Pacific sun LED's

[Pimentinha1987]

Hey everyone.

I am currently in the process of setting up a nice 75G rimless tank.

I have been looking at some light fixtures and it is just so hard to make a decision...

I have always used LED's.
For some reason, the ongoing hassle of buying bulbs and replacing them has kept me from buying any other type of fixture.

Last week, while in a "fancy LFS store" I came across the Pacific Sun and I really liked the design and color of the lights.

When I asked the guy what were "the best" LED fixtures and which ones he would recommend he pointed at them and said they were the best.

After preparing myself mentally to dump a bunch of money into the Pacific sun one of my friends warned me about dealing with them...

Apparently for the price you pay, which is a lot, you are not really getting outstanding quality, durability and customer support.

The fixtures I would be looking to buy were either the Hyperion S or the Pandora S.

I understand that a company may release a product and for some reason things just don't work out as planned or it's not as reliable as they wanted to, but if it's a recurrent thing I reckon I should stay away from it...



What can you guys say about your experience with them? Are you satisfied with it or should I really stay away from them?


Also, if you have any other light fixture you really love let me know as well, as long as you have had it for some time and had the chance to notice growth and nice coloration.

Thanks guys.

[Braver69]

I have the Hyperion S 145w with 4 panels. My light has worked quite well from day one and the customer support has been good for my light. I did have a led driver board fail within 6 months of use but they sent me that part and I replace it. It was a easy fix and for me the best part was the fact that I did not have to send the light back for repair like most require. The driver did not fail completely for me it was just flicker at times when the light had been on for a few hours. Since I have had the light open I can tell you the quality is pretty top notch, the only weakness I could say is the fans are nothing special that they use, but they are quiet at least.

If I had to buy all over again I would probably have got the Pandora over the Hyperion just to have the t-5 built in to the light, for a few bucks more it would be well worth having just in case you decide to have some t-5 bulbs supplementing the leds.

[ghostman]

IME, the Pacific Sun lamps are very high quality and the colors of the lamps are some of the best I've seen using LEDs. IMO, the Pacific Sun and GHL Mitras are at the top for LEDs. I also like the Pandora, as I like a little T5 lighting as well. I have had good customer service with Pacific Sun, but have rarely needed to contact them ( a true sign of a great product ). There are some threads on RC of owners that feel they have not had good customer service. This is to be expected with any device, and I won't comment on their issues as I don't know the details.You can read them yourself and make a judgement. Pacific Sun leaves these threads on RC, unlike some other LED manufacturers that have negative threads closed or removed. I would not hesitate to buy a Pacific Sun lamp again. I am a satisfied customer.

[Pimentinha1987]

Thanks Braver!
I really appreciate your input.

How has it been in terms of color and growth.
I am planning for mixed reef, so sps growth is important.


I tried sps under my maxspect razors and the all went.
I'm trying again now that my tank is more mature but one thing I'm not a big fan of my maxspect is the color morph.
Everything morphs...

[jschultzbass]

I have the Pandora S over my 300 and love it. The build quality is great and LED color is fantastic. I've had it running for about 6 months or so and haven't had any issues. I agree with everything ghostman said. I'm still struggling with nitrates in my tank so I can't comment on coral growth since I'm waiting to add them but I've heard good things, especially with the T5 combo. I honestly don't think they're as good as MH as far as growth and color but the pros LEDs have were enough for me.

[Pimentinha1987]

Originally Posted by ghostman

IME, the Pacific Sun lamps are very high quality and the colors of the lamps are some of the best I've seen using LEDs. IMO, the Pacific Sun and GHL Mitras are at the top for LEDs. I also like the Pandora, as I like a little T5 lighting as well. I have had good customer service with Pacific Sun, but have rarely needed to contact them ( a true sign of a great product ). There are some threads on RC of owners that feel they have not had good customer service. This is to be expected with any device, and I won't comment on their issues as I don't know the details.You can read them yourself and make a judgement. Pacific Sun leaves these threads on RC, unlike some other LED manufacturers that have negative threads closed or removed. I would not hesitate to buy a Pacific Sun lamp again. I am a satisfied customer.

