ATI Powermodule ~~ Now with pictures over tank!! ~~
 

I am going to purchase a 10 bulb 48" ATI Powermodule within the next two weeks, I have finally decided to go T5's for a number of good reasons.

Anyone else looking to get one of these?

If so maybe we can find a deal if we partner up....... The best prices I have found so far are south of the border unfortunately but I will be contacting some of the local sponsors. :biggrin:

Ian

hey
 

check out ken at blueworld aquatics i just purchased a 60 inch power mod very good price and he got it for me quickly so he was competitive with reef geek i ordered me mp40 from the states got a smoking price but the duties killed me so

IMO anything more then 6 tubes wouldnt get you much saving in terms of energy and $.
I am using 6 bulb T5 Tek and just to replace 6 bulbs after 20% discount i paid $164.60.

regular price on a 48" tube is $34+tax

if you get 10 bulbs you are pushing up to 300 or more depending on your tube preference.

For a 48" tank you can get very good SPS growth and color with two 250W MH for a lot less .

I have some really good growth under my 2 x 250W Pheonix 14k bulbs but I also have to deal with the heat all summer because of where the tank is located. Together with the chiller running I will use more power staying with the HQI setup vs T5's. I also agree bulbs can be expensive but I also buy them wholesale out of the U.S. for much cheaper than around here.

My tank is VERY heavy in SPS and I need more light and better control of the spectrum.....

1:biggrin:

In that case i would agree with you.
BTW after i got new 10K, Fiji Purple and 14K KZ bulbs from J&L, SPS responding very rapidly with new growth and better polyp extention !
maybe because i also finaly had to clean the reflectors LOL.

This year i am replacing actinics with Fiji Purple's if anyone is wondering ask me later how SPS will do wthout actinics.
Current bulb config is :
Two KZ 10K's
Two KZ 14K's
Two Fiji Purples.

Sorry about highjack,
i think ATI is a great T5 fixture. It just was just a bit much to see a bill of $165 for 6 new T5 tubes LOL.

Yeah my bill for 12 80w bulbs was around $400. I'm not looking forward to ever replacing those.

Yeah the bulbs will be a little pricey but I can get all 10 new bulbs for $265.00 shipped to my door wholesale from one of my suppliers. T5 bulbs don't need to be replaced as often as Halides especially with the ATI Powermodule as it actively cools each bulb for better performance and life.

ATI Blue +
UVL super actinic
KZ Fiji Purple
ATI aquablue
ATI Blue +
UVL 75/25
ATI Blue +
KZ Fiji purple
ATI Aquablue
ATI Blue +

This will be the order in the ATI fixture.

I just received my 10 bulb ATI Powermodule via DHL and will be setting it up with reviews and pictures tonight. Hopefully people will want to tag along to see how it looks out of the box and installed.

Ian
:wink:

light
 

mine comes in thursday

Looking forward to seeing these up and running.

Sweet! It seems cheap that I had the whole thing in 48 hours form Indiana USA to Langley for $108.00 u.s. + 67.00 Brokerage.......

Also, these things are not light! I may have to run to Home Depot to get the proper ceiling bolts in order to suspend the thing!~

Aren't they something like 60 lbs ? I'm guessing mine is around 50lbs. Scary stuff. I would never trust anything but screws into the ceiling joists. Let's see this badboy!

I was looking at getting a couple of Fiji Purples for my fixture but was unsure of what bulbs to exchange it with. I'm interested to see if I can swap out my actinics for Fiji Purples. I normally have my actinics come on before and after my 10,000K bulbs are you planning on doing the same with the Fiji bulbs?

so what was the savings getting it from the states rather then say progressive reef or somewhere like that? Just asking cause Ive been thinking about the same unit for a while now.

I saved about $250 getting everything from the states.... I do have a wholesale account so I am sure it probably wouldn't make a difference for most people to do what I did.

My ceiling directly above the tank is a drop ceiling to contain heating ducts, I will not be able to screw into ceiling joists so I may have to be creative, I would say it weighs about 50+ pounds.....

Here is the box the unit came in~! Heavy! I am not the only one interested in what is inside! lol!

http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z...sbmw/001-2.jpg

The packaging is actually top notch!

http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z...sbmw/002-2.jpg

Almost unwrapped here! This thing is built like a tank!

http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z...sbmw/003-2.jpg

The build quality is very impressive, These fans are nearly completely silent when I tested them! There is one fan per two bulbs. The air is drawn in through the fans and there are exhaust ports on the opposite end of each separate reflector channel.

http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z...sbmw/006-2.jpg

Another picture completely unwrapped.

http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z...sbmw/007-2.jpg

Here is the underside before I removed the plexi protective backing.

http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z...sbmw/008-3.jpg

Peeling back the protective plastic, everything is well designed.

http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z...sbmw/009-1.jpg

Here is a snapshot of the reflectors --- 10 X 54W individual reflectors, I can see why these reflectors are supposedly unmatched in the T5 world.

http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z...sbmw/011-2.jpg

Here is how my bulbs arrived, I could only ship 6 bulbs per package so the other 4 bulbs are going to have to be purchased here before I can get the bad boy working and installed!

http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z...sbmw/012-2.jpg
http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z...sbmw/013-2.jpg

That's all for now, I will update more later when I get the last 4 bulbs this Sunday.

