Viking_Reefing
Valuable Member
I’ve been running this fixture for the past 8 months I think has been flying under the radar, at least in the US, so I thought I would do a write up about my experiences with it. This can also serve as a reference as I fairly frequently get asked about my opinions of it.
For clarities sake I must mention that I was given this light by Giesemann to try out, but it was under the condition that I’m free to share my experiences with it, both good and bad which they didn’t have a problem with.
There are several Aurora V8’s: 900, 1200 and 1500mm ones. The one I’m using is the 1500mm Pro version which contains an extra LED puck bringing the total to 5 pucks instead of 4 and the overall output of it to 1100w.
It also has 8 80W T5 bulbs with individual reflectors.
The control portion of the light is done through their new Lync app which is a nice improvement against the previous control programs which couldn’t be used if you had an Iphone so you were forced to use a computer and the application itself wasn’t in all honestly the best.
The Lync app is an overall good experience, easy to get the hang of and straight forward in programming the light schedule.
The two negatives I find is that it cannot be used in landscape mode on your phone which can make certain stuff a bit to small for my liking and the fact that I don’t fully agree with how the total power percentage is calculated:
The app has 10 channels that can be controlled individually (6 LED / 4 T5 groups) and can be set between 0-120% (overdriving the T5’s/LED’s). The thing is that the curve just shows the highest channel. So you could have 9 out of the 10 channels turned off and one at 100% and it will still show as being at 100% and not 10% which, from my POV, is the correct way to display it.
I’ve talked to Giesemann about both points and it’s something they are looking in to.
Regardless, you shouldn’t be messing around with the setting with any frequency anyways so it’s not really a problem.
The app has several pre-sets that one can use but I prefer to use the “Pro mode” to fully customize my spectrum.
Another welcomed feature is that you can share your settings with another user using whatsapp, email etc.
On to the fixture itself
I’ve been a fan of German and Giesemann stuff for a long time and have used several of their fixtures in the past two decades, starting with HQI fixtures back in the day.
Two major gripes I’ve always had with aquarium lighting is that it, generally, just feels cheap. Plasticky and flimsy and not ecstatically pleasing.
Giesemann has always delivered on those two points and still do with the V8, it’s built like a tank with powder coated aluminium and looks awesomely sleek and minimalistic. The “wife acceptance factor” is definitely a plus.
However, being properly built does come with a drawback and that is weigh. The fixture itself clocks in at about 15kg and there is no way to mount it on the tank to my knowledge so hanging it from the ceiling is the only option. For me that’s not a problem as it is my preferred option and I have a concreate roof in my basement but for someone who’s roof is just made of drywall and has no studs to mount it to you might need to get creative.
The light itself is very pleasing to the eye and I’ve had great coral growth. You get a fair few options in terms of bulb combination combined with the LEDs so most people should be able to find something that suits their taste. However, if you’re a fan of the extremely blue look I’m not sure if this is really the fixture that you’re looking for. You can definitely run the light extremely blue, but you will be sacrificing some intensity.
It's a fairly expensive unit at first glance, the pro version that I’m using clocks in at 2800 euros which at first glance sounds very high but keep in mind this thing on its own is lighting my 200x80x65cm tank which I think is great value for money. If I went with some other high-quality fixtures I would probably need 5 of them to get the same coverage and light spread which would be almost twice the money.
As you can see on the pictures, I grow acros all throughout the tank.
I’ve done PAR test in the tank, and I get about 400 par at the top of the rocks 1/3 down in to the tank and somewhere around 200-250 on the bottom, obviously a bit lower on the edges of the tank.
Due to the T5’s the fixture does emit a decent amount of heat when all 8 of them are running at 100% so that might be a consideration if you live somewhere where the indoor climate is very hot. The fixture itself does obviously get hot as well but not hot enough so that you can’t keep you hand on it. Here in Sweden the heat isn’t a problem whatsoever, even on really hot days.
The fixture comes with a frosted covering for the LED’s which provided a very uniform, diffused light. However, being an old HQI guy I do love my shimmer and I found that when running all of the T5’s they overpowered that somewhat.
I once splashed some water on the diffuser plate and removed it for cleaning, to my surprise the shimmer looked just like I wanted it to when it was of, so I decided to replace it with a clear piece of acrylic which has been awesome. I had the acrylic and a plunge saw at hand so it was a real easy operation, but most decent hardware stores will be able to cut a piece to size if you ask nicely.
Summary
Overall, I’m extremely happy with this light as it perfectly fits my wants and needs in a light fixture, great spread with lots of power, aesthetically pleasing and built to a very high standard.
I think it really shines if you like the somewhat more natural look to your reef and aren’t afraid to change the T5 bulbs every 18 months or so.
It’s fairly heavy and to my knowledge there’s no tank mounts available from the manufacturer so that might be a consideration.
It uses up a good amount of power but that’s unavoidable if you are looking for real high intensity lighting.
I think that about all I can think of now. I’m happy to answer any questions about my experience with it if I’ve missed something.