Thanks ghostman!

I started this thread after reading some of the older ones...

Which fixture are you currently using? Pandora?

[ghostman]

No, I wish I was running the Pandoras I have the Metis Hyperion R2 and like them very much. There have been some advances and upgrades, but my corals are very happy with them so I'm not switching. The hyper ions have white LEDs, which I turn down considerably. The color and pop of the corals is outstanding. I have 2 hyperions over a 240g cube, and am thinking about a Diuna unit in between to add T5 to the mix. Maybe I'll pull the trigger someday...

[Pseudo69]

I would be one of the few that do not like their CS. I think it is lacking in a few basic areas. Here is my honest review of the Hyperion line of lighting.

1: The fixture itself is made from heavy grade steel. The screws that hold it together strip after one use. (I build elevators for a living so I have the correct tools and didn't fumble it up) The fixture can be heavy due to this so any unit over 3 feet in size should be mounted securely.

2: The plastic lenses over the LED's are cheap and not properly attached to the fixture. They dull quickly and are soft acrylic so be careful cleaning them or you will have scratched lenses.

3: Replacement of the LED units is easy and so is replacing the fans (which is stupid because the fans are crap). I found that the UV led's become brittle and fail rather quickly. Cheap product part? (If they are yellow/orange and brittle to the touch then they are bad)

4: Overall light coverage is pretty good and the spectrum is balanced enough that you will get good growth and colors from it.

5: The software sucks. The implementation and learning curve will annoy you until you get the hang of it. The USB Dongle doesn't always connect to the fixture. (I have a dedicated old laptop just for that and with a MAC you can forget it.

6: There is no dedicated manual buttons to adjust the light. Only programmable through the software.

Is the product good? Yes if you can get past the horrible service and little things that should be improved upon. But for anything over $1000, I want the absolute best. I hate hassles. That's why I am divorced but kept the reef tank

HTH

[Pimentinha1987]

Originally Posted by Pseudo69

I would be one of the few that do not like their CS. I think it is lacking in a few basic areas. Here is my honest review of the Hyperion line of lighting.

1: The fixture itself is made from heavy grade steel. The screws that hold it together strip after one use. (I build elevators for a living so I have the correct tools and didn't fumble it up) The fixture can be heavy due to this so any unit over 3 feet in size should be mounted securely.

2: The plastic lenses over the LED's are cheap and not properly attached to the fixture. They dull quickly and are soft acrylic so be careful cleaning them or you will have scratched lenses.

3: Replacement of the LED units is easy and so is replacing the fans (which is stupid because the fans are crap). I found that the UV led's become brittle and fail rather quickly. Cheap product part? (If they are yellow/orange and brittle to the touch then they are bad)

4: Overall light coverage is pretty good and the spectrum is balanced enough that you will get good growth and colors from it.

5: The software sucks. The implementation and learning curve will annoy you until you get the hang of it. The USB Dongle doesn't always connect to the fixture. (I have a dedicated old laptop just for that and with a MAC you can forget it.

6: There is no dedicated manual buttons to adjust the light. Only programmable through the software.

Is the product good? Yes if you can get past the horrible service and little things that should be improved upon. But for anything over $1000, I want the absolute best. I hate hassles. That's why I am divorced but kept the reef tank

HTH

Thanks for the review!

Couldn't have asked for anything more detailed!!

Are you running any other type of lights at the moment?

I do agree that for the price we pay, they should be the absolute best...

I don't want to be messing around with the fixtures... I like reliable stuff.
After all, LEDs are supposed to last a minimum of 30K hours...



We are always better off keeping the tanks... Lol

[Pimentinha1987]

If I'm not mistaken the new hyperions don't have white LEDs in them.

That's what I liked the most about them...

[Pseudo69]

I am running my Giesemann Spectra's. Best lighting there is. Halide 400W radiums with T5's.

