AquaIllumination Blade Announced

rtparty · Jan 11, 2023

My Blade showed up this morning. I’m at work so it won’t be over the tank until later (hopefully by Friday at the latest.)

I’ll post some thoughts later after I get it setup

rtparty · Jan 11, 2023

Sorry no pics at the moment since getting it attached to my current light rack is going to be a small project. My ReefBrite have always been mounted too high and it is WAY too high for the Blade.

I set the Blade on a couple items to set it over the tank. Maybe 2” off the water at most. The spread is remarkably good for being so low but I’d rather have them up around the 8” mounting height that BRS recommends. When I held it by hand around 8”, it seriously lit up most of the tank (no PAR numbers just going by eye.) Really impressed.

Color reminds me of the old VHO actinic bulbs for those of you lucky enough to run those back in the day. Definitely more blue/violet than the G5 Blue Radions I had. I haven’t seen the G6 in person.

After 15-20 minutes of running they are warm to the touch, nothing crazy, and the app says I should be running around 115w when I had all three channels set to 95%.

It’s not all rainbows and butterflies though and a couple things I feel need to be watched for….

1) At each end there is an o ring sandwiched in that looks to be for the tank mounts. This will keep them in place and is a good idea IMO. However, one of mine was about 75% out of its channel. My assumption is it was over tightened (haven’t we seen this from Ecotech/AI in the past?) and thus it got squished out. It looks like it’s a super easy fix. Couple torx screws need to be backed out, reseat the o ring, and gently tighten it back up. I can not see that this O ring has anything to do with the IP66 rating BUT I did not tear into it to check. I have a message into AI asking them. I will update.

2) The connection between light and power brick is a compression style fitting. Nothing new. We’ve seen this 100x before. However, mine is rather loose and when I mount the light, I will somehow secure this connection. I would much rather see them put a screw on, water resistant connection here. No coming loose.

3) If anyone from AI sees this, please for the love of the oceans…stop calling Violet, UV! If you can’t follow the agreed upon scientific standards, make up your own marketing name. Like, I don’t know, just use the nanometer?

Now for the little details that I personally find a home run.

1) They have thought about cord management!!!! I could seriously give this light a 9/10 just for this alone. (Okay, small exaggeration but if you’re like me, cord management is a serious problem and one I take seriously.) At the end where the cable enters the light, there is a 3 way channel to slip the cable through. Side, top, bottom. Then the HMS clips (included with the larger versions) has a cable holder built in. It will keep the cable right against the light and hidden. Just wish the clips were black and not clear.

2) Connecting to the app and setup is a breeze. Seriously, not even a couple minutes and you’re setup. Found the light, hit easy setup, pick your percentages, sunrise/sunset, and you’re done. This is a major step in the right direction IMO. Too many lights have way too much control allowed and it is the animals that pay the price.

Can’t wait to grab a Grow later on to see the difference.

Tamberav · Jan 11, 2023

rtparty said:
Sorry no pics at the moment since getting it attached to my current light rack is going to be a small project. My ReefBrite have always been mounted too high and it is WAY too high for the Blade.

I set the Blade on a couple items to set it over the tank. Maybe 2” off the water at most. The spread is remarkably good for being so low but I’d rather have them up around the 8” mounting height that BRS recommends. When I held it by hand around 8”, it seriously lit up most of the tank (no PAR numbers just going by eye.) Really impressed.

Color reminds me of the old VHO actinic bulbs for those of you lucky enough to run those back in the day. Definitely more blue/violet than the G5 Blue Radions I had. I haven’t seen the G6 in person.

After 15-20 minutes of running they are warm to the touch, nothing crazy, and the app says I should be running around 115w when I had all three channels set to 95%.

It’s not all rainbows and butterflies though and a couple things I feel need to be watched for….

1) At each end there is an o ring sandwiched in that looks to be for the tank mounts. This will keep them in place and is a good idea IMO. However, one of mine was about 75% out of its channel. My assumption is it was over tightened (haven’t we seen this from Ecotech/AI in the past?) and thus it got squished out. It looks like it’s a super easy fix. Couple torx screws need to be backed out, reseat the o ring, and gently tighten it back up. I can not see that this O ring has anything to do with the IP66 rating BUT I did not tear into it to check. I have a message into AI asking them. I will update.

