Slick Fork
06-02-2009, 02:06 AM
Hi there,
Got a shiny new AC dimmable powerbar for my Profilux in the mail on Friday and thought I would share my initial impressions. There are several interfaces out there for dimming T5 lights; 1-10v, Dali, and AC dimming. I chose AC dimming mainly because Dali ballasts are tough to come by and the added cost is maybe justifiable if you're dimming four or more pairs but I only need to dim 2, 1-10v requires a little more wiring and there was really no cost savings as the AC ballasts were the same price so I thought, "Simpler for the same money can't be bad"
For my set-up I'm dimming 2 pairs of T5 bulbs, the other 2 pairs are on an ice-cap 660. Maybe one day I'll swap out the 660 for another pair of dimmable ballasts but I don't think that will happen any time soon.
The hardware comes with two pieces, the bar itself which plugs into the wall and a 1-10volt chord that plugs into the profilux.
The bar has two outlets which was a small disappointment for me as when I planned I had thought that it was going to have four outlets and I would be able to plug a couple of powerheads into it in addition to the lights. So I was a little put out when the specs were released and it was only a two outlet bar. Not the end of the world though.
The L1/L2 plug in was also a bit of a surprise as I figured it would plug into the S ports that the other powerbars do (no real reason for thinking that... maybe just because of the term powerbar!) The only real inconvenience for me there was I hadn't thought it through so now I need to get a splitter for the other Lport so I can run my 6055 at variable speeds again.
So those were the only two minor glitches the rest has all been good. Setup was as easy as plug it into the wall, and then into the profilux. I had the advance Mark X ballasts already installed in my fixture so those were as simple as plugging them into the bar.
Once all the hardware was setup, each socket on the bar is controlled independently through the profilux 1-10v dimming channels. It was recommended that I use 1.5v as a baseline but I suspect the wiring I used is just a little too light so I had to bump it up to 2v. Once that was done it was as easy as setting the clock on the oven :mrgreen:
So, now the effect. I have it set up so that my LED stick comes on to 100% first which provides a crazy shimmering effect, then the first pair of T5 bulbs come on at 1% and take about 35 minutes to climb to 50%, they hold there and then take another 15 minutes to go the rest of the way to 100% The next pair of lights duplicates the process about an hour later and then the whole thing happens in reverse at the end of the day.
Visually, I still notice a tiny "click" when it goes from off to 1% it's like 1 minute, no light the next minute a tiny bit of light so it doesn't fade it into nothing like LED's do, there's a definite switch there but that could be because of the higher voltage I'm using.
That being said, not only is having a true sunrise and sunset lighting simulation cool for me to see, the animals really love it. I find in the dusk periods I'm getting small inverts (pods, bristle worms, peanut worms, shrimp) coming out and moving around while there's still plenty of light to see them. The polyp extension on Corals is unbelievable during the dimming periods as well. And, I think the most appreciative ones are the fish. Gone is the panic when the lights switch on or off, now everybody wakes up gently and goes to bed quietly.
Overall, I am very happy with the results and would highly recommend this product to anyone considering it.
Got a shiny new AC dimmable powerbar for my Profilux in the mail on Friday and thought I would share my initial impressions. There are several interfaces out there for dimming T5 lights; 1-10v, Dali, and AC dimming. I chose AC dimming mainly because Dali ballasts are tough to come by and the added cost is maybe justifiable if you're dimming four or more pairs but I only need to dim 2, 1-10v requires a little more wiring and there was really no cost savings as the AC ballasts were the same price so I thought, "Simpler for the same money can't be bad"
For my set-up I'm dimming 2 pairs of T5 bulbs, the other 2 pairs are on an ice-cap 660. Maybe one day I'll swap out the 660 for another pair of dimmable ballasts but I don't think that will happen any time soon.
The hardware comes with two pieces, the bar itself which plugs into the wall and a 1-10volt chord that plugs into the profilux.
The bar has two outlets which was a small disappointment for me as when I planned I had thought that it was going to have four outlets and I would be able to plug a couple of powerheads into it in addition to the lights. So I was a little put out when the specs were released and it was only a two outlet bar. Not the end of the world though.
The L1/L2 plug in was also a bit of a surprise as I figured it would plug into the S ports that the other powerbars do (no real reason for thinking that... maybe just because of the term powerbar!) The only real inconvenience for me there was I hadn't thought it through so now I need to get a splitter for the other Lport so I can run my 6055 at variable speeds again.
So those were the only two minor glitches the rest has all been good. Setup was as easy as plug it into the wall, and then into the profilux. I had the advance Mark X ballasts already installed in my fixture so those were as simple as plugging them into the bar.
Once all the hardware was setup, each socket on the bar is controlled independently through the profilux 1-10v dimming channels. It was recommended that I use 1.5v as a baseline but I suspect the wiring I used is just a little too light so I had to bump it up to 2v. Once that was done it was as easy as setting the clock on the oven :mrgreen:
So, now the effect. I have it set up so that my LED stick comes on to 100% first which provides a crazy shimmering effect, then the first pair of T5 bulbs come on at 1% and take about 35 minutes to climb to 50%, they hold there and then take another 15 minutes to go the rest of the way to 100% The next pair of lights duplicates the process about an hour later and then the whole thing happens in reverse at the end of the day.
Visually, I still notice a tiny "click" when it goes from off to 1% it's like 1 minute, no light the next minute a tiny bit of light so it doesn't fade it into nothing like LED's do, there's a definite switch there but that could be because of the higher voltage I'm using.
That being said, not only is having a true sunrise and sunset lighting simulation cool for me to see, the animals really love it. I find in the dusk periods I'm getting small inverts (pods, bristle worms, peanut worms, shrimp) coming out and moving around while there's still plenty of light to see them. The polyp extension on Corals is unbelievable during the dimming periods as well. And, I think the most appreciative ones are the fish. Gone is the panic when the lights switch on or off, now everybody wakes up gently and goes to bed quietly.
Overall, I am very happy with the results and would highly recommend this product to anyone considering it.