ReefNerd
Active Member
If you haven't already, check out my review of the Illumagic Blaze X
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/an-honest-review-of-the-illumagic-blaze-x.592665/
Illumagic LEDs?
- Thread starter Chas J
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If you haven't already, check out my review of the Illumagic Blaze X
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/an-honest-review-of-the-illumagic-blaze-x.592665/
Another high end light that appears to have lower PAR than typical black boxes, for 3-5x the price. I continue to be puzzled that high end light manufacturers don't see black box PAR as the minimum acceptable output. We're really gonna pay this much just for bells and whistles?
(Not specific to this light - its just the latest in a long line of examples)
(Not specific to this light - its just the latest in a long line of examples)
FlyPenFly
Well-Known Member
Yeah because it won't light your house on fire and isn't dangerously ugly with poor QC and lacking UL ratings. The best black box lights also give Par hotspots that'll mysteriously burn out some frags while under driving some LEDs leading to highly uneven PAR. No thanks.
Corndiggly
Community Member
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I’m not sure PAR is the be all and end all in how good a light is to be honest. Hotspots, blending, spectrum, aesthetics, power consumption, warranty, build quality, price, longevity, support, tech, weight, dimensions, coverage, accessories etc all seem like things that might factor into someone’s decision to buying a light, it’s just a matter of what you personally prioritise.
I’m sure bundling all black box lights into the same category would be unfair as like everything there are good and bad examples out there but the distributor and manufacturer of Illumagic lights seem to really back their product in a way I’m sure a lot of cheaper manufacturers don’t.
They have a big user base in Oz and even though I haven’t personally had any issues with my blaze the occasional post will come up on Facebook groups and Dalua jump right in to get issues resolved quickly, even in some cases where the unit is out of warranty from what I’ve seen.
If I have any issues I’d rather get it sorted in a day or two for minimal cost and minimal effect on thousands of dollars of coral than crossing my fingers hoping my coral will survive while I deal with a warranty claim in another country and then wait 15-40 days for a replacement to arrive from China. But I guess you could buy double the black boxes to begin with for peace of mind?
And will they look as good as this light? Who knows because I can’t look at one in person. The majority of shops in oz run a mix of Kessil, Illumagic, radions, t5 an AI so it’s pretty easy to go to the LFS and get the staff to show you how coral look under different lights and settings.
It’s funny because even though many people have illumagics here they hardly ever go up for sale second hand, I’m speculating but I reckon it’s because they work, they last and they are too good to get rid of.
These are all really good points.
Also I agree on par it has become over rated. If you buy a decent fixture with proper spacing par is going to be enough.
It's funny that I agree with all of @ReefNerd 's points about the light, but have quite a favorable view of the fixture. My Blaze replaced a Kessil AP700 that would randomly turn on in the middle of the night or change the light output during the day (known bugs they've not fixed in years). It also had a way-too-short acclimation setting that would easily do damage to the newbie. So I think the Illumagic is a step up! The fan noise is noticeable, though, and I've also considered swapping out the fans for quieter ones.
For you Blaze owners, I'm curious to know your program settings. I appreciate @ReefNerd sharing his, curious if the rest of you have similar, as I think I've been too UV-heavy.
For you Blaze owners, I'm curious to know your program settings. I appreciate @ReefNerd sharing his, curious if the rest of you have similar, as I think I've been too UV-heavy.
OP
OP
Chas J
Community Member
Congrats on the new Blaze X. Here is an answer to a question I asked Dalua Australia about the lack of information on the light settings for the Illumagic Blaze X here in the United States. I stated that I was looking for a recommendation on settings for an sps dominant tank. Their answer is below:
OK so even with SPS every tank is different but we can recommend the following as an easy guide. So firstly Channel A keep under 70% for the first few weeks and only ramp up from there if necessary and if all your algae is kept in check. As for channel C be careful with this also, keep this channel to 70% or under as well and slowly ramp up to 100% over a few weeks or months to not shock the corals. These 2 lights together are extremely powerful so just do everything nice and slow. Keep your photo period to around 12 hours per day and the settings can slowly ramp up to 70% and then back down to 0% in the night. The app is intuitive enough to slowly ramp down perfectly. Channel B is no problem to push to 100% and even 140% for a few hours in the evenings. Don't forget to hit the upload button in the bottom right corner of the program page to upload the settings instantly into the lights.
OK so even with SPS every tank is different but we can recommend the following as an easy guide. So firstly Channel A keep under 70% for the first few weeks and only ramp up from there if necessary and if all your algae is kept in check. As for channel C be careful with this also, keep this channel to 70% or under as well and slowly ramp up to 100% over a few weeks or months to not shock the corals. These 2 lights together are extremely powerful so just do everything nice and slow. Keep your photo period to around 12 hours per day and the settings can slowly ramp up to 70% and then back down to 0% in the night. The app is intuitive enough to slowly ramp down perfectly. Channel B is no problem to push to 100% and even 140% for a few hours in the evenings. Don't forget to hit the upload button in the bottom right corner of the program page to upload the settings instantly into the lights.
OP
OP
Chas J
Community Member
Yeah, I asked for guidance too. I was told no more than 50% on A and C and 100% on B. I'm actually starting a little lower than that because I'm a little scared to fill my corals. I'm just going to take it slow and see what happens.
It would have been nice if they would have included some preset programs like sps dominant, fish only, lps dominant and mixed reef. At least people would have a basic starting point. Got to say though I am very satisfied with the light output and the build quality of the light. Its a very solid light. I have been through Kessils, Orpheks, T5 hybrids, Cobalt searay and this is the best build quality I have seen so far. The true test will come when I begin transferring my corals to the new tank. I want to see how well they do under these lights. I'm pretty sure from videos I have seen like Luis Rosa and Marcus's tank here that they will see outstanding growth under these blaze x's.
I've been through the comments before. Never saw light settings. I saw the question asked in there but as of yet I have not seen it answered. It is possible that I missed it though. There are a lot of comments.
Entz
Active Member
That video is what got me interested in them. His tank is amazing.
A question for those that own them, are the rear arms they sell rebranded / cloned Kessil arms? They look very similar and if I moved in that direction I already have a pair.
A question for those that own them, are the rear arms they sell rebranded / cloned Kessil arms? They look very similar and if I moved in that direction I already have a pair.
Luis light settings go totally against the advise of Dalua. He has great results that can't be argued with but no way I can run mine that high. Maybe a year down the road but not now. I'm the opposite to. I don't like the tank to be overwhelmed with blue light. Somebody is going to put those settings in and fry some corals. Luis knows what he is doing but unless your are at his level at caring for corals I wouldn't recommend those settings until you work your way up to them. Luis did mention that he had radion g4 pros on his tank prior to the Illumagic so his corals were used to some pretty strong light already.
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Really appreciate the replies on settings--thanks everyone! I suppose I should've expected that the results would be all over the place. Going to start with the Dalua recommendations and slowly raise the UV to see how things respond.
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