2 X Fiji Purple
1 X UVL True actinic
1 X UVL 75/25

The Fiji bulbs do amazing things to greens and reds, I actually find that certain Corals I have really improved with the addition of red spectrum light that the Fiji produces. I highly suggest using them. I will only be using one actinic in the whole 10 bulb bank.

Here is a good little page for those that want to hang heavy objects from the ceiling using toggle or butterfly bolts.....

Here is a little excerpt from the link...........

http://www.naturalhandyman.com/iip/i...infanchor.html


Toggle bolts are the Cadillac (or Lexus, if you prefer) of hollow-wall anchors. They consist of two parts... the toggle itself (which looks like a pair of spring-loaded metal wings) and the accompanying machine screw. Toggle bolts are sized in two ways... by the diameter of the machine screw and by the length of the machine screw. The larger the screw diameter, the larger and stronger the toggle. The longer the screw, the thicker the material that can be hung or the thicker the wall it can be used in!

Toggles are massively strong. A "puny" 1/8" toggle can safely hold 50 lbs on 1/2" drywall... a 3/8" toggle over 100 lbs! Two or three 3/8" toggles can easily hold up most kitchen cabinets on solid 1/2" drywall. That is, as long as the wall is strong enough!

Toggles are the toggle of choice for hanging most anything from ceilings, too, such as hanging plants, mobiles, etc. The major exceptions would be "dynamic" objects such as ceiling fans, which require attachment to structural members. Also, though excessive weight may not break a large toggle through the ceiling, the ceiling itself may pull away from the joists!

I have an 8-bulb fixture with 4 actinics and 4 10,000K's so I think I'll switch out 2 actinics for fiji purples. Good to know they really bring out the greens since most of my corals are various shades of green.:surprise:

If I were you I would also switch out the 10k's too? Here is a really nice setup with an eight bulb fixture if you cannot get ATI bulbs...

from front to back;

KZ Coral light
UVL Actinic
KZ Fiji Purple
KZ Coral Light
KZ Coral Light
KZ Fiji Purple
UVL 75/25
KZ Coral Light

Sounds like a good combo to try. I'll start with the fiji's then change out the others a couple at a time. The wife doesn't get too mad if I only spend a little here and there, fortunatly she has a short memory so spend a little bit here and there all the time and she doesn't notice! I have to admit that I'm not happy with the looks of my lighting the way it is now and need to make some changes.

When you say drop ceiling do you mean t-bar tracks and the fibreboard panels? Toggle bolts are as good as you'll get without screwing something solid I guess but I think they are meant for drywall mostly and not the 2x4 ceiling panels. I'd be worried about the fibrous material weakening over time with the moisture too.

If it is the track ceiling those tracks are mounted into the bottom of the wooden joists with big screws/lag bolts. No reason you couldn't still mount into real wood and feed your wire through the panels.

If it's a different type of ceiling than what I have in mind ignore me!

Those fixtures are works of art man...congrats!

Yeah, not that kind of drop ceiling, it is still regular drywall ceiling but it comes down about 7 inches further in the corner of the room to accommodate the forced air heating ducts in behind. The toggle bolts will still go into 1/2" drywall, should be plenty strong.

Gotcha. Get hangin =)

Wow... that unit is GORGEOUS!! :surprise:

It sure is! I am getting so itchy to set it up! I just need three more bulbs!!

I will offer free frags for anyone that can pick up three bulbs from J/L for me and bring them out to Langley! I will pay you back for the bulbs and load you up with 3-4 nice frags!

:mrgreen:

I am desperate! lol

how much that unit set you back without the bulbs i want to get an 8 bulb fixture for down the road. but i cant seem to find any prices.

Pricing
 

Check out Progressive Reef web page all the prices are advertised. I just got a sunpower from them (& service was great)

looks like ive got to save some money for that one. maybe once im done school.

forget about toggle bolts, they are good but you can't unscrew them and redo them so you have to thread it all togeather befor installing them never to come apart again. there is a much better type which holds more than toggles and basicly only puts the thredded part in the wall so you can install/remove the bolts at will.

http://www.nutty.com/pdfcharts/kaptoggle.pdf

Steve

Wow! Great suggestion, where might I find these beauties?

Yeah,

Your best bet is to look locally for the lights, to be honest I beleive the best prices I found within Canada were Ottowa Inverts, this was including shipping, bulbs, and everything.

It looks like I have a volunteer for bulbs for frags offer, I should have this guy hung over the tank by tomorrow night or Friday evening at the latest.

:mrgreen:

home depot has them, in the area with all the other hollow wall anchors.

Steve

I finally finished hanging the lights, WOW what a difference, that color is amazing, I actually don't miss the shimmer lines at all!

http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z...sbmw/001-4.jpg

http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z...sbmw/007-3.jpg

http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z...sbmw/006-3.jpg

http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z...sbmw/005-3.jpg

http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z...sbmw/003-4.jpg

http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z...sbmw/002-4.jpg

This is the old look!

http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z...sbmw/001-3.jpg

Looks good, can't wait to get my 6 bulb hung over my new tank only a few more weeks

You won't be disappointed!

Looks Nice IAN, Got a FTS of both tanks comparing the light??

I do actually, the only problem is my camera has a hard time showing realistic color representations. I will see what I can post up tonight.

On a side note.

I am working on cleaning up your items and I will try to get everything together to ship out today!

Cool, thx. So is the ATI more light in your tank, or just dispersed better? I will have to add a few T5's to my tank too I think. But not ATI LOL, to rich for me. but man, is it ever NICE!!!!!!