Anybody have a Wifi ATI Powermodule Hybrid?

Crashjack

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My 60" Nanobox Reef retro LED/T5 hybrid is failing after two years so I'm in the market for a similar hybrid fixture. I like the layout of my current fixture w/ (8) LED pucks (square not round) and (4) 80w T5s in the configuration: T5 / LED / T5/T5 / LED / T5. Right now, I'm looking at replacing with a Wifi ATI Powermodule Hybrid but would like to know some positives/negatives from people who own the newer Powermodule Hybrid. My current retro is a modified ATI 6-bulb T5 fixture so I know what the T5s are like. I just know nothing about the LEDs or programming, and my current retro is 13.4" wide where this would be 12" wide (going over a 6'x2'x19" tank) so there will likely be a little less spread. Also, the ATI's LEDs run down the center so I'm guessing I'll get considerably less LED spread unless I raise the new fixture (my current fixture sits around 9" above the water's surface). Any shared information would be greatly appreciated.
 

blackizzz

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I ran a 4 bulb ATI hybrid for about a year+ on my tank before swapping to radions (upgrading tank)

Coverage on the LED's is actually better than you'd think. The lenses are wide-angle. BUT the T5's will be the brute force of the lighting. If I were you, I'd look at the 6 or 8 bulb hybrids, and not the 4 if you want perfect spread over the entire tank.

The programming is pretty simple, you can control the LEDs (every puck separately) and T5's (in two's)
You're supplied a couple of presets, but can also create your own.

All in all, a great fixture. I wouldn't have changed from it unless I was upgrading tanks and got a great deal on the new ones.

If you have any other questions, I'll be happy to try and answer them :)
 

dragon99

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I just purchased a 8 bulb 60" hybrid myself for a new tank, haven't gotten it hung yet so I can't comment on programming. Hope to have it up in the next week or so and I'll give you some PAR measurements with LED only.
 

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My 60" Nanobox Reef retro LED/T5 hybrid is failing after two years so I'm in the market for a similar hybrid fixture. I like the layout of my current fixture w/ (8) LED pucks (square not round) and (4) 80w T5s in the configuration: T5 / LED / T5/T5 / LED / T5. Right now, I'm looking at replacing with a Wifi ATI Powermodule Hybrid but would like to know some positives/negatives from people who own the newer Powermodule Hybrid. My current retro is a modified ATI 6-bulb T5 fixture so I know what the T5s are like. I just know nothing about the LEDs or programming, and my current retro is 13.4" wide where this would be 12" wide (going over a 6'x2'x19" tank) so there will likely be a little less spread. Also, the ATI's LEDs run down the center so I'm guessing I'll get considerably less LED spread unless I raise the new fixture (my current fixture sits around 9" above the water's surface). Any shared information would be greatly appreciated.


I did run an ATI hybrid powermodule with 6x T5 and 2x LEDs on my tank.

You can find the par numbers here:


As far as programming, it was kind of straight forward once you set the fixture up and follow the steps written on the unit's packaging.

Mine didn't hold its program on my very first time, but once i reprgorammed it, it ran flawlessly...
 
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Crashjack

Crashjack

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I ran a 4 bulb ATI hybrid for about a year+ on my tank before swapping to radions (upgrading tank)

Coverage on the LED's is actually better than you'd think. The lenses are wide-angle. BUT the T5's will be the brute force of the lighting. If I were you, I'd look at the 6 or 8 bulb hybrids, and not the 4 if you want perfect spread over the entire tank.

The programming is pretty simple, you can control the LEDs (every puck separately) and T5's (in two's)
You're supplied a couple of presets, but can also create your own.

All in all, a great fixture. I wouldn't have changed from it unless I was upgrading tanks and got a great deal on the new ones.

If you have any other questions, I'll be happy to try and answer them :)
Good info.!