2) The connection between light and power brick is a compression style fitting. Nothing new. We’ve seen this 100x before. However, mine is rather loose and when I mount the light, I will somehow secure this connection. I would much rather see them put a screw on, water resistant connection here. No coming loose.

3) If anyone from AI sees this, please for the love of the oceans…stop calling Violet, UV! If you can’t follow the agreed upon scientific standards, make up your own marketing name. Like, I don’t know, just use the nanometer?

Now for the little details that I personally find a home run.

1) They have thought about cord management!!!! I could seriously give this light a 9/10 just for this alone. (Okay, small exaggeration but if you’re like me, cord management is a serious problem and one I take seriously.) At the end where the cable enters the light, there is a 3 way channel to slip the cable through. Side, top, bottom. Then the HMS clips (included with the larger versions) has a cable holder built in. It will keep the cable right against the light and hidden. Just wish the clips were black and not clear.

2) Connecting to the app and setup is a breeze. Seriously, not even a couple minutes and you’re setup. Found the light, hit easy setup, pick your percentages, sunrise/sunset, and you’re done. This is a major step in the right direction IMO. Too many lights have way too much control allowed and it is the animals that pay the price.

Can’t wait to grab a Grow later on to see the difference.

How is the fit and finish around the led panels? The pics I saw showed glue and some of them askew. I want to know if this is happening to others. It may or may not effect the water resistance I suppose.

This is what I mean (photos):

LED - My first look at the AI Blade

Before I even powered the first one up, I noticed the fit and finish. Lacking. What's with the glue goo? More to follow.

humble.fish

rtparty · Jan 11, 2023

Tamberav said:
How is the fit and finish around the led panels? The pics I saw showed glue and some of them askew. I want to know if this is happening to others. It may or may not effect the water resistance I suppose.

This is what I mean (photos):

LED - My first look at the AI Blade

Before I even powered the first one up, I noticed the fit and finish. Lacking. What's with the glue goo? More to follow.

humble.fish

I didn’t look that closely but can when I’m home.

Water resistance is a fun topic. IP ratings aren’t regulated or watched by anyone. It’s on the company selling the product to set the rating and then internally test random units. MKBHD went over this in a podcast that was really interesting to hear about.

rtparty · Jan 12, 2023

Tamberav said:
How is the fit and finish around the led panels? The pics I saw showed glue and some of them askew. I want to know if this is happening to others. It may or may not effect the water resistance I suppose.

This is what I mean (photos):

LED - My first look at the AI Blade

Before I even powered the first one up, I noticed the fit and finish. Lacking. What's with the glue goo? More to follow.

humble.fish

Just looked at mine super close and there’s no glue or anything. The gaps around each cluster where it meets the aluminum aren’t perfectly symmetrical but I’m not too sure that means anything?

I’m not entirely sure what telegraham is trying to show in those photos? Maybe it’s a water resistance thing? You’d have to tear the whole thing apart to see how they have built it and how they are accomplishing their IP66 rating.

I think it’s important to remember that IP66 isn’t waterproof. I believe it is more “splash proof” than anything? Meaning they can sit close, be splashed on, and not worry as much.

Maybe he has found something and he’ll share his findings?

Tamberav · Jan 12, 2023

rtparty said:
Just looked at mine super close and there’s no glue or anything. The gaps around each cluster where it meets the aluminum aren’t perfectly symmetrical but I’m not too sure that means anything?

I’m not entirely sure what telegraham is trying to show in those photos? Maybe it’s a water resistance thing? You’d have to tear the whole thing apart to see how they have built it and how they are accomplishing their IP66 rating.

I think it’s important to remember that IP66 isn’t waterproof. I believe it is more “splash proof” than anything? Meaning they can sit close, be splashed on, and not worry as much.

Maybe he has found something and he’ll share his findings?

I think all he is showing is that it isn't pretty to look at. Like fit and finish are meh. That was just the initial unboxing, first look. I don't think he is saying it effects the light in any way. Just that the one he received is sloppy looking but others may not be so sloppy, could be a lemon.

