Vertex Illumina LED Arrives

[Kolognekoral]

OK, I now have the same manual, and will be studying it. If anyone want a copy, please send a PM.

[nebula88]

Originally Posted by aufo8mycat

I have a friend with 1820 x 900 i will ask him if he will be doing any work in his tank in the next week or so that will involve moving his lights, and put mine over it obviously length wise it is the same as mine, but i only got the 1600 as from what i have seem there is plenty of light, and the 1800 would just be spilling light out the sides, but as it is the width you are interested in i will see how it looks and get you some pic's possibly par readings if it is at the same time as having borrowed a par meter, I took my lights down to my lfs today and saw them over my tank for the first time, and i was worried that i would not have enough light, but that fear was crunched when i saw it on. but i think you will need to have it a bit higher than 130 mm for your width

That will be wonderful.. Please let me know the result.

[Bedroomgangsta]

Im curious about your tank, 112gal rimless, did you build it? Did you purchase it from somewhere? thickness of your glass? reinforcement around the edges? that tank is gorgeous man great job!

[dimitrge]

Thats a nice light.

[PokerReefer]

Do you have any updated growth shots dog father ?

[Wayner2]

Where is the Dogfather?, did he get booted out too?, man, he was a wealth of info on the Vertex

[TheDogFather]

Originally Posted by Wayner2

Where is the Dogfather?, did he get booted out too?, man, he was a wealth of info on the Vertex

I'm still here! Sorry, I've been busy with work and other spring time activities...

Yesterday I unpacked a brand new Illumina 600-260 for my little frag tank setup in the basement!

Cheers!

-TDF

[TheDogFather]

Originally Posted by PokerReefer

Do you have any updated growth shots dog father ?

Sadly no.

Three weeks ago I had a major bacterial bloom in the tank and lost all of my SPS.

I'm really bummed out about losing a few hundres dollars worth of beautiful coral... I am now focusing on LPS and softies in the main tank and I am growing out SPS frags in the new frag tank that is isolated from the main tank.

I'll post some photos once I have something to show.

-TDF

[TheDogFather]

Originally Posted by Bedroomgangsta

Im curious about your tank, 112gal rimless, did you build it? Did you purchase it from somewhere? thickness of your glass? reinforcement around the edges? that tank is gorgeous man great job!

Thanks! I designed the tank and Miracles built it.

-TDF

[Wayner2]

Good to have ya back, and, sorry to hear about your losses.

Up until you lost your sps, how was the color, and how long did you have them under the Vertex?

I think there's a few people on a certain Canadian Board looking for ya too.

Thanks

[TheDogFather]

Originally Posted by Wayner2

Good to have ya back, and, sorry to hear about your losses.

Up until you lost your sps, how was the color, and how long did you have them under the Vertex?

I think there's a few people on a certain Canadian Board looking for ya too.

Thanks

I got the Illumina back in June 2010. Growth and colour has been very good. As good, if not better than the ATI Powermodule it replaced IMO.

I just bought another one for the basement frag tank so that says it all I guess!

I'll try not to be AWOL both here and on the other Canuck forum...

[jdg]

So are these units still not available Stateside? I'm curious how Vertex is prevented from selling in the US, but companies like AI have no issues?

[TheDogFather]

Originally Posted by jdg

So are these units still not available Stateside? I'm curious how Vertex is prevented from selling in the US, but companies like AI have no issues?

Orbitec holds the patent rights for controllable aquarium LED lighting in the U.S. and only AI has so far been willing pay licensing fees so they can legally sell their product. Most Canadian online retailers will ship the Illumina to the U.S. if you really want one.

-TDF

[jdg]

Originally Posted by TheDogFather

Orbitec holds the patent rights for controllable aquarium LED lighting in the U.S. and only AI has so far been willing pay licensing fees so they can legally sell their product. Most Canadian online retailers will ship the Illumina to the U.S. if you really want one.

-TDF

Ahh ... thank you.

While I'm disappointed in what Orbitec is doing, I'm working on a patent myself for using glass or acrylic to hold water for the purpose of fish and marine life husbandry.

I just sent off a few queries to canadian dealers to check availability on the units. I might be picking one of these up in a week or so, it looks awesome and significantly more powerful than the AI units.

[AGYDAL]

My LPS loves the light, just look at the outline of big greens feeder tentacles...



Sorry about the wattermark...I do design work for fun...its amazing what people cut and paste off the internet and claim as their own...so annoying.

[fishresponse]

Originally Posted by jdg

Ahh ... thank you.

While I'm disappointed in what Orbitec is doing, I'm working on a patent myself for using glass or acrylic to hold water for the purpose of fish and marine life husbandry.

I just sent off a few queries to canadian dealers to check availability on the units. I might be picking one of these up in a week or so, it looks awesome and significantly more powerful than the AI units.

I'm setting up a 45gal rimless cube and am very interested in the Vertex. It's too bad about Orbitec not letting other competitors into the US market. I've tried to be in contact with some Canadian dealers but haven't gotten a response yet.

Has anyone had experience purchasing a Vertex unit from a Canadian dealer and having it shipped to the US? I'm not in a place where I can easily drive up to Canada and pick one up, even if they were in stock.

