AquaIllumination Blade Announced

[spsick]

Food for thought. Four 48" blades costs approximately $1,600 and get T5 like spread over a 120. Seems like enough PAR to grow SPS with less hot spots with better spread. Going to need (2) G6 XR30 or (3) G6 XR15 to get the same spread and PAR requirements. Won't have the same flexibility with spectrum but seems cheaper after taking into account mount options. XR15/XR30 are about $120 each. :thinking-face:

(2) Grow and (2) Glow me thinks.

Glow has a pretty obscene (imo gouging) $169 premium over the glow so you’re looking at $1936 before mounting options for 2 of each.

 

[Acros]

Food for thought. Four 48" blades costs approximately $1,600 and get T5 like spread over a 120. Seems like enough PAR to grow SPS with less hot spots with better spread. Going to need (2) G6 XR30 or (3) G6 XR15 to get the same spread and PAR requirements. Won't have the same flexibility with spectrum but seems cheaper after taking into account mount options. XR15/XR30 are about $120 each. :thinking-face:

(2) Grow and (2) Glow me thinks.

I think (2) Grow and (1) Glow will get the job done.

 

[nereefpat]

Glow has a pretty obscene (imo gouging) $169 premium over the glow so you’re looking at $1936 before mounting options for 2 of each.

Yeah, I was going to post the same thing. 1940$ for 2 grows and 2 glows. Roughly the same price (40 dollars more for Blades) and wattage as 2 x XR30s. The spread, I assume, would be better in the Blades than with two panels that are 11"x7".

 

[Cichlid Dad]

looks promising, curious on pricing

400.00 per 48 inch

 

[GARRIGA]

I think (2) Grow and (1) Glow will get the job done.

Was thinking the same but having two of each would balance the spectrum closer to the Radions. Spacing them in pairs although the Glow in the middle might work too but now you're having to lean more towards the Pro equivalent than Blue of the Radion where's having two pairs provides more options and might be best of both options from Radion and similar to getting one XR30 Pro and one XR30 Blue then adjusting as needed yet four blades gives better spread and I'm old school VHO and was planning on going Straton, Coral Care 2 or Neptune for the larger spreads. At some point budget shouldn't restrict going with what's best, either.

 

[rtparty]

Food for thought. Four 48" blades costs approximately $1,600 and get T5 like spread over a 120. Seems like enough PAR to grow SPS with less hot spots with better spread. Going to need (2) G6 XR30 or (3) G6 XR15 to get the same spread and PAR requirements. Won't have the same flexibility with spectrum but seems cheaper after taking into account mount options. XR15/XR30 are about $120 each. :thinking-face:

(2) Grow and (2) Glow me thinks.

3 over a 24” wide tank gives SPS numbers all over. Talking to those who have them and tested them heavily, it’s looking like one every 8” is enough for SPS which is crazy really.

I was convinced I’d need 5-6 on my 72*36*22 tall peninsula. I’ve been told to start with 3 and add a 4th. I may end up with 5 long term simply because I may add a freshwater version right in the middle to bring in better spectrum to show off the fish.

I’m looking at making a bracket like ReefBrite uses for their XHO setup where you run 5 of them. Piece of metal that is arched so the lights are curved. Should blend everything nicely that way

Edit: you also don’t need the 48” version for a 48” tank unless you want to tank mount them. Go down one size and you’ll still have plenty of spread. Saves a few hundred $$$

 

[Acros]

Was thinking the same but having two of each would balance the spectrum closer to the Radions. Spacing them in pairs although the Glow in the middle might work too but now you're having to lean more towards the Pro equivalent than Blue of the Radion where's having two pairs provides more options and might be best of both options from Radion and similar to getting one XR30 Pro and one XR30 Blue then adjusting as needed yet four blades gives better spread and I'm old school VHO and was planning on going Straton, Coral Care 2 or Neptune for the larger spreads. At some point budget shouldn't restrict going with what's best, either.

I am biased towards Radion Pro. I had a G5 Blue and it bugged me that all my fish and blue corals looked washed out. I eventually ended up getting the Kessil AP9X, which can go as white as you need.

The Blue is not windexy blue by any stretch.

I also had two custom Popular grow LED bars with alternating 430nm, 470nm and Cool white LEDs. It looked very similar to Radion Pro. Blade Grow has twice the amount of 470nm LEDs, so you might find it to be blue enough. If not, addition of a single Blade Glow might get you to your desired blue levels in the tank. They seem to have phenomenal spread at around 8-9” mounting height.

 

[GARRIGA]

3 over a 24” wide tank gives SPS numbers all over. Talking to those who have them and tested them heavily, it’s looking like one every 8” is enough for SPS which is crazy really.

I was convinced I’d need 5-6 on my 72*36*22 tall peninsula. I’ve been told to start with 3 and add a 4th. I may end up with 5 long term simply because I may add a freshwater version right in the middle to bring in better spectrum to show off the fish.

