Giesemann Aurora User Thread

[gus6464]

Congrats ... why 4 aquablue special ?

Aquablue coral is basically the Giesemann version of coral plus. Spectrum is identical. The pucks on the aurora have a ton of blue power so a blue t5 bulb is not really needed. Coral+ provides a good broad spectrum that corals love. If anything I would have gone 2 true actinic and 2 coral+ but I like stacking lots of violet as corals get a nice glow even with white light.

 

[TonapahNorth]

How wide does this fixture cast at 11" AWL?

My tank is 32" wide. I'm wondering if it will reach.

 

[Jimbo662]

How wide does this fixture cast at 11" AWL?

My tank is 32" wide. I'm wondering if it will reach.

I have mine hanging 10" above and it covers my 32" tank nicely. I've got fungia on one side near the glass and all of my acans on the other side and they all look great.

 

[TonapahNorth]

I have mine hanging 10" above and it covers my 32" tank nicely. I've got fungia on one side near the glass and all of my acans on the other side and they all look great.

Have you taken PAR readings at the edges yet to determine how much drop you have? How deep is your tank? Mine is 26"

 

[jon99]

Congrats ... why 4 aquablue special ?

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??

 

[OneWhoPokesBears]

Good stuff all.

My 48" fixture comes in on Friday after a snafu with BRS. All good things are worth the wait though!

How difficult was it to hang the fixture? I've only had leds with tank mounts, so I will be dabbling into something new this weekend...

 

[gus6464]

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??

The ballast is 220v. You need to step it down to 120v which is what's on your wall outlet.

 

[Jimbo662]

Have you taken PAR readings at the edges yet to determine how much drop you have? How deep is your tank? Mine is 26"

Sorry, forgot to respond the other day. My tank is 20" deep. It appears I accidentally threw away the piece of paper I'd written the par readings on. :-(

 

[Jimbo662]

Good stuff all.

My 48" fixture comes in on Friday after a snafu with BRS. All good things are worth the wait though!

How difficult was it to hang the fixture? I've only had leds with tank mounts, so I will be dabbling into something new this weekend...

It comes with the wire cable hanging kit. Just gotta figure out how you'll use it. I bought stuff from 8020.net to build a bracket that I attached to the back of the stand.

 

[jon99]

The ballast is 220v. You need to step it down to 120v which is what's on your wall outlet.

Is that the same as stepping up the wall outlet from 120 to 220?

on the back of the transformer is a voltage selector for what's coming out of the wall, I selected 120. On the front of the transformer are two receptacles. One is labeled 120 the other 220. I was told to plug the t5 ballast into the 120... I think that's incorrect. If that's the case then I should just run it directly into the wall and get the same thing (120v). So I think the t5 plug goes to the 220, so I'm effectively stepping up the voltage from 120 to 220.

 

[gus6464]

Is that the same as stepping up the wall outlet from 120 to 220?

on the back of the transformer is a voltage selector for what's coming out of the wall, I selected 120. On the front of the transformer are two receptacles. One is labeled 120 the other 220. I was told to plug the t5 ballast into the 120... I think that's incorrect. If that's the case then I should just run it directly into the wall and get the same thing (120v). So I think the t5 plug goes to the 220, so I'm effectively stepping up the voltage from 120 to 220.

Yes. So when you say step up or down you are talking about the wall outlet and not the device. So if you have a 110v outlet and a 220v device you will use a step up transformer whereas the opposite is step down. So on your transformer you put the switch on 120v because that's what your wall is and you hook up the device to the 220v outlet on the transformer as that is what it needs.

 

[jon99]

Yes. So when you say step up or down you are talking about the wall outlet and not the device. So if you have a 110v outlet and a 220v device you will use a step up transformer whereas the opposite is step down. So on your transformer you put the switch on 120v because that's what your wall is and you hook up the device to the 220v outlet on the transformer as that is what it needs.

Got it. That makes sense
Thanks

 

[gus6464]

Also the reason why the T5 is 220V is because 110v 80W dimmable ballasts are almost nonexistant. There are some but they are super expensive. 220V dimmables are much more common and considerably cheaper. My guess is the ballast is HEP SD180 but it might have a Philips Mark7 since the unit is made in Germany.

 

[TonapahNorth]

Sorry, forgot to respond the other day. My tank is 20" deep. It appears I accidentally threw away the piece of paper I'd written the par readings on. :-(

Thanks for responding. If you do new readings some time, please don't pitch them until you tell us all. Haha

Also, did you say whether you preferred Salinity over the other salt? I'm inclined to go back to Salinity.

 

[Jimbo662]

Thanks for responding. If you do new readings some time, please don't pitch them until you tell us all. Haha

Also, did you say whether you preferred Salinity over the other salt? I'm inclined to go back to Salinity.

I've been using Coralife Marine Salt Mix.

 

[OneWhoPokesBears]

So the new 48" fixture just arrived! So pumped only to find out that the screws need to hang the fixture arent included with the hanging kit....now to go look for screws that i probably dont have....

 

[OneWhoPokesBears]

Got the fixture hung this weekend. Bought a stud finder and #10 2" brass wood screws and hung it from the ceiling. Finished height is about 10" AWL.

Now to work on rock work for water delivery this Saturday!

 

[MrSkumfrog]

Hello,

I just received my fixture and will be setting things up soon. I downloaded the Aurora App to my tablet. I see that some of you are using Futura app instead. Is the Aurora app faulty?

 

[Jimbo662]

Hello,

I just received my fixture and will be setting things up soon. I downloaded the Aurora App to my tablet. I see that some of you are using Futura app instead. Is the Aurora app faulty?

The Aurora android app is fairly new, most of us bought the light before it came out. I manage mine on my PC was was just waiting for that version to be released before switching.

 

[Zach Spitzer]

Anyone running an aurora over a reefer 250? Not sure about the 24" or 36" models. Thanks!