Helfish
Community Member
Hi all!
Here is my first thoughts and initial impression of my recently purchased GNC BluRay led and SilverMoon Actinic 590 led bars (these bars come in different lengths). My new nano tank is yet to be filled with water, so cannot yet give more in-depth review. Perhaps I do that later this year.
GNC BluRay is Italian made product by GNC, a company which also produced the Sicce am366/466/650 series led's. I have been eying these since they out in 2017. I was trying to make up my mind between Giesemann Infinity, ATI powermodule, Lani (Triton) Pro led and GNC. I have had T5 before, I have tried MH briefly and Lani did not reply to queries even though I sent them two emails and tried to contact them via Facebook.
There were number of requirements I wanted from the light fixture;
There are some videos on YouTube and more information about user feedback on Italian reef forums (thanks @bubblemytip for the tip), however not so much in English. I used Google translator to read them and was convinced that the BluRay would be the choice for me.
Packaging:
I was impressed with the large package and the heavy duty cardboard makes it sturdy. Quite minimalistic. Unfortunately I do not have any pictures of unboxing, however the fixtures had protective plastic film on the acrylic splash shield and foam protectors on every corner. All the wires and accessories were on a separate box. And have to mention, that the hanging kit is included, which seems to be a rarity these days. Included is also manual with easily understandable instructions.
IMG_4907 by Niko Sandbacka, on Flickr
Build quality and looks:
BluRay is heavy and I love it! This thing weights 5,5 kg (12 lb) and the SilverMoon Actinic 590 led bars 700 grams (1.5 lb) each. The weight alone just makes these feel quality products. The BluRay size is 40 cm to 30cm to 4 cm (in inches 15.7 x 11.8 x 1.57) Finishing is very good and I am picky about these things
Cables are quite soft and relatively easy to bend, which makes the hanging and hiding the wires easy. The main power connector has a screw and it attaches the cable so firmly, that it will not unplug accidentally. Acrylic splash cover is thick (1cm /0.39 inches) and gives the fixture slimmer and sleeker look. The overall design of the BluRay is quite ascetic and simple, even industrial, and have to say, I really like it.
IMG_4933 by Niko Sandbacka, on Flickr
IMG_4923 by Niko Sandbacka, on Flickr
IMG_4924 by Niko Sandbacka, on Flickr
IMG_4929 by Niko Sandbacka, on Flickr
LED's and spectrum
The idea behind the light is to use hundreds of low powered led's to generate even light coverage and to achieve long life for the fixture. The leds are dimmed in constant current. There have been interesting discussions in reef2reef if pwm dimming is harmful for coral health, so even though constant current dimming may be considered inferior dimming type, I do not mind this. The BluRay does not have a huge selection of led colours and maybe we can have good discussion about this topic. However I am convinced that the selection is sufficient as it is quite similar than the Sicce am366/466/650 series which have good reputation on coloring and growing corals. The reason I bought the Actinic led bar is to provide some violet light as well to fluoresce to corals further and to be able to crank up the white led's as well (more par).
BluRay is 130w, 588 low powered led's (12 000k, 450nm, 660nm)
SilverMoon Actinic 590 is 26w, 63 low powered led's (458nm and 405nm)
IMG_4939 by Niko Sandbacka, on Flickr
plafoniera-gnc-bluray-spettro-luminoso by Niko Sandbacka, on Flickr
Functionality and controllability:
The BluRay is controlled through a wifi module and a web app which can be managed by any browser. There is no separate app to download. This can be a disappointment to many, however as I do not want to play with the settings that often, this may actually be a good thing. The fixtures could also be controlled by a separate controller box, but I did not buy that. The setup process via the web app was actually quite easy process and did not take that long. The web app can be little slow to respond, if making big changes. I have not tried to program the light yet, so cannot comment on that for now. The web app seems to be very simple to use and understand, which is a plus for me. The dimming is done in 5% increments and the led bars are on and off timer (separate dimming controller needed for controlling).
IMG_4936 by Niko Sandbacka, on Flickr
Guarantee:
GNC offers 24 months guarantee out of the box and this can be further increased to 36 months when registering the products via their online store. I believe this is the industry's longest manufacturer guarantee on led lights.
Price:
These are not in any way cheap products, however quite comparable with other well known products. The BluRay is 849 euros, the Actinic light bars 179 euros a piece and the clamps to attach the bars were 24 euros per light bar. The hanging kit for the BluRay was included for the price and the Actinic bars include power supply as well.
If comparing to the EcoTech Radion XR30w G4pro (899 euros) + diffusor (79 euros) + hanging kit (50 euros) = 1029 euros, I do not think there is huge difference in price/w ratio.
Experience so far:
Have to say, that I am really impressed by the build quality. These just feel that they are worth the cost. It something I was after and I feel I got it. There are some suggestions I could make to further improve the product, example the cable management , but that is nitpicking really (which I love to do btw). Cannot comment on the actual use yet, but will provide some updates later.
IMG_4947 by Niko Sandbacka, on Flickr
IMG_4949 by Niko Sandbacka, on Flickr
Here is my first thoughts and initial impression of my recently purchased GNC BluRay led and SilverMoon Actinic 590 led bars (these bars come in different lengths). My new nano tank is yet to be filled with water, so cannot yet give more in-depth review. Perhaps I do that later this year.
