ATI Straton LED Light - Comments, Review, PAR, Coverage, Discuss...

[Big E]

There is no requirement to upgrade yearly let alone every other cycle. That is up to the hobbyist. I'm not sure I understand the comment. Unless there is a significant or other compelling reason to upgrade why bother. Also the warranty is no different than others. Heck buy a new large screen tv and their warranty is only a year...

To put this into perspective. I recently added a couple Kessil a360x's to my display tank. Looking at their documentation and FAQ they say the life expectancy is about 35,000 hours or 5 - 7 years. That is my upgrade window. Not before...

Sorry if my wants/demands are not the same as yours but that's why I have only bought one led box to test that met the requirements I wanted. It took 8 years and I was fine waiting.

Right now there is less need to upgrade but over the last 8-9 years the early versions were inferior from a technical standpoint.

Diodes have long life if cooled right but that's not what I'm talking about............even still, a lot of people have had to replace some in some fixtures. It's the power supplies and everything else as well.

These lights aren't tvs.

If diodes last all these years then why only a one year warranty? Reefi has a three year warranty and there was that company that was making led strips(BML) that had a 5 year warranty. They pulled out of the aquarium industry and focus on just horticulture.

If you can fix them, it's a one time purchase for a lifetime. As is, I think 5 years is a reasonable life of most of the better boxes. I know nothing about ATI lifetime.

 

[Reef-Engineer]

@Crabs McJones Could you do me a big favor at your leisure and go into post 4 of this thread and correct my mistake so that members will not be misled?

Text currently reads:

"Oh also, this would be worth confirming, but I speak pretty decent German and I watched one of ATIs German employees speak on the lights and tried to translate: I believe that he said they are all 2W emitters, being driven at a max of about 70% (hence the ~215W or ~230W Max power draw). So that means long LED life since they are not being pushed to 100%"

and it SHOULD say

"Oliver from ATI said that they are all 5W emitters, being driven at a max of about 1.5W or 30% (hence the ~215W or ~230W Max power draw). So that means long LED life since they are not being pushed to 100%"



Maximus posted some of Oliver's comments, but here is the entire post from Oliver for your reading pleasure:

"
We recommend never going directly to 100% when changing the lamp. This actually applies to every change of the light, as increased PAR values always lead to stress in corals than slightly lower PAR values. You can always increase. The only exception would be if you have previously measured your entire tank with a PAR meter and know the values for the corresponding corals. Then you can of course adjust the Straton directly in the intensity so that the difference is initially small and then later increase the intensity. Of course, this is only possible if you have a PAR meter at hand.

Regarding the temperatures, it should generally be noted that we are very far away from the usual temperatures for LEDs according to data sheets with 85 °. Even the strict 60 degrees that we have set in our hybrid have proven themselves. With the Straton we went even further down with 56 degrees than the tried and tested 60 degrees from the Hybrid.
We have set this very strict limit for ourselves in order to guarantee the best possible performance over a long period of time.
With spot solutions that energize their LEDs much higher and do not make the temperatures transparent at all, on the one hand you cannot check how hot the LEDs really get and on the other hand, LEDs that run at maximum load are more stressed than in our Straton that the 5 watt LEDs are operated with just 30% (1.5 watts). Since we have built in 153 high power LEDs, at 1.5 watts per LED, only 229 watts of possible maximum power come out. This gentle operation is only possible because we have spared no costs in the LED assembly. The high number of LEDs means that you have a lot more substance, which allows the LEDs to be operated more gently and efficiently. From a technical point of view, this is important for long-term performance."

Basically he is saying if you are running some multichip point source LED spotlight at high power you better be cooling the bejeezus out of it or it will not last long

 

[User1]

Sorry if my wants/demands are not the same as yours but that's why I have only bought one led box to test that met the requirements I wanted. It took 8 years and I was fine waiting.

Maybe go back and read your post I was actually replying to. You said:

I have no desire to continue to buy upgraded units like Echotech and others that keep stringing you along to buy the newest and "improved" product every few years.

To which I replied there is no requirement.

 

[Reef-Engineer]

Sorry if my wants/demands are not the same as yours but that's why I have only bought one led box to test that met the requirements I wanted. It took 8 years and I was fine waiting.

Right now there is less need to upgrade but over the last 8-9 years the early versions were inferior from a technical standpoint.

Diodes have long life if cooled right but that's not what I'm talking about............even still, a lot of people have had to replace some in some fixtures. It's the power supplies and everything else as well.

These lights aren't tvs.

If diodes last all these years then why only a one year warranty? Reefi has a three year warranty and there was that company that was making led strips(BML) that had a 5 year warranty. They pulled out of the aquarium industry and focus on just horticulture.

If you can fix them, it's a one time purchase for a lifetime. As is, I think 5 years is a reasonable life of most of the better boxes. I know nothing about ATI lifetime.

I guess it is up to ATI on length of warranty, they are likely sticking to what the industry norms are. Small companies like reefi are likely moving 100 fixtures per year where ATI may be moving thousands so there may be an economy of scale there, but I hear what you are saying, a well designed fixture should be capable of a long warranty.

