.

7) The updated software downloaded from Pacific Sun did not control the LEDs correctly, and the repaired software was not announced anywhere that I saw. In fact I don't see a thread anywhere about the subject nor did I hear a single word from Yorgos or Przemek with whom I have been communicating almost daily for a month. The errors in control were significant in that individual channels controlled the wrong LEDs or no LEDs at all.

8) I ordered my fixtures in October and received them in February even though I paid in full up front. Admittedly this was due to shipping damage, but still that is a long lag time.

9) Pacific Sun has a strict "No Returns" policy even though this fixture is clearly a lemon both in terms of software and hardware.

The above items are facts. These items are opinions:

1) The SMT panels are too blue. They need at least one white LED to give users an option of creating a less blue look during dawn and dusk when the T5s are off.

2) The S2 should not be marketed as a SPS capable fixture. The PAR output is just enough for an SPS reef with PAR readings in the 400 uMol/m2/s in the top of the aquarium and only directly under the SMT panels. As a result you can not run the LEDs at less than 100% if you plan on keeping SPS or if you want to keep PAR levels on the bottom of a 30 inch tank above 100.

3) The T5s are not dimmable. For those that do not like the overly glittery lines produced by LEDs having the ability to have the T5s dim and rise along with the LEDs would greatly enhance the viewing desirability.

4) The heart of the control in the software is the PAR table and although powerful, it is extremely cumbersome to use. You can not work on a table then save your work and return to work some more later. You must complete the table in one sitting and you must be connected to a fixture via bluetooth otherwise the system crashes meanwhile the bluetooth connectivity is very sensitive to interference. A graphic control used by competitors is light years ahead in this regard.

All in all the Pandora S2 is sleek, modern, and full of potential, but I would most definitely buy the S and not the S2. I would also wait for the next iteration where in they will hopefully provide Wi-Fi with a more secure connection, software that is not so buggy and prone to crashing, better instructions along with the unit including a "Start Here" type of handout, at least one white LED in the SMT panel, and T5 dimming.

Click on the picture to see a short video of the fan just before it failed. Remember this fixture has been up for only one month.

jdamon · 03/06/2014, 09:26 PM

Joe, I must say I have a similar opinion of the lights at the moment...

I love the concept, controlability, and efficiency.

I hate the software (the mac version is more stable, but no par table, or bali, or moon phases).

And my light keeps tripping the GFCI if I have 3 or more of the T5 tubes installed. Service (Poland) is telling me I am crazy, but I am pretty sure I may have one of those bad fans. That would easily trip a GFCI. And, yes, I have tried it on multiple GFCI outlets, and completed many of my own "experiments" to narrow the problem down. I have also not heard from Jorgos after emailing him and leaving him a voicemail. That being said, the LFS and my 40 year veteran of the electric company father both said to just run the light on a non GFCi outlet. But I can't help but be bothered that a $2400 light fixture hanging over 150 gallons of salt water trips a GFCi consistently. Poland said they tested for 48 hours using a GFCI outlet, but I am guessing something got loose in shipping. I would even have no problem taking apart myself to look for any loose connections, but I am afraid of voiding my warranty. Maybe I should just do it anyway.

Anywho, I digress. I still think the light will be great, but I am waiting not so patiently for new software (and maybe a new fan?)

jdamon · 03/06/2014, 10:17 PM

So I realized that I had not yet registered the light fixture on the PS USA website... maybe I will have better luck hearing from Jorgos now

Mark SF · 03/06/2014, 10:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jdamon

Joe, I must say I have a similar opinion of the lights at the moment...

I love the concept, controlability, and efficiency.

I hate the software (the mac version is more stable, but no par table, or bali, or moon phases).