GNC BluRay is Italian made product by GNC, a company which also produced the Sicce am366/466/650 series led's. I have been eying these since they out in 2017. I was trying to make up my mind between Giesemann Infinity, ATI powermodule, Lani (Triton) Pro led and GNC. I have had T5 before, I have tried MH briefly and Lani did not reply to queries even though I sent them two emails and tried to contact them via Facebook.
There were number of requirements I wanted from the light fixture;
- preferred passive cooling (no noise and no fear of fans braking down)
- even light coverage in large area (important for sps corals)
- no disco ball effect (I dislike that)
- sleek looking (enjoy well designed products)
- good build quality with adequate heat dissipation (long life)
- easy to maintenance (peace of mind)
- would not heat the tank too much (temperature control during summer)
- shimmer (love shimmer)
There are some videos on YouTube and more information about user feedback on Italian reef forums (thanks @bubblemytip for the tip), however not so much in English. I used Google translator to read them and was convinced that the BluRay would be the choice for me.
Packaging:
I was impressed with the large package and the heavy duty cardboard makes it sturdy. Quite minimalistic. Unfortunately I do not have any pictures of unboxing, however the fixtures had protective plastic film on the acrylic splash shield and foam protectors on every corner. All the wires and accessories were on a separate box. And have to mention, that the hanging kit is included, which seems to be a rarity these days. Included is also manual with easily understandable instructions.
IMG_4907 by Niko Sandbacka, on FlickrBuild quality and looks:
BluRay is heavy and I love it! This thing weights 5,5 kg (12 lb) and the SilverMoon Actinic 590 led bars 700 grams (1.5 lb) each. The weight alone just makes these feel quality products. The BluRay size is 40 cm to 30cm to 4 cm (in inches 15.7 x 11.8 x 1.57) Finishing is very good and I am picky about these things
Cables are quite soft and relatively easy to bend, which makes the hanging and hiding the wires easy. The main power connector has a screw and it attaches the cable so firmly, that it will not unplug accidentally. Acrylic splash cover is thick (1cm /0.39 inches) and gives the fixture slimmer and sleeker look. The overall design of the BluRay is quite ascetic and simple, even industrial, and have to say, I really like it.IMG_4933 by Niko Sandbacka, on FlickrIMG_4923 by Niko Sandbacka, on FlickrIMG_4924 by Niko Sandbacka, on FlickrIMG_4929 by Niko Sandbacka, on FlickrLED's and spectrum
The idea behind the light is to use hundreds of low powered led's to generate even light coverage and to achieve long life for the fixture. The leds are dimmed in constant current. There have been interesting discussions in reef2reef if pwm dimming is harmful for coral health, so even though constant current dimming may be considered inferior dimming type, I do not mind this. The BluRay does not have a huge selection of led colours and maybe we can have good discussion about this topic. However I am convinced that the selection is sufficient as it is quite similar than the Sicce am366/466/650 series which have good reputation on coloring and growing corals. The reason I bought the Actinic led bar is to provide some violet light as well to fluoresce to corals further and to be able to crank up the white led's as well (more par).
BluRay is 130w, 588 low powered led's (12 000k, 450nm, 660nm)
SilverMoon Actinic 590 is 26w, 63 low powered led's (458nm and 405nm)
IMG_4939 by Niko Sandbacka, on Flickrplafoniera-gnc-bluray-spettro-luminoso by Niko Sandbacka, on FlickrFunctionality and controllability:
The BluRay is controlled through a wifi module and a web app which can be managed by any browser. There is no separate app to download. This can be a disappointment to many, however as I do not want to play with the settings that often, this may actually be a good thing. The fixtures could also be controlled by a separate controller box, but I did not buy that. The setup process via the web app was actually quite easy process and did not take that long. The web app can be little slow to respond, if making big changes. I have not tried to program the light yet, so cannot comment on that for now. The web app seems to be very simple to use and understand, which is a plus for me. The dimming is done in 5% increments and the led bars are on and off timer (separate dimming controller needed for controlling).
IMG_4936 by Niko Sandbacka, on FlickrGuarantee:
GNC offers 24 months guarantee out of the box and this can be further increased to 36 months when registering the products via their online store. I believe this is the industry's longest manufacturer guarantee on led lights.
Price:
These are not in any way cheap products, however quite comparable with other well known products. The BluRay is 849 euros, the Actinic light bars 179 euros a piece and the clamps to attach the bars were 24 euros per light bar. The hanging kit for the BluRay was included for the price and the Actinic bars include power supply as well.
If comparing to the EcoTech Radion XR30w G4pro (899 euros) + diffusor (79 euros) + hanging kit (50 euros) = 1029 euros, I do not think there is huge difference in price/w ratio.
Experience so far:
Have to say, that I am really impressed by the build quality. These just feel that they are worth the cost. It something I was after and I feel I got it. There are some suggestions I could make to further improve the product, example the cable management , but that is nitpicking really (which I love to do btw). Cannot comment on the actual use yet, but will provide some updates later.
IMG_4947 by Niko Sandbacka, on FlickrIMG_4949 by Niko Sandbacka, on Flickr
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