Vertex Illumina LED Arrives

[TheDogFather]

Yesterday evening I picked up my new Vertex Illumina SR 1200 48" LED fixture and I'd like to share my initial impressions and a few photos.

I'll take PAR readings and shoot some video over the weekend so stay tuned.

Can you say early adopter? My fixture is serial number 000016!



The fixture is very well made. Solid and compact. Only 12 inches deep (front to back) the fixture has three absolutely silent fans on top and comes with the usual grip-lock hanging kit (no legs are offered by Vertex).



The 48" fixture is equipped with 8 LED pods running Phillips 3W Luxeon Rebel LEDs, 8 x 7500k White 105 lm/W, 4 x 470nm Blue and 4x 450nm Royal Blue. The LED's are driven at only 2.5W for a total of 40W per pod and 320W for the entire fixture. Each of the LED pods has its own on board ZigBee radio that communicates with the controller wirelessly. Vertex will be offering a USB dongle to program the fixture wirelessly from your PC down the road.



Below are the supplied Mean Well power supplies:


I have been playing with the menu options for a bit and found that the built-in demo program really shows off some the amazing natural simulations this light is capable of. But it appears that these advanced features (sunrise from left to right and lightning etc.) can only be programmed with the PC option that is not yet available. Maybe it's just me overlooking those feature options in the menu so I can't confirm this yet.

I've had a PFO Solaris, a Giesemann Infiniti 2x250W MH/T5 fixture and a 8 bulb ATI PowerModule and the Vertex Illumina is the coolest looking light over my tank so far. And after 2.5 hours the fixture is barley warm to the touch!



Tomorrow after work I plan on spending some more time exploring the menu options and tweaking the LED intensity ratios to get the perfect colour I'm looking for.



Cheers!

-TDF

[Palytoxinhallucinations]

That is a slick looking fixture, looking forward to seeing how it works for you. I've had my aqua illuminations fixture for a couple weeks now and will finally have the new tank set up for it this weekend. Hopefully our LEDs are all they're cracked up to be.

[Ryanst]

I am excited to see the par readings I am thinking of getting a 6 foot fixture but didnt want to spend that much and have it not put out enough light.

[parkinsn]

Tagging along. I would like to see the PAR readings as well as the long term effects on your coral. The tank looks like its getting really good coverage.

1)What are the dimentions of your tank?

2)What kind of lighting did you have on the tank before?

3)Is it possible to get a pic of the side of your tank so we can see the coverage/any dark spots?

4)How high is it off your tank?

Thanks.

[Ron99]

I'm very curious to see the PAR readings, especially front to back with all those LEDs down the center. Can you do PAR readings at several points in the tank from front to back as well? Thanks.

[TheDogFather]

Originally Posted by parkinsn

Tagging along. I would like to see the PAR readings as well as the long term effects on your coral. The tank looks like its getting really good coverage.

1)What are the dimentions of your tank?

2)What kind of lighting did you have on the tank before?

3)Is it possible to get a pic of the side of your tank so we can see the coverage/any dark spots?

4)How high is it off your tank?

Thanks.

1 The tank is 48" wide, 18 tall and 30" deep

2 The previous fixture was a 8 bulb ATI powermodule

3 Side shot coming this weekend, no dark spots

4 The fixture is 6" from the water surface

Cheers!

-TDF

[TheDogFather]

Originally Posted by Ron99

I'm very curious to see the PAR readings, especially front to back with all those LEDs down the center. Can you do PAR readings at several points in the tank from front to back as well? Thanks.

The LED's in this fixture have a 120 degree spread (60 front + 60 back) so it covers the entire tank easily.

LED fixtures with optics have typically only a 40 degree spread.

[Ron99]

Originally Posted by TheDogFather

The LED's in this fixture have a 120 degree spread (60 front + 60 back) so it covers the entire tank easily.

LED fixtures with optics have typically only a 40 degree spread.

Yes, but even with the 120 degree primary optic there is drop off in output off center so I am curious to see how these perform off center and if there is a hot strip down the middle of the tank.

[TheDogFather]

Originally Posted by Ron99

Yes, but even with the 120 degree primary optic there is drop off in output off center so I am curious to see how these perform off center and if there is a hot strip down the middle of the tank.

Please see the additional photos I posted below.

[4lti7ude]

Videos of the light modes please!!
Im imagining the sunrise one, and in my head it looks crazy
Oh and the clam in your tank is HUGE!