Quanta bars!!!!!!!!!

piranhaman00 · Tuesday at 11:54 AM

minus9 said:
They work, but for the money and what little you get out of them, it's simply not worth the money. I love my RB halide pendants, they're great, but the LEDs are basic run of the mill diodes and enclosures are not top quality.

I do agree, seems like they melt after a few years also.

Another pretty amazing example of BRS making a subpar product sell like crazy.

Hooz · Wednesday at 11:02 AM

Man. Some of the pics in this thread are getting me excited for the Helix! I'm kind of a "spectrum geek" since getting back into reefing several years ago (there were no LEDs when I started in the early 90's). I'm also a fan of supporting the "little guys", because I feel like a lot of times that's where the real innovation is happening.

I've been running LuxEngine LED upgrades in my lights since I got in on the beta test 3+ years ago because, IMO, they have the arguably the best spectrum on the market. I've also been following along with Luca and Quanta since pretty much the beginning, because he was pushing the same spectrum envelope.

I actually prefer the strip light form factor, but I need more than just a simple on/off control, so I've just followed from a distance. The Meanwell 0-10v dimmable driver and "quad-core" technology of the Helix are about to change that for me. I finally got down off the "controller fence" and picked a side (Hydros) for a new tank I'm setting up, and the 0-10v inputs/outputs seem to be a sign that I at least have to give Helix a try when it's released.

For color I'm leaning a pair of Meso Blues and a single Reefcrest Daylight. Since the tank will be a dedicated LPS system, I won't need anywhere near the PAR that setup will put out (Now they're dimmable!), but I do want the wall-to-wall coverage that setup will give me.

piranhaman00 · Wednesday at 2:26 PM

I’m still confused why people think these have such good coverage? I believe they are 90 lenses which would be the same as orphek.

Hooz · Wednesday at 2:40 PM

piranhaman00 said:
I’m still confused why people think these have such good coverage? I believe they are 90 lenses which would be the same as orphek.

Mount them high enough and/or use enough of them and you get whatever coverage you want. Since they are SIGNIFICANTLY cheaper than other "brand name" LED strip lights, you can get 2 or 3 bars for the price of one big name. Also, we don't know what the lenses on the new lights are since they haven't been released, and nothing has been posted yet.

The thing that Quanta is known for, though, is the use of multiple lower power diodes per lens. Instead of a single color diode every inch of bar, you get 2 colors every inch. So you get better blending from end-to-end on the bar, without having to mount them 2 feet above the tank. The new Helix bars take that even further by switching to "quad-core" LEDs, so you get 4 colors of LEDs under a single lens.

More colors in less space = better blending, regardless of the beam angle.

If a standard 24" bar has 18 LEDs (spaced evenly over the 24" length), you are limited in your color options because you need the overlap (blending) for the length of the bar. Now take the same 24" bar with 36 LEDs and your options really start to open up. The Helix seems to be basically the same bar with 72 LEDs... Options for colors and blending really start to get crazy at that point.

Hooz · Wednesday at 2:53 PM

I don't work for Luca, and I don't have any info that the rest of you haven't heard, but I am a lighting geek when it comes to this stuff. When I heard "quad-core" LED, this is what that means to me...

A single chip with 4 different colors under one lens. If you're looking for a broad blue band, this is the kind of thing that gets you going because the number of colors you have to use really opens up, even in the same "old" form factors that we're all used to.

oreo54 · Wednesday at 3:24 PM

piranhaman00 said:
I’m still confused why people think these have such good coverage? I believe they are 90 lenses which would be the same as orphek.

Well not defending any but not all 90 lenses are the same.
I believe the dual cores may also throw off the pattern ( non- centered) to their advantage.
Second I believe the Quanta has a higher linear density ( think it's like 1 more dual core per foot) which will blend things better and help a bit with shadows.

Could also be wishful thinking

Hooz · Wednesday at 3:42 PM

oreo54 said:
Well not defending any but not all 90 lenses are the same.
I believe the dual cores may also throw off the pattern ( non- centered) to their advantage.
Second I believe the Quanta has a higher linear density ( think it's like 1 more dual core per foot) which will blend things better and help a bit with shadows.

