Vertex Illumina LED Arrives

[lastlight]

I'm not sure of actual PAR numbers but I saw a 6 foot version of this thing the other day over a reefer's tank and the whole tank looked very brightly lit. Really surprised me after seeing that narrow little band of leds down the middle. No bad light bleed either which is nice in a living room.

[gucci17]

Any updates?

[TheDogFather]

Originally Posted by gucci17

Any updates?

Sorry, for the lack of updates...

I'm still amazed at the R&D and engineering not to mention the quality of components that went into this fixture, it's simply second to none IMO.

Some people bemoan the high price tag of the Illumina but when you consider that these fixtures are hand made in small batches in Austria vs. most other LED fixtures that are pumped out by contract manufacturers in Asia it becomes clear why the Illumina is priced at a premium. I personally am convinced that this is the last aquarium fixture I will ever buy.

I am now running the fixture at 100% Royal Blue, 85% Blue and 35% White and coral growth appears to be as good if not better than my old ATI PM and the progressive sunrise and sunset is so much nicer for the fish vs. the drastic shock of lights on or off that non-dimming fixtures do.

I will be on vacation in southern Germany later this month and will be dropping in on the Vertex engineers in Austria for a visit. I'll post some photos when I get back in November.

Cheers!

-TDF

[wayner]

What about SPS colour, any changes there?

[TheDogFather]

Originally Posted by wayner

What about SPS colour, any changes there?

It's hard to say because around the time I changed to the Illumina I also switched from Vinegar / Zeolites to solid carbon dosing and my NO3 and PO4 went up substantially. The SCD also bleached out my toadstool leather so I opted to stop the SCD and just go with vinegar dosing instead. NO3 is now at 5 and dropping and the colours are starting to come back now.

[BlueTang<3]

I got my fixture last friday and its awesome. Cant play with light studio yet as it not available for the mac but the light is great. If any one wants to come over and take a look at the fixture shoot me a pm.

[TheDogFather]

Originally Posted by BlueTang<3

I got my fixture last friday and its awesome. Cant play with light studio yet as it not available for the mac but the light is great. If any one wants to come over and take a look at the fixture shoot me a pm.

I am told the Mac version is held up due to a driver issue with the V-Stick. I'm using a Windows 7 Virtual Machine in Parallels on my Mac and it works fine. Bootcamp will also work for you.

Cheers!