That was my perception anyways.

he updated this morning with initial par readings.

rtparty · Jan 12, 2023

Tamberav said:
I think all he is showing is that it isn't pretty to look at. Like fit and finish are meh. That was just the initial unboxing, first look. I don't think he is saying it effects the light in any way. Just that the one he received is sloppy looking but others may not be so sloppy, could be a lemon.

That was my perception anyways.

he updated this morning with initial par readings.

The zoomed in photos makes it look much worse than it is in person. Mine has the same gaps like his but it doesn’t scream at you and you would never see it day to day

I will go see his PAR readings but take them with a grain of salt. Anyone that open air tests lights these days is doing it completely wrong. Not one of us is running them over open air with no tank below. It’s a pointless way to test lights and always was

Tamberav · Jan 12, 2023

rtparty said:
The zoomed in photos makes it look much worse than it is in person. Mine has the same gaps like his but it doesn’t scream at you and you would never see it day to day

I will go see his PAR readings but take them with a grain of salt. Anyone that open air tests lights these days is doing it completely wrong. Not one of us is running them over open air with no tank below. It’s a pointless way to test lights and always was

His par tests are just to compare it to other lights that are similar so not sure it matters for comparison as long as the lights were all set up identical. It is not to get accurate "this is the par you will have" - more of.. what can this light do vs that one under an identical situation. That is how I understood it. I don't see how that is useless information.

I don't see how a test in a blank tank with newly mixed water is even comparable to my reef tank anywho. It's not. My reef tank has particles and living tiny life. If I want par measurement, I would do it over my own tank, not in a box of new water.

rtparty · Jan 12, 2023

Tamberav said:
His par tests are just to compare it to other lights that are similar so not sure it matters for comparison as long as the lights were all set up identical. It is not to get accurate "this is the par you will have" - more of.. what can this light do vs that one under an identical situation. That is how I understood it. I don't see how that is useless information.

I don't see how a test in a blank tank with newly mixed water is even comparable to my reef tank anywho. It's not. My reef tank has particles and living tiny life. If I want par measurement, I would do it over my own tank, not in a box of new water.

But every light is made to be used in a different way. Setting them up identically does not tell you anything.

nereefpat · Jan 12, 2023

rtparty said:
Can’t wait to grab a Grow later on to see the difference.

What length did you get?

I'm also curious about some measurements that I can't find on their brochure. How far apart are the clusters, and how far from the end is the 1st cluster?

Tamberav · Jan 12, 2023

rtparty said:
But every light is made to be used in a different way. Setting them up identically does not tell you anything.

I am not sure what you are getting at?

He didn't compare it to say... a Prime which is a puck style. He isn't testing a reef tank light vs your table lamp. They are all produced for reefs and to support coral and the lights shown were all produced to be a 'bar style'.

Was just trying to share information that is being put out there. Perhaps it is useful to someone else then. Idk. I don't have the money to buy all these lights and test them ha!

@telegraham Sorry I feel bad talkin about ya when you if you are not privy to the convo.

Hooz · Jan 12, 2023

rtparty said:
The zoomed in photos makes it look much worse than it is in person. Mine has the same gaps like his but it doesn’t scream at you and you would never see it day to day

I will go see his PAR readings but take them with a grain of salt. Anyone that open air tests lights these days is doing it completely wrong. Not one of us is running them over open air with no tank below. It’s a pointless way to test lights and always was

People who want to find fault will always find fault, and vice versa. @telegraham does a good job cutting through the marketing BS, though, and open air PAR testing/mapping is as true an "apples-to-apples" comparison as you can get.

To be honest, I am all about the Quanta bars. I was a beta tester for Luxdium on their LED pucks, so I appreciate what Quanta has from a spectrum standpoint (Luxdium and Quanta are leaps and bounds ahead of everyone else on the spectrum front). I'm also a HUGE fan of strip lights or, maybe it's more accurate to say that I absolutely HATE shadowing. But, what I can't get past is any kind of control for the Quanta bars beyond on/of with a timer.

The reality is that my tanks are in living areas of my house, so I can't "just raise them higher". I would also run more bars than I would need for my PAR requirements so that I could mix and match to get the spectrum I wanted. With Quanta there's no options for dimming. I'm not saying they need a full blown app or anything, but a way to dim the bars (even a third party option and/or addon for additional cost) would be a game changer for me, and I'd eagerly snatch up a pile of the bars.