Could also be wishful thinking

I think you are correct with the current bars (dual core). That's why I'm excited to see what quad core looks like in the new Helix bars.

minus9 · Wednesday at 4:09 PM

piranhaman00 said:
I’m still confused why people think these have such good coverage? I believe they are 90 lenses which would be the same as orphek.

Because I've directly compared them against xho's and OR2's. Xho's have great blending because they're only 450/470 diodes, so there's not a lot to blend. The Quanta's have 2 diodes per lens and the blending is night and day compared to Orphek. In order to mitigate the separation of the Orphek's, you have to mount them so high, they become useless or less efficient. I don't see any separation with the Quanta's, but I do see a nice subtle shimmer and not the disco ball you get with Orphek bars. You actually get more light with the Quanta's than the Orphek's at virtually the same price, plus you get a better spectrum. If I were to choose LED bars as my main light source, I would pick Quanta's over everything else on the market right now. Now with The Helix and the upcoming Atlas fixture, I think a lot of people may seriously look at a much more affordable and better option than most major manufacturers offer currently. I think people like Danial (Reefi) and Luca (Quanta) are pushing LEDs into the future and will push others to do the same. LEDs for the most part have been stagnant in a lot of ways for a long time, but this is my own personal opinion. I love seeing fixtures like ATI's Straton, but I don't think they are worth that much money and are cost prohibitive for most.

oreo54 · Wednesday at 4:44 PM

minus9 said:
Because I've directly compared them against xho's and OR2's. Xho's have great blending because they're only 450/470 diodes, so there's not a lot to blend. The Quanta's have 2 diodes per lens and the blending is night and day compared to Orphek. In order to mitigate the separation of the Orphek's, you have to mount them so high, they become useless or less efficient. I don't see any separation with the Quanta's, but I do see a nice subtle shimmer and not the disco ball you get with Orphek bars. You actually get more light with the Quanta's than the Orphek's at virtually the same price, plus you get a better spectrum. If I were to choose LED bars as my main light source, I would pick Quanta's over everything else on the market right now. Now with The Helix and the upcoming Atlas fixture, I think a lot of people may seriously look at a much more affordable and better option than most major manufacturers offer currently. I think people like Danial (Reefi) and Luca (Quanta) are pushing LEDs into the future and will push others to do the same. LEDs for the most part have been stagnant in a lot of ways for a long time, but this is my own personal opinion. I love seeing fixtures like ATI's Straton, but I don't think they are worth that much money and are cost prohibitive for most.

A Chinese " straton" on steroids .

LED aquarium light, LED lights, Nano reef aquarium, Reef Builders, Reef and Marine Aquarium Blog, Aqua mini, Aqua Pro, LED nano, micmol

www.micmol.com

Still a grand though but 2x the wattage.

Hooz · Thursday at 2:50 PM

minus9 said:
I think people like Danial (Reefi) and Luca (Quanta) are pushing LEDs into the future and will push others to do the same.

You can't leave Tim (Luxdium) out of that conversation. The first LuxEngine LED upgrades were out before Reefi or Quanta were even a thing. But, like I said previously... The innovation seems to happening first with the "little guys". Some of the big name companies are starting to catch on, while others don't seem to care.

It's all good for those of us paying attention, though.

nbooks · Thursday at 3:42 PM

piranhaman00 said:
I’m still confused why people think these have such good coverage? I believe they are 90 lenses which would be the same as orphek.

please excuse the algae nastys, i have 5 month old twins...

This is 3x6 ft bars (RCD, Meso, og pop) on my 220 (24" front to back and 30"ish deep , taken with iphone 15 pro, orange lens and no edits. Its quite close to what i feel i see with my eyes. unfortunately no, i dont have par numbers at the moment, but coming soon.

minus9 · Thursday at 7:00 PM

Hooz said:
You can't leave Tim (Luxdium) out of that conversation. The first LuxEngine LED upgrades were out before Reefi or Quanta were even a thing. But, like I said previously... The innovation seems to happening first with the "little guys". Some of the big name companies are starting to catch on, while others don't seem to care.

It's all good for those of us paying attention, though.

I knew there was someone that I missed. Hobbyist getting involved is what makes all the difference. I like companies that take constructive criticism and customer feedback. Those who don’t think they need it are the ones that truly need it.