I’m looking at making a bracket like ReefBrite uses for their XHO setup where you run 5 of them. Piece of metal that is arched so the lights are curved. Should blend everything nicely that way

My point wasn't about PAR. About spectrum. With only one Glow then you get half as many blues specific diodes. Placing that bar in the middle or back or front means the entire tank isn't getting the same level of spectrum. Old issue with VHO and T5. Back then many would go two whites plus one actinic which never made sense to me since the colors weren't balance from front to back but I guess it also depends on how blue one wants the tank yet I doubt a single Glow will illuminate 24" evenly.

By having four blades split between Grow and Glow you are effectively filling two whites and two actinics over a larger spread. Split in pairs the back of the tank gets the same spectrum spread as the front and center. PAR then just an adjustment of intensity and now can be run lower which means better longevity.

Obviously a personal choice but I prefer symmetry although without actually seeing it then hard to visualize how exactly it will look. Never been a fan of tanks where light intensity wasn't same front to back and side to side. At some point having a single Glow would mean a hot spot of spectrum (not light intensity) and I'm guessing the discerning eye might notice one area is bluer than another. Pure speculation, obviously and been decades since I've seen a tank illuminated with VHO and last I saw T5s I didn't spend much time looking but I know that at home it likely will get noticed.

 

[Hooz]

I'm wondering if you was to mount the lights on 80/20 rail perpendicular to the tank it would give a better blend of grow and glow.

I was just thinking about this this morning. Say we have a 40B style footprint (36x18). I'd be inclined to go with three of the 30" Blades in some combination, oriented to the 36" length of the tank. But... what about five of the 12" Blades, oriented along the 18" width of the tank?

Interesting.

 

[GARRIGA]

I am biased towards Radion Pro. I had a G5 Blue and it bugged me that all my fish and blue corals looked washed out. I eventually ended up getting the Kessil AP9X, which can go as white as you need.

The Blue is not windexy blue by any stretch.

I also had two custom Popular grow LED bars with alternating 430nm, 470nm and Cool white LEDs. It looked very similar to Radion Pro. Blade Grow has twice the amount of 470nm LEDs, so you might find it to be blue enough. If not, addition of a single Blade Glow might get you to your desired blue levels in the tank. They seem to have phenomenal spread at around 8-9” mounting height.

I'm also not a fan of blue tanks and have a G6 Pro myself but making suggestions for those wanting more blue in their tanks. Although I love flexibility and why suddenly this made sense to me as I could reduce the blues to my liking but the main point being better spread of light similar to T5s. Yet can't see how a single Glow in the middle won't have a hot spot of spectrum in the middle. Imagine it would be bluest there and that would annoy me. Knowing me. :)

 

[rtparty]

My point wasn't about PAR. About spectrum. With only one Glow then you get half as many blues specific diodes. Placing that bar in the middle or back or front means the entire tank isn't getting the same level of spectrum. Old issue with VHO and T5. Back then many would go two whites plus one actinic which never made sense to me since the colors weren't balance from front to back but I guess it also depends on how blue one wants the tank yet I doubt a single Glow will illuminate 24" evenly.

By having four blades split between Grow and Glow you are effectively filling two whites and two actinics over a larger spread. Split in pairs the back of the tank gets the same spectrum spread as the front and center. PAR then just an adjustment of intensity and now can be run lower which means better longevity.

Obviously a personal choice but I prefer symmetry although without actually seeing it then hard to visualize how exactly it will look. Never been a fan of tanks where light intensity wasn't same front to back and side to side. At some point having a single Glow would mean a hot spot of spectrum (not light intensity) and I'm guessing the discerning eye might notice one area is bluer than another. Pure speculation, obviously and been decades since I've seen a tank illuminated with VHO and last I saw T5s I didn't spend much time looking but I know that at home it likely will get noticed.

From the multiple videos I’ve seen where they just run 2, it’s not visible in the videos where they separate but I 100% get what you’re saying.

When I ran the T5 thread on Reef Central, we always took that into account. Run a blue in front and run the purple bulbs front of center so that light was hitting the viewing side of the corals. Peninsula tanks make this really hard because you have to be symmetrical.

The nice thing is you can grab 3, try it, and buy the 4th if really needed. I’m hoping we see BRS do the spectrum test on multiple setups of Blades. Then we will see just how well they’re blending

 

[ScottD]

3 over a 24” wide tank gives SPS numbers all over. Talking to those who have them and tested them heavily, it’s looking like one every 8” is enough for SPS which is crazy really.

I was convinced I’d need 5-6 on my 72*36*22 tall peninsula. I’ve been told to start with 3 and add a 4th. I may end up with 5 long term simply because I may add a freshwater version right in the middle to bring in better spectrum to show off the fish.

