ATI Powermodule ~~ Now with pictures over tank!! ~~

[Oceanic]

I am going to purchase a 10 bulb 48" ATI Powermodule within the next two weeks, I have finally decided to go T5's for a number of good reasons.

Anyone else looking to get one of these?

If so maybe we can find a deal if we partner up....... The best prices I have found so far are south of the border unfortunately but I will be contacting some of the local sponsors. :biggrin:

Ian

[BlueTang<3]

check out ken at blueworld aquatics i just purchased a 60 inch power mod very good price and he got it for me quickly so he was competitive with reef geek i ordered me mp40 from the states got a smoking price but the duties killed me so

[RuGlu6]

IMO anything more then 6 tubes wouldnt get you much saving in terms of energy and $.
I am using 6 bulb T5 Tek and just to replace 6 bulbs after 20% discount i paid $164.60.

regular price on a 48" tube is $34+tax

if you get 10 bulbs (http://www.jlaquatics.com/product/lb-t5kzcm4/Korallen-Zucht+48%22+54W+Coral+Light+II+T5+Flourescent+Bulb .html) you are pushing up to 300 or more depending on your tube preference.

For a 48" tank you can get very good SPS growth and color with two 250W MH for a lot less .

[Oceanic]

IMO anything more then 6 tubes wouldnt get you much saving in terms of energy and $.
I am using 6 bulb T5 Tek and just to replace 6 bulbs after 20% discount i paid $164.60.

regular price on a 48" tube is $34+tax

if you get 10 bulbs (http://www.jlaquatics.com/product/lb-t5kzcm4/Korallen-Zucht+48%22+54W+Coral+Light+II+T5+Flourescent+Bulb .html) you are pushing up to 300 or more depending on your tube preference.

For a 48" tank you can get very good SPS growth and color with two 250W MH for a lot less .

I have some really good growth under my 2 x 250W Pheonix 14k bulbs but I also have to deal with the heat all summer because of where the tank is located. Together with the chiller running I will use more power staying with the HQI setup vs T5's. I also agree bulbs can be expensive but I also buy them wholesale out of the U.S. for much cheaper than around here.

My tank is VERY heavy in SPS and I need more light and better control of the spectrum.....

1:biggrin:

[RuGlu6]

I have some really good growth under my 2 x 250W Pheonix 14k bulbs but I also have to deal with the heat all summer because of where the tank is located. Together with the chiller running I will use more power staying with the HQI setup vs T5's. I also agree bulbs can be expensive but I also buy them wholesale out of the U.S. for much cheaper than around here.

My tank is VERY heavy in SPS and I need more light and better control of the spectrum.....

1:biggrin:

In that case i would agree with you.
BTW after i got new 10K, Fiji Purple and 14K KZ bulbs from J&L, SPS responding very rapidly with new growth and better polyp extention !
maybe because i also finaly had to clean the reflectors LOL.

This year i am replacing actinics with Fiji Purple's if anyone is wondering ask me later how SPS will do wthout actinics.
Current bulb config is :
Two KZ 10K's
Two KZ 14K's
Two Fiji Purples.

Sorry about highjack,
i think ATI is a great T5 fixture. It just was just a bit much to see a bill of $165 for 6 new T5 tubes LOL.

[lastlight]

Yeah my bill for 12 80w bulbs was around $400. I'm not looking forward to ever replacing those.

[Oceanic]

In that case i would agree with you.
BTW after i got new 10K, Fiji Purple and 14K KZ bulbs from J&L, SPS responding very rapidly with new growth and better polyp extention !
maybe because i also finaly had to clean the reflectors LOL.

This year i am replacing actinics with Fiji Purple's if anyone is wondering ask me later how SPS will do wthout actinics.
Current bulb config is :
Two KZ 10K's
Two KZ 14K's
Two Fiji Purples.

Sorry about highjack,
i think ATI is a great T5 fixture. It just was just a bit much to see a bill of $165 for 6 new T5 tubes LOL.

Yeah the bulbs will be a little pricey but I can get all 10 new bulbs for $265.00 shipped to my door wholesale from one of my suppliers. T5 bulbs don't need to be replaced as often as Halides especially with the ATI Powermodule as it actively cools each bulb for better performance and life.

ATI Blue +
UVL super actinic
KZ Fiji Purple
ATI aquablue
ATI Blue +
UVL 75/25
ATI Blue +
KZ Fiji purple
ATI Aquablue
ATI Blue +

This will be the order in the ATI fixture.

[Oceanic]

I just received my 10 bulb ATI Powermodule via DHL and will be setting it up with reviews and pictures tonight. Hopefully people will want to tag along to see how it looks out of the box and installed.