And my light keeps tripping the GFCI if I have 3 or more of the T5 tubes installed. Service (Poland) is telling me I am crazy, but I am pretty sure I may have one of those bad fans. That would easily trip a GFCI. And, yes, I have tried it on multiple GFCI outlets, and completed many of my own "experiments" to narrow the problem down. I have also not heard from Jorgos after emailing him and leaving him a voicemail. That being said, the LFS and my 40 year veteran of the electric company father both said to just run the light on a non GFCi outlet. But I can't help but be bothered that a $2400 light fixture hanging over 150 gallons of salt water trips a GFCi consistently. Poland said they tested for 48 hours using a GFCI outlet, but I am guessing something got loose in shipping. I would even have no problem taking apart myself to look for any loose connections, but I am afraid of voiding my warranty. Maybe I should just do it anyway.

Anywho, I digress. I still think the light will be great, but I am waiting not so patiently for new software (and maybe a new fan?)

I had a pair of fans fail on me. Yorgos sent out the new fans and it was a quick disconnect on the inside. Really a PITA but at least it was serviceable.

I do like that the fans are very quiet, but it does seem that they are prone to failure.

-Mark

zachts · 03/06/2014, 10:50 PM

Most fans are prone to failure when near salt water. They are not at all water or moisture proof and suck in salt dust and moisture over time and fail. Even Ecotech has had problems with fans failing. It would be nice if they just designed the fans to be easily replaced and assumed they would fail and need replacing ever year or two. Would be pretty easy to do on the manufacturing end, just make the fan cover a bit bigger than the fan and put the disconnect under the fan cover.

Just my 2 cents for what ever it's worth.

rtparty · 03/07/2014, 01:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by zachts

Most fans are prone to failure when near salt water. They are not at all water or moisture proof and suck in salt dust and moisture over time and fail. Even Ecotech has had problems with fans failing. It would be nice if they just designed the fans to be easily replaced and assumed they would fail and need replacing ever year or two. Would be pretty easy to do on the manufacturing end, just make the fan cover a bit bigger than the fan and put the disconnect under the fan cover.

Just my 2 cents for what ever it's worth.

Somehow my 4 ATI fixtures have never needed a fan replaced. I better go knock on some wood though!

02/10/2014, 06:42 PM	#51
JPMagyar Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: NY,NY Posts: 2,072	Ok. So I came across some very exciting data today that really raises my expectations with regards to the Pandora fixtures. I would preference my post by saying that personally I consider the Radium bulb to be the pinnacle of acropora growing light technology so far and therefore any light which can emulate and perhaps even improve on the fundamentals of a Radium bulb seems to me to be worth a closer look. With that in mind I was honestly shocked by the spectral graph of the SMT panels. Come to find out the SMT panel closely resembles the spectral output of the venerable Radium bulb with most of its irradiance coming in the same 440 to 460 nm range of the spectrum. What this says to me is that I can expect similar colors and growth from the 75 watt SMT panels as I had with my 400 watt Radiums especially when the SMT panels are combined with the filling light of the T5s. Speaking of which today I tried the ATI Blue Plus but didn't like the too blue color so I tried 8 ATI Coral Plus and found that the color I got was as close to a Radium bulb as I have ever seen. So to summarize . . . the SMT panels produce light VERY similar to a Radium bulb. Radium bulbs arguably make the most colorful acropora tanks in the world . . . so . . . SMT panels may be the next best thing since sliced bread . . . well anyways I'm using them now and we'll see how my tank does over the next 2 to 3 years. By then we should have a pretty good idea. On a wholly other note I wanted to jokingly poke fun at the ATI Powermodule fan club. Hey guys anyone want to do a bulb cost comparison or an electricity comparison . . . remember all in good fun ----------------------------Radium Bulb ---------------------------- SMT Panel ATI Coral Plus Bulb __________________ Joe Peck TOTM Apr. 2013 Advanced Aquarist Featured Tank March 2011 Reef Hobbyist Magazine journalist, and all around SPS nut! Current Tank Info: 240 with 750 gal total system, ATI LED Powermodule, MTC-HSA 1000. MTC Pro-Cal..

