What will they think of next

[Zoaelite]

Originally Posted by Coleus

After all, the only thing i like about it is saving energy

That and the bulb savings add up, a 6 foot fixture with 3 250W metal halides and 4 36 inch T5's swapped out yearly will cost you almost 3.2 grand over 6 years. I'm interested in the fixture for the same reason I enjoy my Vortek, looks to have many options I can constantly play and update.

I doubt it has any benefit to the livestock and may actually startle and stress fish. Personally I would never use it.

As my tank is right next to the bed I'm sure it could get old fast (Especially on those highly hung over early mornings) but it's a great looking feature none the less.

[Ron99]

My main problem with most of these commercial fixtures is that the price tag is to high. $1000 for a 1 foot array using 32 LEDs???? Luxeon rebels are cheap now as they have been around for a long time. I can buy them in quantities of 3 or more for under $4.50 each so what is the price in quantities of 1000+? Even figuring in R&D costs it's to much. I would imagine this should cost no more than $500 or $600 at this point given the current cost of LEDS etc.

[Zoaelite]

Originally Posted by Ron99

My main problem with most of these commercial fixtures is that the price tag is to high. $1000 for a 1 foot array using 32 LEDs???? Luxeon rebels are cheap now as they have been around for a long time. I can buy them in quantities of 3 or more for under $4.50 each so what is the price in quantities of 1000+? Even figuring in R&D costs it's to much. I would imagine this should cost no more than $500 or $600 at this point given the current cost of LEDS etc.

Start up capital no doubt, I'm sure to implement a line like this there is a VERY large sum of cash upfront. I'm sure as more come on the market we will see a price drop, not everyone is as brilliant at building these things as you are Ron .

[fishoholic]

Originally Posted by Ron99

Looks flashy (sorry for the pun) but it's not hard to do. Especially on a larger fixture where banks of LEDS are driven by separate driver circuits. Just flash each circuit in order down the tank and you have simulated lightning. The programming should be very simple once you already have a controller in the system.

To me it's more a gimmick. I doubt it has any benefit to the livestock and may actually startle and stress fish. Personally I would never use it.

I have to agree.

While I admit it does look cool, how practical is it really, plus I wouldn't want to scare and stress out my fish with flashing lights.

[Ron99]

Originally Posted by zoaElite

Start up capital no doubt, I'm sure to implement a line like this there is a VERY large sum of cash upfront. I'm sure as more come on the market we will see a price drop, not everyone is as brilliant at building these things as you are Ron .

It's not like Vertex are a start up with no cash. Yes, they need to lay out money up front for some R&D, computer programmers and to have a first run manufactured but even so they are overpriced. I could see maybe up to $2000 for a good 48" fixture if the performance was up to par but not almost $3000. You could probably light a 48" tank with 3 AI modules at a cost of about $1700. So are these worth $1200 more than the AI units? Not to me. Sorry.

I think this is typical aquarium business practices where if it says its for aquarium use you jack up the price by 50%. LEDs may be new to our hobby but they are not new to the world of lighting. The costs of LEDs have come down dramatically from where they were even 4 or 5 years ago when the first PFO Solaris fixtures hit the market.

I think we should all write these manufacturers and tell them that while we really like their product and think LEDs are a great lighting technology, we feel that they are overpriced and won't buy them until the price comes down. The reason they get away with this is because we all rush to pay what they want for this stuff so they keep gouging us.