OP
OP
Yes, they will be mounted internally. With a 3.5mm female stereo jack to have two channels of control.
Aquatic Life Debuts LED/T5HO Hybrid Mounting System Fixture Reef Hobbyists Have Been Waiting For!
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Yes, they will be mounted internally. With a 3.5mm female stereo jack to have two channels of control.
OP
OP
We have the wider brackets now. They can make the fixture 23.25" and allow the AI and Ecotech to be rotated 90° to the T5.
I will have the 360X specific brackets soon!! Well, 30 days give or take.
OP
OP
Sorry HEP does not make a 60" dimmable ballast that I'm aware of, so only the 24", 36" and the 48" will be sold.
Did you mean 6 and 8 lamp hybrids? or T5 only?
OP
OP
I will have too look into the 6 and 8 lamp idea. If the fixture pushed to 24" wide front to back would you want to run LED parallel to the T5 or perpendicular? If parallel I think extra lamps could be added. If perpendicular there would not be enough space. Just let me know your thoughts.
I would run them parallel to the T5's since I wouldn't need many LED modules if I was running 6-8 T5 bulbs. Just curious if this was part of the planned development already. It seems that another company had decent success with their 6 and 8 bulb T5/LED hybrid models but the built in LED modules lacked a lot of the features and ease of use, which is what turned me away from those fixtures. I am running hydra 26HDs on a 60" 110 gallon and I'm just not sure if 4 T5 bulbs would bring the PAR to what I want. Since the new fixture will be dimmable, I wouldn't have to worry about the PAR being too high.
OP
OP
The new housing will allow us to make the units into various configurations with only minor changes. We would increase the width of the fixture and make a single new T5 housing, the other extrusions would stay the same. Keeping them parallel would allow us to do this.
We are looking at using a stereo 3.5mm 0 - 10 V jack so that it can be connected with various controllers. Would it be best at 1 lamp front and back on one channel and 2 lamps front and back on the second channel? or would there be a need for 3 channels?
Most controllers appear to have two standard 0-10 V outputs so I'm hoping for two channels.
We are looking at using a stereo 3.5mm 0 - 10 V jack so that it can be connected with various controllers. Would it be best at 1 lamp front and back on one channel and 2 lamps front and back on the second channel? or would there be a need for 3 channels?
Most controllers appear to have two standard 0-10 V outputs so I'm hoping for two channels.
H2Ocooled
Active Member
What T5 bulbs do most people use with the Hydra 26 setup?
The only problem I can think of with running the LED's parallel is that the cords typically plug into the LED module on the long side. If the LED module was parallel to the T5's, then there may need to be a 1/2"-1" gap between the back of the LED module and the T5 for the plug. I think I saw that the new dimmable T5 fixture would have a set opening size for the LED modules correct? The Hydra 26HD's that I use I think are only about 5.5" wide, but it may be an issue for people with a wider LED module like a Radion.
As far as I know, there aren't any 6-8 bulb T5 configurations that use a 0-10v port for external controllers so I'm not sure what the best way would be to to the dimming channels. I can't speak for others but for me, since the bulbs are dimmable, I wouldn't see a need for more than 1 dimming channel (2 at most if you're using 2 different types of bulbs). Can you run multiple ballasts off a single dimming channel though?
I use the Apex and you can run 2 dimming channels per variable speed port so I would think it would be best to keep it to 2 channels. Otherwise you would need 2 dimming ports for the light so you'd have to have a dedicated VDM for just the T5's. Is it possible to wire the fixture so each ballast runs bulbs on opposite sides of the fixture? That way 1 ballast would run the front and the back bulb and 1 would run the inner 2 bulbs (or 2 ballasts for the inner 4 bulbs) and there wouldn't be any asymmetric lighting issues.
OP
OP
Thanks for the feed back.
So just chatting out loud, if we made the fixture 23.25" wide and increased to 3 lamps per side, I would work to keep the opening in the center the same as the opening in the 18" wide fixture. This way we can keep the same brackets and all the LED fixtures that fit now in the 18" will be good. So the side power concern should be OK.
At this time we have been able to run two ballast off one 0 -10V but we would do more testing with the controllers.
Yes, I agree with the T5 lamp placement with the wires running through the side channels, we can have ballast run a lamp in the front and the back. Plus keep them symmetrical.
So just chatting out loud, if we made the fixture 23.25" wide and increased to 3 lamps per side, I would work to keep the opening in the center the same as the opening in the 18" wide fixture. This way we can keep the same brackets and all the LED fixtures that fit now in the 18" will be good. So the side power concern should be OK.
At this time we have been able to run two ballast off one 0 -10V but we would do more testing with the controllers.
Yes, I agree with the T5 lamp placement with the wires running through the side channels, we can have ballast run a lamp in the front and the back. Plus keep them symmetrical.
OP
OP
It can really vary but I see a lot of ATI Blue plus, with mixes of Coral Plus, Purple Plus and Actinic. How blue do you want the aquarium to look?
OP
OP
We will have them on the site when ready but will get them out to the resellers as soon as possible.
Music to my ears. I’ve been waiting for the dimmable version but wasn’t sure if a 4 bulb would be enough to give me the PAR that I was looking for but I think 6 would. I would imagine there are a handful of other people in the same boat as well.
It does seem that a 6 bulb would be the limit then because few people have tanks that would be deep enough to accommodate a fixture wider than 23”.
Do you think there would be any temperature issues with a 6 bulb configuration? I’m assuming you were still planning on the passive cooling used with the current model. With 4 bulbs each bulb only shares 1 side with another bulb. With a 6 bulb you’d have one sandwiched between 2 others so it would probably get hotter with passive cooling. Not sure if it would be enough to matter.
acrosps
Active Member
Currently I have two Kessil ap700 over my red sea 525xl. When I’m sitting down approximately 8 foot away I get light spill in my eyes. The kessels are mounted with the brackets to the back of the aquarium rim approximately 6 inches off the top of the tank. Will this fixture make any improvement in light spillage?
OP
OP
I think we could only make a 36" and 48" with 6 lamps, not sure if we can fit two 24 watt ballast in one side of the extrusion.
Heat should not be a problem but we would review before we make the extrusion. With the lamps in the open, should be ok.
Thanks again for the insight and suggestions.
OP
OP
I don't think so, directly. The reason is that the LED and the T5 would be at the same sight line. It could possibly allow you to drop the fixture down a little lower to help reduce the light spillage but the fixture directly making a change, it would not.
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