If you are interested you can find heaps of pictures/videos on here: https://instagram.com/viking_reefing?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=
For clarities sake I must mention that I was given this light by Giesemann to try out, but it was under the condition that I’m free to share my experiences with it, both good and bad which they didn’t have a problem with.
There are several Aurora V8’s: 900, 1200 and 1500mm ones. The one I’m using is the 1500mm Pro version which contains an extra LED puck bringing the total to 5 pucks instead of 4 and the overall output of it to 1100w.
It also has 8 80W T5 bulbs with individual reflectors.
The control portion of the light is done through their new Lync app which is a nice improvement against the previous control programs which couldn’t be used if you had an Iphone so you were forced to use a computer and the application itself wasn’t in all honestly the best.
The Lync app is an overall good experience, easy to get the hang of and straight forward in programming the light schedule.
The two negatives I find is that it cannot be used in landscape mode on your phone which can make certain stuff a bit to small for my liking and the fact that I don’t fully agree with how the total power percentage is calculated:
The app has 10 channels that can be controlled individually (6 LED / 4 T5 groups) and can be set between 0-120% (overdriving the T5’s/LED’s). The thing is that the curve just shows the highest channel. So you could have 9 out of the 10 channels turned off and one at 100% and it will still show as being at 100% and not 10% which, from my POV, is the correct way to display it.
I’ve talked to Giesemann about both points and it’s something they are looking in to.
Regardless, you shouldn’t be messing around with the setting with any frequency anyways so it’s not really a problem.
The app has several pre-sets that one can use but I prefer to use the “Pro mode” to fully customize my spectrum.
Another welcomed feature is that you can share your settings with another user using whatsapp, email etc.
On to the fixture itself
I’ve been a fan of German and Giesemann stuff for a long time and have used several of their fixtures in the past two decades, starting with HQI fixtures back in the day.
Two major gripes I’ve always had with aquarium lighting is that it, generally, just feels cheap. Plasticky and flimsy and not ecstatically pleasing.
Giesemann has always delivered on those two points and still do with the V8, it’s built like a tank with powder coated aluminium and looks awesomely sleek and minimalistic. The “wife acceptance factor” is definitely a plus.
However, being properly built does come with a drawback and that is weigh. The fixture itself clocks in at about 15kg and there is no way to mount it on the tank to my knowledge so hanging it from the ceiling is the only option. For me that’s not a problem as it is my preferred option and I have a concreate roof in my basement but for someone who’s roof is just made of drywall and has no studs to mount it to you might need to get creative.
The light itself is very pleasing to the eye and I’ve had great coral growth. You get a fair few options in terms of bulb combination combined with the LEDs so most people should be able to find something that suits their taste. However, if you’re a fan of the extremely blue look I’m not sure if this is really the fixture that you’re looking for. You can definitely run the light extremely blue, but you will be sacrificing some intensity.
It's a fairly expensive unit at first glance, the pro version that I’m using clocks in at 2800 euros which at first glance sounds very high but keep in mind this thing on its own is lighting my 200x80x65cm tank which I think is great value for money. If I went with some other high-quality fixtures I would probably need 5 of them to get the same coverage and light spread which would be almost twice the money.
As you can see on the pictures, I grow acros all throughout the tank.
I’ve done PAR test in the tank, and I get about 400 par at the top of the rocks 1/3 down in to the tank and somewhere around 200-250 on the bottom, obviously a bit lower on the edges of the tank.
Due to the T5’s the fixture does emit a decent amount of heat when all 8 of them are running at 100% so that might be a consideration if you live somewhere where the indoor climate is very hot. The fixture itself does obviously get hot as well but not hot enough so that you can’t keep you hand on it. Here in Sweden the heat isn’t a problem whatsoever, even on really hot days.
The fixture comes with a frosted covering for the LED’s which provided a very uniform, diffused light. However, being an old HQI guy I do love my shimmer and I found that when running all of the T5’s they overpowered that somewhat.
I once splashed some water on the diffuser plate and removed it for cleaning, to my surprise the shimmer looked just like I wanted it to when it was of, so I decided to replace it with a clear piece of acrylic which has been awesome. I had the acrylic and a plunge saw at hand so it was a real easy operation, but most decent hardware stores will be able to cut a piece to size if you ask nicely.
Summary
Overall, I’m extremely happy with this light as it perfectly fits my wants and needs in a light fixture, great spread with lots of power, aesthetically pleasing and built to a very high standard.
I think it really shines if you like the somewhat more natural look to your reef and aren’t afraid to change the T5 bulbs every 18 months or so.
It’s fairly heavy and to my knowledge there’s no tank mounts available from the manufacturer so that might be a consideration.
It uses up a good amount of power but that’s unavoidable if you are looking for real high intensity lighting.
I think that about all I can think of now. I’m happy to answer any questions about my experience with it if I’ve missed something.
If you are interested you can find heaps of pictures/videos on here: https://instagram.com/viking_reefing?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=