02/10/2014, 07:18 PM	#52
JPMagyar Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: NY,NY Posts: 2,072	So a final musing from this evening. I've been posting from a laptop in the "fishroom" while watching the transitions I created using the PAR table. Honestly I must admit now that I finally sat down and watched all the transitions I am truly astonished. I have not personally used the Bali program, but I gather it creates some spectacular light effects during dawn/dusk. I see how I could easily refine my programming, but the power to minutely control the colors on a minute by minute basis is fun and astounding. This is definitely technology that is worthy of further exploration. How to make this easier to access and affect that is the question . . . But seriously the light effects possible with the PAR table are mind boggling! __________________ Joe Peck TOTM Apr. 2013 Advanced Aquarist Featured Tank March 2011 Reef Hobbyist Magazine journalist, and all around SPS nut! Current Tank Info: 240 with 750 gal total system, ATI LED Powermodule, MTC-HSA 1000. MTC Pro-Cal..

02/10/2014, 08:15 PM	#63
Fredfish Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2000 Posts: 2,661	Thanks for the chuckle fellas. JP. It looks like you are having fun with you fancy new thingmabob. I think the folks at Pacific Sun have an interesting approach to leds. I'm still contemplating a multi-chip diy vs trying to replicate a Pacific Sun LED only fixture with small LED clusters. It would be fun to just buy, plug in and play though. __________________ Advice is like a firehose. Be careful how you drink.

03/06/2014, 07:31 AM	#70
JPMagyar Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: NY,NY Posts: 2,072	Here is a summary of my experience with the Pacific Sun Pandora S2: 1) The lights were shipped without the latest software installed, and the CD shipped with the fixtures was not the latest software either. 2) The initial software Setup.exe file from the CD did not work, and I had to call for technical help to get the lights to work, and the only answer was to open individual files inside the file folder. 3) The same was true for the updated software which I downloaded online. The Setup.exe file did not work. 4) Once installed it turns out that you must buy an external Bluetooth transmitter because you need a strong enough signal to overcome the system's sensitivity to electromagnetic noise. Even then I had to stand less than a meter away to insure safe connectivity. 5) Numerous items can cause the software to crash and if you crash the software during an update you must reboot the entire fixture, but there are no instructions included to explain this. You again must call for help. 6) Today one of my cooling fans failed. Since there are at least 2 examples on RC alone one can assume that the failure rate is higher than it should be. 7) The updated software downloaded from Pacific Sun did not control the LEDs correctly, and the repaired software was not announced anywhere that I saw. In fact I don't see a thread anywhere about the subject nor did I hear a single word from Yorgos or Przemek with whom I have been communicating almost daily for a month. The errors in control were significant in that individual channels controlled the wrong LEDs or no LEDs at all. 8) I ordered my fixtures in October and received them in February even though I paid in full up front. Admittedly this was due to shipping damage, but still that is a long lag time. 9) Pacific Sun has a strict "No Returns" policy even though this fixture is clearly a lemon both in terms of software and hardware. The above items are facts. These items are opinions: 1) The SMT panels are too blue. They need at least one white LED to give users an option of creating a less blue look during dawn and dusk when the T5s are off. 2) The S2 should not be marketed as a SPS capable fixture. The PAR output is just enough for an SPS reef with PAR readings in the 400 uMol/m2/s in the top of the aquarium and only directly under the SMT panels. As a result you can not run the LEDs at less than 100% if you plan on keeping SPS or if you want to keep PAR levels on the bottom of a 30 inch tank above 100. 3) The T5s are not dimmable. For those that do not like the overly glittery lines produced by LEDs having the ability to have the T5s dim and rise along with the LEDs would greatly enhance the viewing desirability. 4) The heart of the control in the software is the PAR table and although powerful, it is extremely cumbersome to use. You can not work on a table then save your work and return to work some more later. You must complete the table in one sitting and you must be connected to a fixture via bluetooth otherwise the system crashes meanwhile the bluetooth connectivity is very sensitive to interference. A graphic control used by competitors is light years ahead in this regard. All in all the Pandora S2 is sleek, modern, and full of potential, but I would most definitely buy the S and not the S2. I would also wait for the next iteration where in they will hopefully provide Wi-Fi with a more secure connection, software that is not so buggy and prone to crashing, better instructions along with the unit including a "Start Here" type of handout, at least one white LED in the SMT panel, and T5 dimming. Click on the picture to see a short video of the fan just before it failed. Remember this fixture has been up for only one month. __________________ Joe Peck TOTM Apr. 2013 Advanced Aquarist Featured Tank March 2011 Reef Hobbyist Magazine journalist, and all around SPS nut! Current Tank Info: 240 with 750 gal total system, ATI LED Powermodule, MTC-HSA 1000. MTC Pro-Cal.. Last edited by JPMagyar; 03/06/2014 at 07:39 AM.

