AquaIllumination Blade Announced

[Sequest]

BRS is releasing a series of light testing videos. From what I can infer:

They have three videos up, but are unlisted. Here you go:
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Cost per par these blades came out cheapest.

 

[rtparty]

Awesome! Thanks. I'm thinking of setting up a 36x36x20 cube. I was guessing 6 of the 30" model would cover this foot print nicely. Would be cheaper to go with these and better coverage over radions 4 xr15 or 2 xr30. Hmmmm

So 3 of them on the 24x24 BRS test tank created SPS PAR top to bottom. Meaning 4 would likely do the trick for both of us. I have one on order to replace one of my XHO bars. Will give some thoughts in my build thread once I have it setup and working

 

[Tenecor Aquariums]

PRICES ARE RIDICULOUS I USE LEDS OFF AMAZON for 62 bucks a pop for 48 to 60 inch Tanks for 3 years and corals grow like made and color good. AI MUST HAVE GOLD IN THEM SOMEWHERE< YEAH RIGHT!!!

Can you PM me some of the Amazon listings you are referring to? We are working on some new designs. Thnx.

 

[aquaticlog]

For those who were curious about PAR, here are some PAR measurements:

 

[hart24601]

These are exactly what I have been looking for and ordered one. I have the IM 48” long 36” wide 150 tank and have softies and fish with just 2 kessil a360x that I run quite white.

my issue is while the kessils are just fine for these softies and fish, the softies in the front grow and angle backwards towards the kessils, which only gets worse the larger they grow. I have not been sure what I would do as adding a bar to the kessil mounts would not be easy in front since the tank is so wide, plus with two little kids I won’t want any light spill.

these bars being able to be mounted right on the top is just what I needed. The IM black rim mesh lid that sits inside the eurobrace is 40”, perfect for the 39” bar I can put it right on the tank. No bleed into the room, and will match the IM screen. I am concerned about blending but I don’t need to run them 100% and I will probably turn down the blues. And no spill.

Still I am excited as the corals bending back was unexpected and a bummer

 

[rtparty]

@spsick

Videos are linked in here with a lot of the PAR measurements

 

[RZGreef]

I'm considering getting the 12" Blade Grow for the Fluval EVO 13.5. It looks like it would fit in the stock lid's light opening very well, and allow me to keep using the lid and keep evaporation minimal. Mainly what I want to accomplish is upgrade from the stock light, and at least maintain the PAR the stock light puts out. The stock light is very white looking, and I get no color pop on corals - so that's what I'm mainly hoping to change. I don't want to go with the Glow because that might be a bit too blue for my eyes. I realize this is a new product but would welcome any thoughts on doing this? Thanks in advance!

 

[Acros]

Good news! BRS recommends a mounting height of 8".

PAR numbers from a 24" cube.

 

[Ryebreadiest]

Is 8 inches the elevated tank mount height? I’m unclear on what mounting options come with the light.

They have three videos up, but are unlisted. Here you go:
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Cost per par these blades came out cheapest.

Cost per par is such a strange metric, as though most people run their lights with all channels at 100%. A fixture with that many cool whites will probably not actually be delivering as much bang for the buck unless the spectrum with the whites at a high percent is pleasing.

 

[rtparty]

Is 8 inches the elevated tank mount height? I’m unclear on what mounting options come with the light.

Cost per par is such a strange metric, as though most people run their lights with all channels at 100%. A fixture with that many cool whites will probably not actually be delivering as much bang for the buck unless the spectrum with the whites at a high percent is pleasing.

I think elevated mount is like 4” but the thing is there’s no serious hot spot even at 0” sitting on the tank. I believe the 8” mounting height is to maximize spread and blend the lights when multiple are used.

I’m not sure there are many fixtures on the market where someone runs all channels at 100%. I believe the picture I attached earlier from Deven’s tank is everything at 100%. Pics can be deceiving but looks a little blue overall for my own taste but he told me it looks a Radion Pro which is not that blue IMO.

My glow will be here next week so we’ll see if the hype is worth it

 

[Opus]

I wish BML was still in the aquarium light business. They had awesome light bars and that was 7 or 8 years ago. They even had an option to pick your leds for the light strip. I had 3 over my 75 and they would grow anything and mimicked my previous T5 setup.

 

[piranhaman00]

“When you combine 3 or more Blade strips together, the result is shadow elimination and even light distribution comparable to traditional T5 fixtures, but with greater efficiency and at a fraction of the cost!” -BRS

Um what?

