Neptune sky vs ati straton, any changing opinions overtime or is ati still on top?

[dedragon]

Title says it all, neptune sky has been out for awhile now, but it seems that it always received some harsh words. After 6+ months of it being out how are people liking it? I dont see as much attention on this unit as i do stratons, radions, kessils, etc, but it seems to have its own place with a 24 x 30" lighting footprint.

 

[dedragon]

Lets not try to compare to the upcoming ati straton pros as we dont know anything about those yet and who knows how much those will cost or when it will arrive in the US (actually they are listed at 890 euro but idk what the US price will be) https://shop.atiaquaristik.com/lampen/ati-straton/498/ati-straton-pro-102

 

[Jon's Reef]

Lets not try to compare to the upcoming ati straton pros as we dont know anything about those yet and who knows how much those will cost or when it will arrive in the US (actually they are listed at 890 euro but idk what the US price will be) https://shop.atiaquaristik.com/lampen/ati-straton/498/ati-straton-pro-102

The one you linked is smaller than the current Straton. The comparable new one is 1199 Euro.

All of the "bad things" about the Sky have never come to fruition. The paint is not peeling off or turning sticky. The output is not dropping due to heat (In fact the whole heat sink being too thin was proven wrong by thermal camera analysis). The electronics have not failed due to improper water sealing. The software has been updating (example they just released acclimation mode).

In general there has not been much news of new aquarium products in general... likely due to limited component availability. Biggest news on the Radions was mobius being updated (unfortunately the time syncing between multiple lights still has issues for some people). For Kessil, the last big news was the integration into Apex. Orphek released their new Icon... but it does not seem to have made a big splash.

Radions, Straton, Orphek, Sky... they will all grow corals fine. Kessil will too as long as you take care of the coverage issue.

 

[dedragon]

Yes 100% missed that they have an updated size, this size might fit most people with 24" width tanks which is great, along with the standard size for 1200 for people with 30" width tanks

 

[Spare time]

I personally dislike that they got rid of the diffuser for the new version higher end version of the straton.

Regardless, I'd never pay that much for a light.

 

[areefer01]

The one you linked is smaller than the current Straton. The comparable new one is 1199 Euro.

All of the "bad things" about the Sky have never come to fruition. The paint is not peeling off or turning sticky. The output is not dropping due to heat (In fact the whole heat sink being too thin was proven wrong by thermal camera analysis). The electronics have not failed due to improper water sealing. The software has been updating (example they just released acclimation mode).

In general there has not been much news of new aquarium products in general... likely due to limited component availability. Biggest news on the Radions was mobius being updated (unfortunately the time syncing between multiple lights still has issues for some people). For Kessil, the last big news was the integration into Apex. Orphek released their new Icon... but it does not seem to have made a big splash.

Radions, Straton, Orphek, Sky... they will all grow corals fine. Kessil will too as long as you take care of the coverage issue.

I never really understood all the hostility and hate towards the SKY or Neptune. This hobby is really mean.

 

[Spare time]

I never really understood all the hostility and hate towards the SKY or Neptune. This hobby is really mean.

It's trendy sometimes lol

 

[Neko]

sky's advantage is only bracket?

 

[MartinM]

Huge aesthetics difference…?

 

[Jon's Reef]

They are both panel style lights designed to provide a blanket of uniform light. Both achieve this.

Straton full spectrum is more white while SKY is more blue. The peak in the SKY spectrum gives pop (similar to the pop of a Reefbrite XHO). Both spectrums will grow corals. Both lights can be adjusted to be more blue or more white. I really like the clean blue color of the SKY.

If you prefer maximum control (individual colors.... 3 separate light zones.. etc) then the Straton is more your style. If you prefer to have nice presets with the ability to tune it via groups of colors (turn up blues, turn down red/ green, etc) and if integration right into Apex is for you, then the SKY will be better. Personally I like being able to open Apex and right there I have full control of the SKY.

The "looks" of the fixture is definitely different. If you want the razor thin look, Straton is for you. I prefer the black look of the SKY fixtures.

If you do not want a fan, the Straton is for you. I hated the fans on my Radion G5s. I cannot hear the fans on my SKY.