All I can say is, from what I have read, this is a fixture using 5W LEDs and pushing them at 1.5W, with strict thermal limits in place, so it should have a decent lifetime if the rest of the electronics are up to snuff. (The driver certainly is).

I have high expectations here, I have tried many other fixtures, and some were very buggy and prone to burned out LEDs, so I am hoping that these are worlds better.

I did not take mine apart yet. Maybe that will tell the story and show if an LED board can be swapped. But I did not want to void my warranty by tearing it apart.

 

[User1]

I did not take mine apart yet. Maybe that will tell the story and show if an LED board can be swapped. But I did not want to void my warranty by tearing it apart.

No one should have to take apart their unit(s) to replace anything - nor do I think it is expected by the vendor. I believe one of the vendors did allow upgrades from gen 1 to gen 2 I think for a while but it was optional as the pucks sold separately.

 

[Reef-Engineer]

Oh hey! @Big E! I think i found some of what you are looking for, also from Oliver at ATI...

Quoted from "Oliver Pritzel"

1. Yes, the clusters are of course exchangeable. However, you would now have to go to service, which takes about 2 days.
2. The power supply is a Meanwell ELG 240 and smaller than you know it from the Hybrid, because we do without an additional housing.
3. A 2 meter cable goes from the lamp to the controller, which is a small black box. Approx. 20cm later the power supply comes from it again a 1.8m long one
Plug lead goes.
4. Yes and no. The development just goes on and on. Especially in efficiency. Maybe an example based on the royal blue LEDs. Just a few years ago these had an efficiency of 55-60% (@ 350ma), which was extremely good. The selection that we are installing today has an efficiency of 68% (@ 350ma) and is therefore approx. 10% more efficient. The same applies to our violet and UV LEDs. We have now reached over 60% efficiency. These are important details, as the lower losses also result in less heat. As a result, it is now possible that with the appropriate construction (large and extremely flat), active cooling can be dispensed with. As far as the spectral light composition is concerned, we are also better positioned today with 7 separately dimmable light colors. We have adopted what has been tried and tested here and added further.
5. At maximum output, which can only be achieved if you let all channels run at 100%, the LED boards reach approx. 55 degrees at normal room temperatures. This is similar to our Sirius or Hybrid. Here, however, we still allow 60 degrees before a protective function takes effect. With the Straton we have set this down to 57 degrees to ensure an even better service life. As with the Hybrid or Sirius, the temperature is constantly monitored. You can even display the temperature profile of the LED boards over the last 48 hours in a graphic.

The special thing about the Straton is actually the extremely flat design of only 12mm around which the entire frame with a circumferential edge length of almost 1.90m can serve as a heat sink.

Many greetings
Oliver


so the boards can be swapped, though it might be a service call...

 

[Reef-Engineer]

No one should have to take apart their unit(s) to replace anything - nor do I think it is expected by the vendor. I believe one of the vendors did allow upgrades from gen 1 to gen 2 I think for a while but it was optional as the pucks sold separately.

I meant more, "I didnt take mine apart just to show all of you what the insides look like", which, as an engineer, is something that I am prone to do. But I didnt do it here because, well, $$

 

[User1]

I meant more, "I didnt take mine apart just to show all of you what the insides look like", which, as an engineer, is something that I am prone to do. But I didnt do it here because, well, $$

Fully understand

Side note - it will be interesting to see how the base spectrums compare say between the other flat panel designs such as the Coral Care 2 and G5's. It is interesting if you read the follow up BRS video on the coral care's how much they focus on the hobbyist eye (look and feel) and turn down the white LED's and then say it is like paying more for less (par/light). Interesting take as opposed to saying the base spectrum is "X" similar to what we did with MH's.

Edit: not that I go buy their reviews alone - I just think there is more to a light than par

 

[Reef-Engineer]

Here is a link, fully in german, hopefully it is allowed, but it goes to a foreign reef club with a lot of info about the fixture (not a r2r competitor).

Anyway, if it is allowed, here is the link, if you scroll (A LOT) and use google translate, there is a lot of good info here, since they have had the units WAY longer than us.

 

[Reef-Engineer]

Fully understand

Side note - it will be interesting to see how the base spectrums compare say between the other flat panel designs such as the Coral Care 2 and G5's. It is interesting if you read the follow up BRS video on the coral care's how much they focus on the hobbyist eye (look and feel) and turn down the white LED's and then say it is like paying more for less (par/light). Interesting take as opposed to saying the base spectrum is "X" similar to what we did with MH's.

Edit: not that I go buy their reviews alone - I just think there is more to a light than par

My take here, if I may, is that the coralcare was developed in the EU for the spectrum that they like, and when using that spectrum, the PAR is pretty solid and it is basically good (other than the darn networking box, I cant stand that, and the form factor...). BUT the US likes a more blue look, more pop, and all that. Ecotech recognized this when they put out the G5 Blue. The problem with the coralcare is that when you go for that spectrum, you must turn down the most powerful LEDs on the light, and the PAR dives. An easy fix for them would be to make a "CoralCareBlue" and actually put whites elsewhere on the board and leave the 4 non-diffused LED locations to blue LEDs. They would get the PAR, and the spectrum, that the US wants.

