Giesemann Aurora User Thread

Goubli

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Opinion?

I made some 3/4" conduit hangers and painted it black. I have some left over grey from the walls. Should I paint the conduit grey, in attempt to camouflage the pipe?

Thanks in advance

9sticknate (YouTube)

image.jpg

I would absolutely paint them the same color of the wall if you have the same color you used.
Worst case scenario you don't like it and can go back to black. I think there will be enough blend to fool your eye. The only thing may be if the lights cast shadows of the poles onto the wall.
 

Goubli

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I also have the same issue. I have the fixture linked to my Macbook and I also want to link it to my PC and it is asking for a password.

So is it possible to control this fixture from Mac products? I am confused and don't have any windows based technology. I want to order this light but not if I can't control it.

Another question I had is varying the height AWL. How easy is it to raise or lower the light? By that I mean it seems like it's difficult to place it at the proper level initially. What about taking it down when changing bulbs? Do you just save the box it came in and place it over the tank for safety when hanging/taking down?

Has anyone seen a system that allows you to raise or lower the fixture?
 

Jonathan Iu

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So is it possible to control this fixture from Mac products? I am confused and don't have any windows based technology. I want to order this light but not if I can't control it.

Another question I had is varying the height AWL. How easy is it to raise or lower the light? By that I mean it seems like it's difficult to place it at the proper level initially. What about taking it down when changing bulbs? Do you just save the box it came in and place it over the tank for safety when hanging/taking down?

Has anyone seen a system that allows you to raise or lower the fixture?

I control it using my MacBook via the the Futura BT software . It's easy just adjust the wires.
Yes keep the original box so you can place it on top of the aquarium and the light on the box when first hanging the light.

You don't have to take the light down when changing bulbs . Just carefully unscrew the plate on one end and take out the bulb .

I've seen an electrical fixture for auto raising and lowering the light . Check out member v1rotate on reefcentral . He did it on a ATI fixture .
 

Rickyrooz

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So is it possible to control this fixture from Mac products? I am confused and don't have any windows based technology. I want to order this light but not if I can't control it.

Another question I had is varying the height AWL. How easy is it to raise or lower the light? By that I mean it seems like it's difficult to place it at the proper level initially. What about taking it down when changing bulbs? Do you just save the box it came in and place it over the tank for safety when hanging/taking down?

Has anyone seen a system that allows you to raise or lower the fixture?

Yes, I use the Futura BT software as there is no Aurora software for Mac.
 

Broadfield

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So is it possible to control this fixture from Mac products? I am confused and don't have any windows based technology. I want to order this light but not if I can't control it.

Another question I had is varying the height AWL. How easy is it to raise or lower the light? By that I mean it seems like it's difficult to place it at the proper level initially. What about taking it down when changing bulbs? Do you just save the box it came in and place it over the tank for safety when hanging/taking down?

Has anyone seen a system that allows you to raise or lower the fixture?

As @Rickyrooz commented, it absolutely works with a Mac. For that matter, the software seems to be better on the Mac than it is on Windows. Some users have had issues with it scaling properly on Windows.

As for adjusting height, it's pretty darn easy to adjust after it's up. You definitely do not want to take it down to change bulbs... just change them right over the tank. I have changed mine at least a dozen times, playing with bulb combos. Mine is 9.5" AWL and it's cake to change the bulbs.
 

MrSkumfrog

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I purchased a $70 Samsung Galaxy tablet. It's cheaper and does more than other "out of pocket" controllers e.g. Kessil, AI or Reeflink.

When I initially installed my light; I placed two 2"x4"s on top of my tank from front to back. I then was able to lay my light on top of the tank and thread the wires.
 

MrSkumfrog

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So I installed my light and set my tank up. I'm impressed with these LEDs! The last time I had LEDs, they had too much of a disco-ball effect and the whites were yellow. The T5's give a nice glow. My frags are looking great!

 

boxofrocks

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Glad to see so many more people using this light!
I'm still happy with mine overall but really need the 72" now that it's available. May have to order one and get rid of my white 60". Maybe later this year I'll get the coin together and swap it out.
 

boxofrocks

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Night time in the 300 60" aurora over 84" x 30" tank.
Also have 2 supplemental 24" T5s on the edges for now (right side overflow cuts off some length from the tank so only around 76" useable space)
IMG_4364.JPG
 

Goubli

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I've been out of town, but ordered my 60" aurora from BRS yesterday along w some Pukani rock. Now I've just got to cure out the rock. I've got another electrician coming tomorrow to help me determine if I need to run a new and dedicated circuit. I sure hope I don't. Haha!
 

PedroYoung

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I like the broader spectrum that these bulbs have over some of the others. A really blue look, looks a bit washed out to me. I'm a fan of the old school actinc t5 mixed with 14k halide. It gives a purple-ish hue with a lot of pop.


I'll definetly change the bulbs around over time, but I think these are a good start. I liked the look of Broadfield's tank, and it's what he uses.