What about going with one of the new hybrid fixtures that use Radions/Hydras/Kessils along with 2-4 bulbs?
If you mean the Aquatic Life, I thought about that. I like the ability to use whatever LEDs you like, which also is a lot more friendly if something goes wrong... ballasts aren't hard to replace, and if there is a problem with one LED fixture, you don't have to try to figure out how to ship a 5' fixture and figure out how to light your tank while the fixture is gone for some unknown amount of time. However, I don't like the lack of fans, lack of acrylic/plexi shields, and that the LED mounting appears to rely on tape. Also depending on which LEDs you add, there wouldn't necessarily be any cost savings. That said, I would probably go that route if I didn't already have my current fixture. My current fixture has lost 1-1/2 channels (all cyan/blues and half of the whites) so I've got no confidence that more won't go out. However, if I ever had to ship the new fixture back, the old fixture should work fine, even if it was just the (4) T5s, for however long it would take to send the new fixture in and receive it back. Also the new and old fixtures both mount the same, and the old fixture would likely store in the new fixture's box, so I would always have a shipping box if I ever did need to send the new fixture back.

I just purchased a 8 bulb 60" hybrid myself for a new tank, haven't gotten it hung yet so I can't comment on programming. Hope to have it up in the next week or so and I'll give you some PAR measurements with LED only.

Great! Thanks!
 
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Crashjack

Crashjack

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I did run an ATI hybrid powermodule with 6x T5 and 2x LEDs on my tank.

You can find the par numbers here:


As far as programming, it was kind of straight forward once you set the fixture up and follow the steps written on the unit's packaging.

Mine didn't hold its program on my very first time, but once i reprgorammed it, it ran flawlessly...

Really nice. I might break down and go with the (6) T5s, but my tank has done well with my current similar 4-bulb fixture. Part of the reason is that my rockwork is sort of an elongated horseshoe shape, and it works out to where most rock sits pretty close to directly under the fixture, and what I have in the sand sits pretty well under the fixture as well. Of course, for an extra $28 on a $2,300 fixture (BRS), I'm not sure that the 6-bulb isn't a no-brainer. Why aren't you running now?
 

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Hey Crash, kooking at the ATI 6 bulb T5/LED myself. Either that or alternating the basic 6 bulb sunpower with separate LED units running perpendicular to the tank. what did you end up going with/why?
 
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Crashjack

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I got the 6-bulb T5/LED Hybrid and like it a lot. I was a little skeptical about the LEDs, mostly because there are just lined-up in the center. I started with my fixture a little high to acclimate my corals (by high I mean like 9-3/4" above the surface of my rim/braces, which was probably 11" or so above the surface of the water). I figured I was going to get some light spillage from the T5s but to my utter surprise, I was also getting some spillage from the LEDs! I've since lowered the fixture an inch, which eliminated the LED spillage, but the LEDs completely fill the tank with light by themselves. Being single points of light running down the center, there is obviously some shadowing, but apparently the reflectors do a great job (enough to create my initial light spillage from the LEDs alone).

Obviously the T5s/reflectors are excellent as ATI is pretty much known for that, but I was impressed by the LEDs/reflectors after assuming the design wouldn't allow the LEDs to fill the tank with light unless hung very high.

The programming has pros and cons and is very different from the Bluefish Controller I used with my old LED/T5 hybrid. With the ATI, you can create about anything you set your mind to, but it runs for only one day... a day that runs over and over unless you change the program or load another program. For instance, if you wanted to create moon phases or cloudy days or whatever, you would have to save each moon phase or cloudy/sunny day as different programs and load the proper program every time you wanted to run that setting... either that or just manually change the live program every time you want to run that setting. The other small downside is that if you run via wifi, you have to disable your ethernet connection every time you want to go into the ATI program, but I've gotten used to that.
 
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Crashjack

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All of my cyan/blue LEDs and one-half of my white LEDs (back row whites) went out. In retrospect, I also didn't like that the LEDs were just bare... no globe or diffuser or even reflector, just individual tiny bulbs in a cluster. I think that type of LED design is ok for standalone LEDs when you can position pretty high above the tank, but it makes little sense when you are combining with T5s in a fixture because you want the T5s pretty close to the surface. I put the Nanobox Reef fixture in my attic as a backup in case something happens and I have to send the ATI fixture in for repairs. However that's another nice thing about the ATI... that you can make a lot of repairs pretty easily yourself; not the case with the Nanobox Reef retro, which was the major reason I decided to punt and go with the ATI.
 

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