The thing that is really drawing me towards the Blade is the ability to control/dim them, honestly. I'd get the coverage at a lower mounting height AND a way to turn them down. Win-win. I'm holding off for a while to see if the spectrum (Grow, Glow or some combination of both) would get me where I want to be.

Derrick0580 · Jan 12, 2023

No way those cost anywhere near that much to build! Talk about inflated sales price based on company name. I bet there is less than $50 involved in them building them.

Tamberav · Jan 12, 2023

Hooz said:
People who want to find fault will always find fault, and vice versa. @telegraham does a good job cutting through the marketing BS, though, and open air PAR testing/mapping is as true an "apples-to-apples" comparison as you can get.

To be honest, I am all about the Quanta bars. I was a beta tester for Luxdium on their LED pucks, so I appreciate what Quanta has from a spectrum standpoint (Luxdium and Quanta are leaps and bounds ahead of everyone else on the spectrum front). I'm also a HUGE fan of strip lights or, maybe it's more accurate to say that I absolutely HATE shadowing. But, what I can't get past is any kind of control for the Quanta bars beyond on/of with a timer.

The reality is that my tanks are in living areas of my house, so I can't "just raise them higher". I would also run more bars than I would need for my PAR requirements so that I could mix and match to get the spectrum I wanted. With Quanta there's no options for dimming. I'm not saying they need a full blown app or anything, but a way to dim the bars (even a third party option and/or addon for additional cost) would be a game changer for me, and I'd eagerly snatch up a pile of the bars.

The thing that is really drawing me towards the Blade is the ability to control/dim them, honestly. I'd get the coverage at a lower mounting height AND a way to turn them down. Win-win. I'm holding off for a while to see if the spectrum (Grow, Glow or some combination of both) would get me where I want to be.

Orphek released a video finally of their bars being controllable but ofc we know... Orphek can be slow so still may be years away. Just throwing that wrench out there.

I would love to see more bars being controllable... I got radions but first considered bars but didn't get them because:

1. 6 plugs sounds terrible
2. no controllability

It would be great if for the next Blade they made all of them plugs into one power supply to bring it down to 1 plug for the wall/power strip.

rtparty · Jan 12, 2023

nereefpat said:
What length did you get?

I'm also curious about some measurements that I can't find on their brochure. How far apart are the clusters, and how far from the end is the 1st cluster?

57” and I will measure when I get home. There is probably a couple inches on each with no cluster. I think 7 diode combos per cluster.

rtparty · Jan 12, 2023

Hooz said:
People who want to find fault will always find fault, and vice versa. @telegraham does a good job cutting through the marketing BS, though, and open air PAR testing/mapping is as true an "apples-to-apples" comparison as you can get.

To be honest, I am all about the Quanta bars. I was a beta tester for Luxdium on their LED pucks, so I appreciate what Quanta has from a spectrum standpoint (Luxdium and Quanta are leaps and bounds ahead of everyone else on the spectrum front). I'm also a HUGE fan of strip lights or, maybe it's more accurate to say that I absolutely HATE shadowing. But, what I can't get past is any kind of control for the Quanta bars beyond on/of with a timer.

The reality is that my tanks are in living areas of my house, so I can't "just raise them higher". I would also run more bars than I would need for my PAR requirements so that I could mix and match to get the spectrum I wanted. With Quanta there's no options for dimming. I'm not saying they need a full blown app or anything, but a way to dim the bars (even a third party option and/or addon for additional cost) would be a game changer for me, and I'd eagerly snatch up a pile of the bars.

The thing that is really drawing me towards the Blade is the ability to control/dim them, honestly. I'd get the coverage at a lower mounting height AND a way to turn them down. Win-win. I'm holding off for a while to see if the spectrum (Grow, Glow or some combination of both) would get me where I want to be.

If all the lights are tested in the same way (open air, over water, sideways, upside down, etc) then they are all apples to apples. But testing them all the exact same way is unfair to many of them. Some will excel while others fall behind because they aren’t being tested in their optimal format.

For example, Orphek bars are fantastic if you want to mount them 20” off your tank and have that look. Fantastic choice. What happens if you mount the Blade 20” off the tank and test it? Ope, this light sucks compared to the Orphek! And vice versa. But I tested them the exact same way and that’s only fair?