Yes the New SMT panels don't have the white led's from what I understand. But for me to upgrade was cost prohibitive (another $1200). My other problem with the fixture is that they have been promising a wifi adapter and version for the lights and hasn't come in 2 years.

Yes the tank was a keeper ... she wasn't

[myram]

Check out the Pacific Sun section in the vendor forums, there is a lot of good info there about the issues people are having with them.

For $2000-$3000 for a light, you should have no issues at all and everything should work perfect for a very long time. Quality should be top notch with top end parts.

[jschultzbass]

Originally Posted by myram

Check out the Pacific Sun section in the vendor forums, there is a lot of good info there about the issues people are having with them.

For $2000-$3000 for a light, you should have no issues at all and everything should work perfect for a very long time. Quality should be top notch with top end parts.

That is a big stretch. Mine has been working great but EVERY product, no matter how expensive, has a couple that fail. Just the way it is. The failure rate is most likely extremely low, for everyone that posts negatively there are probably 100 more with a good experience that you don't hear about.

Look at cars, Would you say Mercedes is crap? Yet Consumer Reports rates them very low on reliability. I'm not say PacSun is like Mercedes, just trying to make a point.

[myram]

I happen to live close enough that I can go to the store that is the US distributor for PS, so I can see them first hand and talk with them.
There are also stores around here that tried to sell them, but had such bad luck with them that they stopped using them.
A friend of mine just bought one for his tank, hopefully it works out well for him..........hate to see him have issues with a $2400 light.

[ghostman]

+1 to ALL of the above. My lamps have been working flawlessly, so I cannot comment on customer service as much. I totally agree with jschultzbass about comparing reliability and customer service. Some high end led vendors are known for their great customer service, yet their lamps and fans fail on a fairly regular basis, and the software is buggy. Maybe they have great customer service because the product is flawed and needs constant repairs or tweaks. I agree that a manual would be nice, and Mac support would be great as well. Like many people, I use my PC For very few applications, but the PacSun software is one of them. I actually like the software. After you go through it a few times, it is easy to use in my opinion. Of course, there is always room for improvement.

[Pimentinha1987]

Originally Posted by myram

I happen to live close enough that I can go to the store that is the US distributor for PS, so I can see them first hand and talk with them.
There are also stores around here that tried to sell them, but had such bad luck with them that they stopped using them.
A friend of mine just bought one for his tank, hopefully it works out well for him..........hate to see him have issues with a $2400 light.

How long ago was that Myram?

Is that something recent or something that happened when they first came out?

From what I read, there were several complaints when the Maxspect released one of their first lights but things have changed since...

With that said, I still don't think they are as good as some people say they are.


I too hope your friend gets good results with his fixtures.

[jschultzbass]

Below is my take:

Originally Posted by Pseudo69

I would be one of the few that do not like their CS. I think it is lacking in a few basic areas. Here is my honest review of the Hyperion line of lighting.

1: The fixture itself is made from heavy grade steel. The screws that hold it together strip after one use. (I build elevators for a living so I have the correct tools and didn't fumble it up) The fixture can be heavy due to this so any unit over 3 feet in size should be mounted securely.
I've had no issues with screws stripping and I took mine apart just giggles. It is heavy though.


2: The plastic lenses over the LED's are cheap and not properly attached to the fixture. They dull quickly and are soft acrylic so be careful cleaning them or you will have scratched lenses.
Can't speak to this as I've had no issues whatsoever. The comment about "soft" acrylic is pretty standard for all fixtures. My ATI had the same acrylic shield.

3: Replacement of the LED units is easy and so is replacing the fans (which is stupid because the fans are crap). I found that the UV led's become brittle and fail rather quickly. Cheap product part? (If they are yellow/orange and brittle to the touch then they are bad)
The fans are normal computer type fans and have worked great. Same type of fan in the ATI fixtures. No issues with UV LEDs yet but will keep my out.

4: Overall light coverage is pretty good and the spectrum is balanced enough that you will get good growth and colors from it.