 

[Ryebreadiest]

“When you combine 3 or more Blade strips together, the result is shadow elimination and even light distribution comparable to traditional T5 fixtures, but with greater efficiency and at a fraction of the cost!” -BRS

Um what?

I imagine he’s comparing it to T5s, where lower electricity and no bulb replacement would make the lights cheaper over the long run. “Fraction of the cost” is probably a little hyperbolic though, you can get a 6 bulb t5 fixture for pretty cheap these days.

 

[piranhaman00]

I imagine he’s comparing it to T5s, where lower electricity and no bulb replacement would make the lights cheaper over the long run. “Fraction of the cost” is probably a little hyperbolic though, you can get a 6 bulb t5 fixture for pretty cheap these days.

This light will burn out long before bulb replacements would make the cost even equal out. Fraction of the cost is ridiculous

Also is t BRS past this whole PAR thing? PAR means very little, especially with LEDs

 

[Barbarosa]

Any estimates on when these lights will be available for us poor saps across the pond in the UK ?

These units may well solve a design flaw in my aquarium where the front of my 'hole in wall' tank is sitting under the shadow of an RSJ

 

[piranhaman00]

Also to me it looks like the refugium light has the best spectrum for coral growth

 

[hart24601]

I wish BML was still in the aquarium light business. They had awesome light bars and that was 7 or 8 years ago. They even had an option to pick your leds for the light strip. I had 3 over my 75 and they would grow anything and mimicked my previous T5 setup.

Orphek used to let you custom the bars, not sure about now. I do like orphek bars but many bars have trouble with blending, I think these mini clusters are a good step forward in bars. And the ip66 splash rating is nice. Yeah the spectrum would be nice if included elements of both the grow and glow, but will be interesting how they look. As for “optimal spectrum” I won the acro grow out here on r2r in 2014 with reefbreeder value fixtures, the big old black boxes before they had a nicer design, beating out other leds users and t5 and mh tanks - so I don’t think it really matters all that much vs chemistry as much as we enjoy the endless lighting debates. Now what a user finds visually appealing is a totally different matter.

 

[rtparty]

This light will burn out long before bulb replacements would make the cost even equal out. Fraction of the cost is ridiculous

Also is t BRS past this whole PAR thing? PAR means very little, especially with LEDs

8 bulb Sunpower is $560. 8 bulbs is $200. So $760 and will use 192w with zero control except for on/off. Annual bulb replacement is $1000 over 5 years at current pricing. You’ll also need to factor in ballast replacement. Say only one goes bad in 5 years, that’s another $50 and hours of your time.

6 bulb Sunpower is $500 plus $150 in bulbs. So $650 and will use 144w. Annual bulb replacement is $750 over 5 years at current pricing.

3 Blades (2 grow and 1 glow) is $650. Uses 120w. No bulb replacement and no ballast replacements. Maybe a power supply goes bad. No idea the cost but let’s say $50 like a ballast. 10 minute swap.

5 year cost to run each:

8 bulb - $1810 plus electric
6 bulb - $1450 plus electric
Blades - $700 plus electric

Yep, when you actually compare like for like the Blades are over 50% cheaper.

 

[ScottD]

Nice! Look forward to seeing it.

It’s going to be a slow burner for sure but I finally started a build thread if you care to follow along:

Build Thread - Diving back into the deep end with a 135 gallon cube

Hello everyone, We’ll start this off with a little history lesson. I grew up with various freshwater tanks including one right outside my bedroom window in the form of a 400 acre lake stocked with a multitude of different fish and animals. Growing up I visited aquariums over the years and...

www.reef2reef.com

 

[piranhaman00]

8 bulb Sunpower is $560. 8 bulbs is $200. So $760 and will use 192w with zero control except for on/off. Annual bulb replacement is $1000 over 5 years at current pricing. You’ll also need to factor in ballast replacement. Say only one goes bad in 5 years, that’s another $50 and hours of your time.

6 bulb Sunpower is $500 plus $150 in bulbs. So $650 and will use 144w. Annual bulb replacement is $750 over 5 years at current pricing.

3 Blades (2 grow and 1 glow) is $650. Uses 120w. No bulb replacement and no ballast replacements. Maybe a power supply goes bad. No idea the cost but let’s say $50 like a ballast. 10 minute swap.

5 year cost to run each:

8 bulb - $1810 plus electric
6 bulb - $1450 plus electric
Blades - $700 plus electric

Yep, when you actually compare like for like the Blades are over 50% cheaper.

Yes let’s compare worst case scenario T5 with best case scenario led.