Supplemental LED bars for ATI Sunpower - images / videos.

A. grandis

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People always ask me what is the best bar to be used with the ATI for shimmer and looks.
Of course we know they could add some good PAR and some Blues/"pop".
I know there are different spectrum and brands out there, but I've never tried them yet, so I have no idea of what to recommend.
I did a search here and found some info, but not too many pictures and almost no videos showing those bars in action.

Would you mind post an image or a short video to illustrate? Please let us know your bar's brand and model (spectrum type).
Also let us know the T5 combo you are using with the bar. That way we have a better idea of what's going on in regards to the visual results.
Hopefully this will be a great thread for those who want to try those bars with their ATI fixtures.

I would think the Lumenbar and Sbar would be great addition, personally.

Who knows you would even give me some boost to try one of those on my 6 bulb fixture? ;Wideyed
 

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X-37B

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I am tossing around the idea of orphek bars and would be interested in seeing some added to T5's too. Blues or UV ones, or one of each?
I ran 3b+ 3c+ and added 2 actinics for 8 total. It was ok but I now run 4b+ 4c+ and like the look better.
Mine are 4" off the water.
Lets see what your combos look like.
Just took this pic.
20200403_204616.jpg
 
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A. grandis

A. grandis

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This video talks about the Sbar's PAR, but doesn't show the bar on.
 
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Bpb

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for aesthetics alone you absolutely can’t beat the reefbrite xho. They’re recessed in a reflector and don’t use focused optics so the light spread is very flat and even. Out of my price range but the design is the best in my opinion.

The buildmyled strips were the best of the best. Cheaper than reef brites. Amazingly well built. Outstanding color. First hobby style led units to use diffusers. Inside reflectors. I’m still sad they moved to 100% horticulture. They had such great quality gear.

I currently use a pair of the SBar units to supplement my MH. They’re ok. Usable.

The Orpheks are well designed. I like the spectrum. Too many complaints of failures
 
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A. grandis

A. grandis

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for aesthetics alone you absolutely can’t beat the reefbrite xho. They’re recessed in a reflector and don’t use focused optics so the light spread is very flat and even. Out of my price range but the design is the best in my opinion.

The buildmyled strips were the best of the best. Cheaper than reef brites. Amazingly well built. Outstanding color. First hobby style led units to use diffusers. Inside reflectors. I’m still sad they moved to 100% horticulture. They had such great quality gear.

I currently use a pair of the SBar units to supplement my MH. They’re ok. Usable.

The Orpheks are well designed. I like the spectrum. Too many complaints of failures
Thanks Bpb!
If you could post some images of the bar and the shimmer would be great.
 
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A. grandis

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1586058168622.png

Talking about the SBar...
I want to learn about those. Hope someone could come here and let us know more about the quality of the LEDs below:
Actinic bar:
Cree 450nm Royal Blue, Epistar 420nm Violet.
3x 450nm Royal Blue to each 1x 420nm Violet

50/50:
2x 450nm Royal Blue to each 1x 10K. Cree 10K
Let's make this thread informative.
Feel free to compare this to other brands and so on...
 

rc1626

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Not looking to derail the thread but thought my setup might apply. No bars here but I am using 3 kessil a160we on my standard 180. I have an ATI 8 bulb sunpower that I run 6 bulbs for most of my light schedule. The separate 2 are actinics for dawn and dusk. I run the kessils at almost full power with the spectrum dialed in about 40% white 60% blue. My main goal was to get some shimmer in the tank which the kessils do even when running the 6 T5's. The more blue I go the less shimmer. The more white the greater. With my settings shimmer is certainly noticeable but not overbearing. I love the combo of my T5 selection so any color pop added by the kessils is just an added bonus.

When I was initially looking for supplementation it was clear to me that most go with the reefbrite xho. After reading a little it sounded like they produced amazing color pop but not so much the shimmer I desired. Hence my reason for the kessils.
 
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A. grandis

A. grandis

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Not looking to derail the thread but thought my setup might apply. No bars here but I am using 3 kessil a160we on my standard 180. I have an ATI 8 bulb sunpower that I run 6 bulbs for most of my light schedule. The separate 2 are actinics for dawn and dusk. I run the kessils at almost full power with the spectrum dialed in about 40% white 60% blue. My main goal was to get some shimmer in the tank which the kessils do even when running the 6 T5's. The more blue I go the less shimmer. The more white the greater. With my settings shimmer is certainly noticeable but not overbearing. I love the combo of my T5 selection so any color pop added by the kessils is just an added bonus.

