What will they think of next

[tinman]

i've been working on simulated lightning for a month now maybe i'll wait!!

[gobytron]

I saw a lightening storm over at TomR's tank a couple years ago.
Profilux system if i remember right, and he had 2 specialty lights mounted over his tank to accomplish this.

Whats cool about this is the all in one aspect of it.

[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.

[Eb0la11]

Maybe someday we'll get simulated rainfall in the form of a water change/dosing for our tanks too....

[Coleus]

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

[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 .