5: The software sucks. The implementation and learning curve will annoy you until you get the hang of it. The USB Dongle doesn't always connect to the fixture. (I have a dedicated old laptop just for that and with a MAC you can forget it.
I actually really like the software. It was pretty intuitive for me. Yorgos from PacSun USA did call me when I got the fixture up and running just out of courtesy to make sure I was fluent in the software. I have heard that Mac support sucks so definitely use with PC if you can. I use a dedicated Windows tablet for this, my doser and Apex. I have had no connection issues yet.

6: There is no dedicated manual buttons to adjust the light. Only programmable through the software.

This is true and it would be nice to have the manual buttons for sure. One thing that the PacSun doesn't have that others do is separate profiles. It would be nice if I could hit a button when I'm watching TV that would dim my fixture and then go back to normal when I'm done. I know the Ecotech Radions do this very well and something I hope they will do with a software update soon.

Is the product good? Yes if you can get past the horrible service and little things that should be improved upon. But for anything over $1000, I want the absolute best. I hate hassles. That's why I am divorced but kept the reef tank

HTH

[myram]

Originally Posted by Pimentinha1987

How long ago was that Myram?

Is that something recent or something that happened when they first came out?

From what I read, there were several complaints when the Maxspect released one of their first lights but things have changed since...

With that said, I still don't think they are as good as some people say they are.


I too hope your friend gets good results with his fixtures.

Just within the past couple of months, I do a MA fish store run every few weeks and stop in at 5-6 stores and get all the latest gossip....LOL

[Pimentinha1987]

I have been communicating by email with Yorgos, and so far he seems to be helpful.

I guess it's time you do a fish store run again Myram. Lol
If you do, please let me know what they recommend in terms of LEDs or a mix of LEDs and T5s...

I can't do a fish store run myself otherwise I would be left without money for the fixtures... ;-)

[Pimentinha1987]

Originally Posted by Pseudo69

I am running my Giesemann Spectra's. Best lighting there is. Halide 400W radiums with T5's.

Yes the New SMT panels don't have the white led's from what I understand. But for me to upgrade was cost prohibitive (another $1200). My other problem with the fixture is that they have been promising a wifi adapter and version for the lights and hasn't come in 2 years.

Yes the tank was a keeper ... she wasn't

Safe to say the tank is a lot more stable than your ex...


I have also looked into the Giesemann myself.
They seem to be outstanding.

A lot of people that have run metal halides swear by it, and one day I would like to try them.
The biggest problem is that I HATE monthly bills...
When I bought my car I felt a huge burden for owing something.
I prefer to pay upfront and have lower monthly costs...


Next house I rent I will get all utilities included... Lol

Two large tanks, two chillers along with some light fixtures, and the AC cooling the house...

Landlord won't be happy...

[Pseudo69]

Take a look into the Giesemann Futura. I have just been playing around with it recently and it is so cool. The lighting software is very easy, you can use any phone or tablet to use it and it is just virtual sliders to adjust the lights. It comes with pre-programmed profiles and looks sick over the tank. Basically the same price as the Pac Sun fixtures but nicer.

The LED Panels are wider and the leds give you a better spread then the narrower panels on the Pac Sun. The fit and finish is unlike anything I have seen on any other fixture. The software is GREAT. I wanted to keep them but didn't have the funds after I bought the Spectra fixtures.

Only in the summer is my electric bill high. Only thing that gets me is the bulb replacement costs every 6-8 months.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JSz7Xq4xH7w

[Pimentinha1987]

Thanks Pseudo!

I will look into it.

[Syntax1325]

I've got a review on the customer service provided by Yorgos on their sponsor page. To summarize... Yorgos drove 1.5 hours to my house to fix a problem that ended up being caused by my bluetooth adapter, this was after he spent over an hour via a remote customer support session where he was able to control my laptop. He also gave me a free adapter and spent another hour or so talking shop. Customer service has been exceptional so far.

Corals are adjusting well to the light. No complaints so far.

[Pimentinha1987]

Very well.

Wonder why the mixed reviews, right?