When I was initially looking for supplementation it was clear to me that most go with the reefbrite xho. After reading a little it sounded like they produced amazing color pop but not so much the shimmer I desired. Hence my reason for the kessils.
Very good info. Feel free to post your pictures here...
I just think the kessils would be kinda expensive and bulky to replace bars.
People normally ask me about the bars for their ATIs because they know I have ATI.
But apparently Kessil is the king of shimmer when we talk about LEDs, right?
I always remember this tank with the Kessils.

This thread is for LED lovers.
As I've said... I'm willing to try something that will look great with ATI fixture too.
Please feel free to post ATI / Kessil pictures / videos too...
 

Mrmiles

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Not looking to derail the thread but thought my setup might apply. No bars here but I am using 3 kessil a160we on my standard 180. I have an ATI 8 bulb sunpower that I run 6 bulbs for most of my light schedule. The separate 2 are actinics for dawn and dusk. I run the kessils at almost full power with the spectrum dialed in about 40% white 60% blue. My main goal was to get some shimmer in the tank which the kessils do even when running the 6 T5's. The more blue I go the less shimmer. The more white the greater. With my settings shimmer is certainly noticeable but not overbearing. I love the combo of my T5 selection so any color pop added by the kessils is just an added bonus.

When I was initially looking for supplementation it was clear to me that most go with the reefbrite xho. After reading a little it sounded like they produced amazing color pop but not so much the shimmer I desired. Hence my reason for the kessils.
Can we see how they're mounted?
 

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I feel LED bars are pretty tough to represent in pictures and one persons photo taking skills can differ quite a lot from anothers. I'm no pro when it comes to taking pics and I have maybe 8 different ways I can use my samsung phone lol. Also some people have the colors in their corals, like crazy healthy corals that really show off well, while some don't. I've used the XHO blue and it is really awesome, expensive but awesome. When I looked into ordering SB LED bars I didnt even get an email back so they are out. And Orphek, well, i love what they're doing with the LED game, just need a little more reliability there.
I'll post a older pic when I had the Reefbrite on. Tank was growing out nicely and I really liked the Reefbrite. This is probably the best pic I got that showed the XHO and what you would see with your eyes.
20190606_211409.jpg
 

rc1626

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I'll post a picture a little later. My tank is setup currently in an unfinished basement. I took some 1" x 1/8" aluminum stock and made mounts. I put a 90° bend on one end, drilled a hole and used the threaded mount for the kessils. The other end I have screwed into the floor joists above.
 
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A. grandis

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I feel LED bars are pretty tough to represent in pictures and one persons photo taking skills can differ quite a lot from anothers. I'm no pro when it comes to taking pics and I have maybe 8 different ways I can use my samsung phone lol. Also some people have the colors in their corals, like crazy healthy corals that really show off well, while some don't. I've used the XHO blue and it is really awesome, expensive but awesome. When I looked into ordering SB LED bars I didnt even get an email back so they are out. And Orphek, well, i love what they're doing with the LED game, just need a little more reliability there.
I'll post a older pic when I had the Reefbrite on. Tank was growing out nicely and I really liked the Reefbrite. This is probably the best pic I got that showed the XHO and what you would see with your eyes.
20190606_211409.jpg
It's a beautiful picture.
Yeah, the reason why I added "images / videos" on the title is because I also see how difficult is to express the results from the bars with pictures. We can't fully see shimmers on a steady image. The action will show how they interact with the T5 combo. If you could make a short video of the fixtures, angles and visual results would be great. This could be the ultimate thread for people using the bars with ATI fixtures if everyone contributed that way.
It is imperative to write the T5 combo in use and type of LEDs as well. That is the goal here.
Even though the goal to use a bar with the T5s is normally to add shimmer, it's also great to hear about the benefits it could add.
Could you please try to add a video? Maybe a 20-30 second video should be good enough. Thanks.
 
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A. grandis

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I'll post a picture a little later. My tank is setup currently in an unfinished basement. I took some 1" x 1/8" aluminum stock and made mounts. I put a 90° bend on one end, drilled a hole and used the threaded mount for the kessils. The other end I have screwed into the floor joists above.
Great, please let us know the T5 combo with your A160we Kessils... Thanks.
 

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One of the most stunning tanks I’ve had the opportunity to see was a T5/Orphek blue and UV combo. With the horrible issues that I’m experiencing on my 4 G5 blues over my 120 I’m thinking of making the switch. The issue I have is it will have to fit in my canopy. Following along to see what everybody’s input is. Starting to make the transition to acros now that my tank has settled in.
 
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