I totally agree on the "more to it than PAR", I looked into a lot of info on photoinhibition, which a lot of corals get above 200PAR or so. We will know a lot more in coming years, but my plan with the Straton was, I would rather have the power and not need it, than need it and not have it...

 

[Lisaw86]

Here is a link, fully in german, hopefully it is allowed, but it goes to a foreign reef club with a lot of info about the fixture (not a r2r competitor).

Anyway, if it is allowed, here is the link, if you scroll (A LOT) and use google translate, there is a lot of good info here, since they have had the units WAY longer than us.

go to page 14 there are some information about spectrum and par

 

[Reef-Engineer]

go to page 14 there are some information about spectrum and par

Great find Lisa!

 

[Lisaw86]

Great find Lisa!

That are the benefits when you can speak/read German. I was doing a lot of research about this lights and ordered them for my tank. But I am still waiting for my tank.... I am sure the lights are here before my tank

 

[User1]

My take here, if I may, is that the coralcare was developed in the EU for the spectrum that they like, and when using that spectrum, the PAR is pretty solid and it is basically good (other than the darn networking box, I cant stand that, and the form factor...). BUT the US likes a more blue look, more pop, and all that. Ecotech recognized this when they put out the G5 Blue. The problem with the coralcare is that when you go for that spectrum, you must turn down the most powerful LEDs on the light, and the PAR dives. An easy fix for them would be to make a "CoralCareBlue" and actually put whites elsewhere on the board and leave the 4 non-diffused LED locations to blue LEDs. They would get the PAR, and the spectrum, that the US wants.

I totally agree on the "more to it than PAR", I looked into a lot of info on photoinhibition, which a lot of corals get above 200PAR or so. We will know a lot more in coming years, but my plan with the Straton was, I would rather have the power and not need it, than need it and not have it...

I think your take is a solid one and it makes sense. Really - as that is what they did over there at BRS They said they like more blue spectrum and turned down half the unit I had to go back and watch again to put it into perspective.

 

[Reef-Engineer]

Ok well, I guess as long as I give credit to Henning Wiese of "NanoReef.de"...

The spectrum with all channels at 100%:

ATI Straton All Channels at 100% (153 Diodes):

UV Channel (18 LEDs at 405nm):

Violet Channel (18 LEDs at 420nm):

Royal Blue Channel (18 LEDs at 450nm):

Blue Channel (36 LEDs at 470nm):

Cyan Channel (18 LEDs at 500nm):

White Channel (36 LEDs):

Red Channel:

 

[nornicle]

Hi Reef Engineer, this is a great thread, I am potentially looking to get 2 over my 150X75cmX60cm tank, although I have to say I do love a strong blue.

You mentioned ‘ New, smaller hanging kit, very similar to classic units. I had a minor issue with one of them, but I think I was using the wrong hanging wire at the time (new units use SMALLER diameter hanging wire, they come with it)’

Does this mean there are multiple ‘versions’ of the product released? Or do you mean you didn’t use what came with the product?

 

[Reef-Engineer]

Again, from Henning Wiese:

 

[Reef-Engineer]

Hi Reef Engineer, this is a great thread, I am potentially looking to get 2 over my 150X75cmX60cm tank, although I have to say I do love a strong blue.

You mentioned ‘ New, smaller hanging kit, very similar to classic units. I had a minor issue with one of them, but I think I was using the wrong hanging wire at the time (new units use SMALLER diameter hanging wire, they come with it)’

Does this mean there are multiple ‘versions’ of the product released? Or do you mean you didn’t use what came with the product?

negative, the hanging kits for Stratons are all the same, it is just a bit smaller than what came with old ATI T5 lights since this fixture doesnt weigh 40lbs. That is what I meant by "new version of the hanging kit"

Since it looked similar, I blew it and tried to use an old wire from my T5 hanging kit, and this damaged the Straton cable adjuster. So the lesson here is, use the hanging kit (all of it) from the straton, dont use some old T5 hanging kit bits and some of the straton kit.

 

[BJEDVM13]

Can you comment on the aesthetic in the tank? More specifically, is there any shimmer? It seems like it would be muted. Also, there are a lot of white bulbs and at 100% the white spectrum seems overkill. Are you able to control the spectrums independently?

 

[Reef-Engineer]

Can you comment on the aesthetic in the tank? More specifically, is there any shimmer? It seems like it would be muted. Also, there are a lot of white bulbs and at 100% the white spectrum seems overkill. Are you able to control the spectrums independently?

There is still shimmer, not as much as MH but definitely some, way more than with T5 for sure.

You can tune the spectrum 100% and even with almost no white you can get solid PAR numbers.

Spectrum of each bank of LEDs (front/middle/back) can be controlled independently, as can the power, and the timing.

I'll try to post a video to show the subtle shimmer