[Uncko Macko]

Originally Posted by fishresponse

I'm setting up a 45gal rimless cube and am very interested in the Vertex. It's too bad about Orbitec not letting other competitors into the US market. I've tried to be in contact with some Canadian dealers but haven't gotten a response yet.

Has anyone had experience purchasing a Vertex unit from a Canadian dealer and having it shipped to the US? I'm not in a place where I can easily drive up to Canada and pick one up, even if they were in stock.

I had mine shipped from canada. Shipping is expensive. I don't remember exactly but it was around $175 for shipping. And a $120 brokerage fee when I when I picked it up from UPS. I'm not even using it yet. I tested it out for 1 week then put it back in the box. I havent finished the setup and am actually selling some of it. It's a 24" 200 series if you want to make an offer.

[olemiss reb]

Originally Posted by fishresponse

Has anyone had experience purchasing a Vertex unit from a Canadian dealer and having it shipped to the US? I'm not in a place where I can easily drive up to Canada and pick one up, even if they were in stock.

I ordered mine from http://www.jlaquatics.com/info/410/V...+Fixtures.html

It should be shipping on Monday. Shipping on a 24" to Louisiana was 128.38 And apparently UPS is going to hit me with another fee.

[fishresponse]

I think I'm going with Orphek. They're cheaper and I'm able to get them here in the US. However, if something else comes out in the near future that is better than I may consider those options.

[Purelife]

I have a 200-36" unit for sale if anyone is interested in a unit

[super stooge]

i was ready to pull the trigger on a set of 5 AI sol blue modules but these have me second guessing myself....

a 72" vertex 200 unit will cost me more than $1000 extra over the AI modules though. the lights will be enclosed in a cabinet so the look of the actual fixtures isn't an issue. my main concern is the look of the actual light given off in the tank. is there that much of a difference between the look of the light given off by each unit?

[Kolognekoral]

Dean,

as both systems use the same LEDs, from this point of view their is little difference, however, the Vertex Illumina has its control program built in and is completely programmable via your computer. All kinds of possibilities are right at your fingertips. The mooncycles are very sophisticated, plus there is a cloud and storm sub-program, which allows a random cloud cover-lightening effect, bringing a more natural ambience for the animals.

Then, for the updating, it is possible with the Illumina to add additional LED modules and thus increase light out put or further customize the colours. I don't know how far the AI goes in this direction.

One item I have had mentioned to me a few times is the silence of the Illumina units in comparison. You can literally hear nothing from the fans of the Vertex Illumina. No rattling, humming, etc. Apparently the AI units have a fan issue, but, as I've not run one at home, I can't tell you if it would bother me. I never hear my Illumina.

I think one of the fundamental items the aquarist needs to decide is, what do I want/need now in relationship to where I want to be in 5-10 years. I am sure I will still be using my Illumina in 10 years. I personally didn't have that feeling with the AI, as I compared the two in shops. I did like the modular quality of the AI, but the aesthetic wasn't quite my taste. Another item I was intrigued by with the Illumina is the lack of optics. I was worried at first, having thought that I would not get enough light penetration, but this was quickly disproved. Having the LEDs in a cluster arrangement without optics allows for a much better light blending, which has become an issue with many DIY optic arrangements. The overlap is poor and the crinkle effect is reduced. In essence, the Illumina lights a tank a bit more like an HQI, while the AI a bit more like T5s. A case of what one prefers.

In short, the Illumina was the right choice for my aquarium and I am extremely happy with it. Did you see the PAR readings from Rodney? Post 216. Better than the Vertex tests.
http://reefcentral.com/forums/showth...1943140&page=9

Hope this helps you make a decision. I can get confusing with LEDs, as the technology is still very new, but I feel confident with my unit. Plus, all my friends think it is ultra-sexy!

[rodneyri]

i was looking at importing the AI too but i dont have a hood and looked at some vertex around here and liked the color the light put out.

so far happy with the result, and cant wait for the red pads to come out to see what they do

it is expensive though lol

[Gandolfe]

here is a site i came across that has relatively cheap LEDS, I got quoted for 12 of these strips at $304.80 + $120 shipping. They are almost 24" long and 18 watts each. I think the power supplies are sold separately though at $8.95 for one that powers 2 strips. I found a 4lamps, 54watt T5HO fixture on e-bay for $99.95 each so i bought 2 of those instead

http://www.alibaba.com/product-gs/44...ium_Light.html

[Kolognekoral]

Originally Posted by Gandolfe

here is a site i came across that has relatively cheap LEDS, I got quoted for 12 of these strips at $304.80 + $120 shipping. They are almost 24" long and 18 watts each. I think the power supplies are sold separately though at $8.95 for one that powers 2 strips. I found a 4lamps, 54watt T5HO fixture on e-bay for $99.95 each so i bought 2 of those instead

http://www.alibaba.com/product-gs/44...ium_Light.html

One Watt LEDs will bring you little more than ambience. They are simply not powerfull enough for anything but the shallowest of tanks. Frankly, a very bad investment! You want 2.5-3 W per LED.