The Sky has an additional internal diffusing panel. I think this makes a difference. Comparing my SKY to my T5... the absolute flat uniform look of the illumination is very similar.

 

[areefer01]

They are both panel style lights designed to provide a blanket of uniform light. Both achieve this.

Straton full spectrum is more white while SKY is more blue. The peak in the SKY spectrum gives pop (similar to the pop of a Reefbrite XHO). Both spectrums will grow corals. Both lights can be adjusted to be more blue or more white. I really like the clean blue color of the SKY.

If you prefer maximum control (individual colors.... 3 separate light zones.. etc) then the Straton is more your style. If you prefer to have nice presets with the ability to tune it via groups of colors (turn up blues, turn down red/ green, etc) and if integration right into Apex is for you, then the SKY will be better. Personally I like being able to open Apex and right there I have full control of the SKY.

The "looks" of the fixture is definitely different. If you want the razor thin look, Straton is for you. I prefer the black look of the SKY fixtures.

If you do not want a fan, the Straton is for you. I hated the fans on my Radion G5s. I cannot hear the fans on my SKY.

The Sky has an additional internal diffusing panel. I think this makes a difference. Comparing my SKY to my T5... the absolute flat uniform look of the illumination is very similar.

One thing that I've noticed about the SKY compared to other kits is that Neptune designed it such that you could be somewhat flexible in the spectrum and not lose large amounts of PAR. With a couple of the kits out there you have to pick the pro, or blue, or one that leans heavy to one side of the base color spectrum.

 

[VJV]

Currently own 3 Stratons over my Reef after having Radions. What I would highlight is the absolute Silence of the Lamps (cinematography reference here ). I am hitting 70% intensity during the day and the Stratons never get hot to the touch even though they are very thin (unlike the Philips Coral Care) and have no fans (unlike the noisy Radions that were driving me mad).
But the major difference that no one is talking about, is that the Stratons have relatively narrow lenses. As soon as I move my Apogee MQ510 from directly below the Straton led panel the par drops by 45%. The Radions even though they were smaller provided a much more diffuse kind of light.

this also means that even at 65% I still have close to 300 par on my sand bed, which is a lot.

I too believe that the Sky suffered a lot from a bit of animosity created by Terence. The only think I do not like about the Sky’s is the seemingly flimsy build quality. But everything else I love and if I had not found such a great deal on the Stratons it would probably be my current light.

(oh, and MOBIuS is the WORST, least stable control platform that I have come across in reefing! )

 

[areefer01]

Currently own 3 Stratons over my Reef after having Radions. What I would highlight is the absolute Silence of the Lamps (cinematography reference here ). I am hitting 70% intensity during the day and the Stratons never get hot to the touch even though they are very thin (unlike the Philips Coral Care) and have no fans (unlike the noisy Radions that were driving me mad).

G5 fan had issues at launch which was odd since they designed their own fan and made a pretty big deal out of it.

Phillips Coral Care G2's needed more heat sink due to the power supply location. Personally speaking I like the idea and design. Especially because cable or cord management in our hobby can be an issue (housekeeping, neat, messy, and sometimes unsafe).

Also though I read somewhere that the Straton is running the LED's at less than 100% power by design. Not sure if that is true though as I can't find that source again. Thermal and longevity. If so that is intriguing I have to say.

I too believe that the Sky suffered a lot from a bit of animosity created by Terence. The only think I do not like about the Sky’s is the seemingly flimsy build quality. But everything else I love and if I had not found such a great deal on the Stratons it would probably be my current light.

This can be a mean hobby I've noticed. Hobbyist are just flat out mean to some people and vendors. I see it here and on a few other forums I visit. Not a lot we can do about it other than tune it out.

With regards to the SKY and build quality is going to come down to hobbyist. I own them since extended NSI testing and they are running perfectly fine. Obviously it isn't about me just sharing my experience with them. Par has not degraded and the noise level is the same. No surface sticky substance which a few ignorant socialites predicted nor have they fallen off in performance. In my opinion people wanted the SKY at 1/4 price point which just wasn't going to happen.

Stratons are a great kit. I'm not sure I understand the short turn around time to the Pro but since it is mostly a kit for EMEA maybe it isn't that short since they have had the Straton longer than the US.

Hope your day is going well.