The opposite is true too. Put an Orphek directly on the tank and it will fail miserably. Completely unfair to the Orphek bar at that point.

I will be ordering a Grow in a month or so as funds permit. I’d like to see it next to the Glow as that will help me decide what combo I want and give insight for others trying to make a decision.

Hooz · Jan 12, 2023

rtparty said:
If all the lights are tested in the same way (open air, over water, sideways, upside down, etc) then they are all apples to apples. But testing them all the exact same way is unfair to many of them. Some will excel while others fall behind because they aren’t being tested in their optimal format.

For example, Orphek bars are fantastic if you want to mount them 20” off your tank and have that look. Fantastic choice. What happens if you mount the Blade 20” off the tank and test it? Ope, this light sucks compared to the Orphek! And vice versa. But I tested them the exact same way and that’s only fair?

The opposite is true too. Put an Orphek directly on the tank and it will fail miserably. Completely unfair to the Orphek bar at that point.

I will be ordering a Grow in a month or so as funds permit. I’d like to see it next to the Glow as that will help me decide what combo I want and give insight for others trying to make a decision.

I see what you're saying, but I would argue that true apples-to-apples testing like that gives people the information they need to narrow the field and make a final decision.

If someone was deciding on a bar that needed to be mounted lower, how would they know that an Orphek (to use your example) was a poor choice unless someone highlighted that in their testing? A quick comparison of PAR maps that showed all options in the same test conditions would pretty easily show which performed better at lower heights, and which needed to be mounted higher.

I would agree that comparing bars to pucks to panels probably isn't the most "fair" for any of them, but comparing bar to bar to bar is very valuable.

A quick look at the three PAR maps @telegraham posted in his review (so far) shows that ReefBrites have the best spread, followed by Blade followed by Orphek. That means the ReefBrite can be mounted lower than the Blade which can be mounted lower than the Orphek. If mounting height is an issue, narrow the field accordingly. See what I mean? That's not saying the Orphek bar is a bad choice, just that it needs to be mounted higher.

ScottD · Jan 12, 2023

Hooz said:
I see what you're saying, but I would argue that true apples-to-apples testing like that gives people the information they need to narrow the field and make a final decision.

If someone was deciding on a bar that needed to be mounted lower, how would they know that an Orphek (to use your example) was a poor choice unless someone highlighted that in their testing? A quick comparison of PAR maps that showed all options in the same test conditions would pretty easily show which performed better at lower heights, and which needed to be mounted higher.

I would agree that comparing bars to pucks to panels probably isn't the most "fair" for any of them, but comparing bar to bar to bar is very valuable.

A quick look at the three PAR maps @telegraham posted in his review (so far) shows that ReefBrites have the best spread, followed by Blade followed by Orphek. That means the ReefBrite can be mounted lower than the Blade which can be mounted lower than the Orphek. If mounting height is an issue, narrow the field accordingly. See what I mean? That's not saying the Orphek bar is a bad choice, just that it needs to be mounted higher.

I agree with rt party, not sure what his testing is really showing us that relevant. The spread numbers he’s getting are much different then over a tank. Two reasons for this. One, light loss through the water is much greater. And the second is that water changes the direction of the light which would have an huge affect on spread numbers. Also light reflecting off the glass affects light spread and par values.

TelegrahamTested LLC · Jan 13, 2023

Hooz said:
but a way to dim the bars (even a third party option and/or addon for additional cost) would be a game changer for me

I might have this in BT form. Ordered it a long time ago, but haven't swapped the driver yet. Happy to share what I have if you want to jump in line ahead of me.

TelegrahamTested LLC · Jan 13, 2023

Tamberav said:
@telegraham Sorry I feel bad talkin about ya when you if you are not privy to the convo.

Appreciated, and it's cool. You get it. Too many don't test on their own. Too many rely upon, and regurgitate, what they're "taught" via marketing videos.

Don't get me wrong...there's value in those vids, but they tell us what they want us to know to persuade us to buy. I test so I know more, then I share.

If it doesn't fit your thinking, ignore it. I'm not talkin' about you momma. It's just a light. It's cool.