I found this video that shows the same coral under different t5 bulbs. It's really interesting how much difference the light makes


I had a chance to play around with the light yesterday. Here are a couple things I learned

1. When you first plug it in absolutely nothing happens. No light, no fan noise, nothing. At first I though I had a dud. I spent an hour trying to figure out what was wrong before I finally downloaded Aurora BT on my tablet and linked it to the light. It WAS on the whole time. I just needed to bring the lights up with the control app. 100% is enough to blind you!!!

2. The 80w t5s ARE dimmable!!! I read at least 3 times that they weren't and was fully prepared for a fixture that does not have the capability of dimming them. It was a nice surprise to see that they are.

3. BRS lists the leds on these units as follows:
LED color channels include:
  • Full Spectrum White
  • Blue
  • Royal Blue
  • Red
  • Violet- TRU-UV sub 400nm

This is not what I got. Looking at the Giesmann website and the color of the lights on my unit, each led cluster is:

20 LED per LED-modul
8 x coolwhite B1 white
1 x green (490-560 nm)
1 x red (630- 790 nm)
4 x royal blue (410- 430 nm)
1 x royal violet TRU-UV sub 400nm
1 x blue (465 nm)
4 x deep blue (430- 480 nm)

I'm not sure if this is a good thing or a bad thing????


Lastly, I'm still trying to figure out the transformer thing. BRS website states:
"Note: 60" Aurora-Hybrid lights will require a step-down transformer for the T5 lamps that is included. The T5 plug will need to be plugged into the transformer to bring the voltage down from 240v to 120v."

I called them and they verified that the transformer should be used with the t5.

However, considering that my household current it already at 120v, what am I stepping down? Am I confused and not understanding how voltage and a transformer works?

I've plugged the lights in both way, with and without the transformer and do not see a difference, but want to make sure I'm not going to burn the house down or damage the lighting. Any ideas??


@jon99 , can you post a pic of the step down transformer? I've had one of the 60" fixtures for about a year and just now getting to the build I purchased it for. In the box are 2 transformers which I think are for the LED's, but nothing else.
 

jon99

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@jon99 , can you post a pic of the step down transformer? I've had one of the 60" fixtures for about a year and just now getting to the build I purchased it for. In the box are 2 transformers which I think are for the LED's, but nothing else.

I'm not around to snap a pic of it, but this looks exactly like it...
http://m.ebay.com/itm/360339717067?_mwBanner=1

In my case (72" model) the one transformer that came with the unit is to step up the voltage from 110v coming out of the wall to 220v for the t5 lighting.

Apparently the 110v version of the ballast for t5's that is dimmable is expensive and hard to come by, so Giesmann just uses the 220v version. Obviously in the US where we have 110 coming out of the wall we need to step up our voltage.

I'm not sure why you have two and if they are for the leds or the t5's??? You can email Giesmann or BRS (BRS may be faster). I wouldn't do trial and error, you may end up burning something up.
 
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PedroYoung

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I'm not around to snap a pic of it, but this looks exactly like it...
http://m.ebay.com/itm/360339717067?_mwBanner=1

In my case (72" model) the one transformer that came with the unit is to step up the voltage from 110v coming out of the wall to 220v for the t5 lighting.

Apparently the 110v version of the ballast for t5's that is dimmable is expensive and hard to come by, so Giesmann just uses the 220v version. Obviously in the US where we have 110 coming out of the wall we need to step up our voltage.

I'm not sure why you have two and if they are for the leds or the t5's??? You can email Giesmann or BRS (BRS may be faster). I wouldn't do trial and error, you may end up burning something up.

Thanks, nothing like that in my packaging. I got one of the earliest ones BRS had, then got onto something else. Did you have one transformer for both pairs of T5's or 2?
 

jon99

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Can u post a pic of what you think may be the transformers? You sure you're not looking at the ballasts? My unit has 2 external led ballasts with it (rectangular metal boxes).

I have one transformer but it's for both pairs t5 bulbs. I believe it's just a single t5 ballast that runs both pairs of bulbs, can't really tell since it's inside the unit. There is only a single cord for the t5 lights, so my guess is one ballast. The two external ballasts are for the leds in my case.
 

PedroYoung

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I said transformer, but really they are power supply/ballasts for the LED's. Thanks, you've answered what I wanted to know. Now I just have to figure out what to do about the missing part, and if I somehow got one from before BRS knew what was going on. I went back and forth and back and forth with them about the dimming/non-dimming and at that time (Jan 2016) their customer service folks were pretty much in the dark (no pun). I appreciate your help.
 

gus6464

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The transformers are for the T5s. The reason you got 2 if because you have 80W T5's. It is not recommended to run wattage close to max rating on a transformer. You want 50% overhead. You use one for each T5 plug. If you only have one T5 plug then BRS must have sent you an extra by mistake.
 

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