03/06/2014, 09:26 PM	#71
jdamon Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Boston Posts: 244	Joe, I must say I have a similar opinion of the lights at the moment... I love the concept, controlability, and efficiency. I hate the software (the mac version is more stable, but no par table, or bali, or moon phases). And my light keeps tripping the GFCI if I have 3 or more of the T5 tubes installed. Service (Poland) is telling me I am crazy, but I am pretty sure I may have one of those bad fans. That would easily trip a GFCI. And, yes, I have tried it on multiple GFCI outlets, and completed many of my own "experiments" to narrow the problem down. I have also not heard from Jorgos after emailing him and leaving him a voicemail. That being said, the LFS and my 40 year veteran of the electric company father both said to just run the light on a non GFCi outlet. But I can't help but be bothered that a $2400 light fixture hanging over 150 gallons of salt water trips a GFCi consistently. Poland said they tested for 48 hours using a GFCI outlet, but I am guessing something got loose in shipping. I would even have no problem taking apart myself to look for any loose connections, but I am afraid of voiding my warranty. Maybe I should just do it anyway. Anywho, I digress. I still think the light will be great, but I am waiting not so patiently for new software (and maybe a new fan?) __________________ -Jeff Current Tank Info: 150g mixed reef (SPS focus) 40g sump, LED T5 combo lighting, Kalk and carbon dosing

02/10/2014, 07:25 PM	#53
echoreef Registered Member Join Date: May 2011 Posts: 256	I am in the other camp. Instead of creating my custom PAR table, I elected to go with the Bali setting. It's set it and forget it which is exactly what I want. So far, I like the program and sees no reason to customize it.

02/10/2014, 07:40 PM	#55
Dashiki Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2011 Posts: 199	And I can't stand people complaining about bulb cost. I can buy my bulbs and still buy all the coral I want. So who cares about bulb cost.

02/10/2014, 08:21 PM	#67
Dashiki Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2011 Posts: 199	No feelings at all. Complaining about cost especially in a thread of one of the most expensive lights in the hobby just hit a nerve. Especially when I was joking.

03/06/2014, 10:17 PM	#72
jdamon Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Boston Posts: 244	So I realized that I had not yet registered the light fixture on the PS USA website... maybe I will have better luck hearing from Jorgos now __________________ -Jeff Current Tank Info: 150g mixed reef (SPS focus) 40g sump, LED T5 combo lighting, Kalk and carbon dosing

03/06/2014, 10:50 PM	#74
zachts Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: St. Louis, MO. Posts: 3,259	Most fans are prone to failure when near salt water. They are not at all water or moisture proof and suck in salt dust and moisture over time and fail. Even Ecotech has had problems with fans failing. It would be nice if they just designed the fans to be easily replaced and assumed they would fail and need replacing ever year or two. Would be pretty easy to do on the manufacturing end, just make the fan cover a bit bigger than the fan and put the disconnect under the fan cover. Just my 2 cents for what ever it's worth.