I’m looking at making a bracket like ReefBrite uses for their XHO setup where you run 5 of them. Piece of metal that is arched so the lights are curved. Should blend everything nicely that way

Edit: you also don’t need the 48” version for a 48” tank unless you want to tank mount them. Go down one size and you’ll still have plenty of spread. Saves a few hundred $$$

I’ve been wondering about the freshwater lights and what they would look like in a mix of the grow and glow over a saltwater tank and whether there would be any benefit. Looks like I’m not the only one with that thought.

To your point about not needing the exact length of your tank, I assumed that’s why they have advertised the tank brackets add up to an additional 9” to the lights so you could use a 39” blade on a 48” tank.

 

[GARRIGA]

From the multiple videos I’ve seen where they just run 2, it’s not visible in the videos where they separate but I 100% get what you’re saying.

When I ran the T5 thread on Reef Central, we always took that into account. Run a blue in front and run the purple bulbs front of center so that light was hitting the viewing side of the corals. Peninsula tanks make this really hard because you have to be symmetrical.

The nice thing is you can grab 3, try it, and buy the 4th if really needed. I’m hoping we see BRS do the spectrum test on multiple setups of Blades. Then we will see just how well they’re blending

You bring up a good point in that one could perhaps place the Glow in the front and angle that towards the corals. Now you adjust to viewing pleasure but then you still have the issue that middle of the tank might be bluer. Just trying to visualize how light spreads and all light sources have a hot spot, to some extent.

 

[ScottD]

From the multiple videos I’ve seen where they just run 2, it’s not visible in the videos where they separate but I 100% get what you’re saying.

When I ran the T5 thread on Reef Central, we always took that into account. Run a blue in front and run the purple bulbs front of center so that light was hitting the viewing side of the corals. Peninsula tanks make this really hard because you have to be symmetrical.

The nice thing is you can grab 3, try it, and buy the 4th if really needed. I’m hoping we see BRS do the spectrum test on multiple setups of Blades. Then we will see just how well they’re blending

Im really interested in what their PUR testing shows on these lights, hoping that video comes out soon.

 

[ScottD]

I was just thinking about this this morning. Say we have a 40B style footprint (36x18). I'd be inclined to go with three of the 30" Blades in some combination, oriented to the 36" length of the tank. But... what about five of the 12" Blades, oriented along the 18" width of the tank?

Interesting.

For a bigger tank I’d think it might be cheaper but for a tank that size I’d assume is either a wash or more expensive to put smaller lights perpendicular instead

 

[Acros]

I'm also not a fan of blue tanks and have a G6 Pro myself but making suggestions for those wanting more blue in their tanks. Although I love flexibility and why suddenly this made sense to me as I could reduce the blues to my liking but the main point being better spread of light similar to T5s. Yet can't see how a single Glow in the middle won't have a hot spot of spectrum in the middle. Imagine it would be bluest there and that would annoy me. Knowing me. :)

Even though my experience is with a different set of lights, my eyes could not make out the spectral shift when supplementing a G5 Blue with more Pro looking LED bars.

I suspect any spectrum shifts will be only measurable using a spectrum meter.

 

[GARRIGA]

Even though my experience is with a different set of lights, my eyes could not make out the spectral shift when supplementing a G5 Blue with more Pro looking LED bars.

I suspect any spectrum shifts will be only measurable using a spectrum meter.

thank you. Not something I have experience with of recent and trying to remember something from three decades ago to this level impossible.

 

[Hooz]

For a bigger tank I’d think it might be cheaper but for a tank that size I’d assume is either a wash or more expensive to put smaller lights perpendicular instead

In my scenario it would be cheaper (~$100 less) to get 3x 12" Grows and 2x 12" Glows than it would be to get 2x 30" Grows and a single 30" Glow.

The trade-off would be:

3 longer strips give you 2:1 Grow to Glow ratio and 9 "pucks" for a total of 180w
5 shorter strips give a 3:2 Grow to Glow ratio, but only 5 "pucks" for a total of 100w

The BRS Blade videos (so far) have just lumped them in with 50+ other light configurations. They provided some general overview type info, but I'd really like to see the in-depth tests on the Blades with actual spectrum and PAR measurements like they've done with all the other lights.

 

[ScottD]

In my scenario it would be cheaper (~$100 less) to get 3x 12" Grows and 2x 12" Glows than it would be to get 2x 30" Grows and a single 30" Glow.

The trade-off would be:

3 longer strips give you 2:1 Grow to Glow ratio and 9 "pucks" for a total of 180w
5 shorter strips give a 3:2 Grow to Glow ratio, but only 5 "pucks" for a total of 100w

The BRS Blade videos (so far) have just lumped them in with 50+ other light configurations. They provided some general overview type info, but I'd really like to see the in-depth tests on the Blades with actual spectrum and PAR measurements like they've done with all the other lights.

I would think you’d only need 2 of the 30” blades (1 of each) for a 40 gal breeder. 3 seems like over kill for a shallow tank that’s only 18” wide. You’d basically have to have all 3 lights touching each other in order to fit them over the tank.

 

[GARRIGA]

Warming up to this form factor.