Ian
:wink:

[BlueTang<3]

mine comes in thursday

[mseepman]

Looking forward to seeing these up and running.

[Oceanic]

mine comes in thursday

Sweet! It seems cheap that I had the whole thing in 48 hours form Indiana USA to Langley for $108.00 u.s. + 67.00 Brokerage.......

Also, these things are not light! I may have to run to Home Depot to get the proper ceiling bolts in order to suspend the thing!~

[lastlight]

Aren't they something like 60 lbs ? I'm guessing mine is around 50lbs. Scary stuff. I would never trust anything but screws into the ceiling joists. Let's see this badboy!

[intarsiabox]

how SPS will do wthout actinics[/B].
Current bulb config is :
Two KZ 10K's
Two KZ 14K's
Two Fiji Purples.

Sorry about highjack,
i think ATI is a great T5 fixture. It just was just a bit much to see a bill of $165 for 6 new T5 tubes LOL.

I was looking at getting a couple of Fiji Purples for my fixture but was unsure of what bulbs to exchange it with. I'm interested to see if I can swap out my actinics for Fiji Purples. I normally have my actinics come on before and after my 10,000K bulbs are you planning on doing the same with the Fiji bulbs?

[iansfishy]

so what was the savings getting it from the states rather then say progressive reef or somewhere like that? Just asking cause Ive been thinking about the same unit for a while now.

[Oceanic]

so what was the savings getting it from the states rather then say progressive reef or somewhere like that? Just asking cause Ive been thinking about the same unit for a while now.

I saved about $250 getting everything from the states.... I do have a wholesale account so I am sure it probably wouldn't make a difference for most people to do what I did.

[Oceanic]

Aren't they something like 60 lbs ? I'm guessing mine is around 50lbs. Scary stuff. I would never trust anything but screws into the ceiling joists. Let's see this badboy!

My ceiling directly above the tank is a drop ceiling to contain heating ducts, I will not be able to screw into ceiling joists so I may have to be creative, I would say it weighs about 50+ pounds.....

Here is the box the unit came in~! Heavy! I am not the only one interested in what is inside! lol!

http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z142/fokusbmw/001-2.jpg

The packaging is actually top notch!

http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z142/fokusbmw/002-2.jpg

Almost unwrapped here! This thing is built like a tank!

http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z142/fokusbmw/003-2.jpg

The build quality is very impressive, These fans are nearly completely silent when I tested them! There is one fan per two bulbs. The air is drawn in through the fans and there are exhaust ports on the opposite end of each separate reflector channel.

http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z142/fokusbmw/006-2.jpg

Another picture completely unwrapped.

http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z142/fokusbmw/007-2.jpg

Here is the underside before I removed the plexi protective backing.

http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z142/fokusbmw/008-3.jpg

Peeling back the protective plastic, everything is well designed.

http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z142/fokusbmw/009-1.jpg

Here is a snapshot of the reflectors --- 10 X 54W individual reflectors, I can see why these reflectors are supposedly unmatched in the T5 world.

http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z142/fokusbmw/011-2.jpg

Here is how my bulbs arrived, I could only ship 6 bulbs per package so the other 4 bulbs are going to have to be purchased here before I can get the bad boy working and installed!

http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z142/fokusbmw/012-2.jpg
http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z142/fokusbmw/013-2.jpg

That's all for now, I will update more later when I get the last 4 bulbs this Sunday.

2 X Fiji Purple
1 X UVL True actinic
1 X UVL 75/25

[Oceanic]

I was looking at getting a couple of Fiji Purples for my fixture but was unsure of what bulbs to exchange it with. I'm interested to see if I can swap out my actinics for Fiji Purples. I normally have my actinics come on before and after my 10,000K bulbs are you planning on doing the same with the Fiji bulbs?

The Fiji bulbs do amazing things to greens and reds, I actually find that certain Corals I have really improved with the addition of red spectrum light that the Fiji produces. I highly suggest using them. I will only be using one actinic in the whole 10 bulb bank.

[Oceanic]

Aren't they something like 60 lbs ? I'm guessing mine is around 50lbs. Scary stuff. I would never trust anything but screws into the ceiling joists. Let's see this badboy!

Here is a good little page for those that want to hang heavy objects from the ceiling using toggle or butterfly bolts.....

Here is a little excerpt from the link...........

http://www.naturalhandyman.com/iip/inffastener/infanchor/infanchor.html


Toggle bolts are the Cadillac (or Lexus, if you prefer) of hollow-wall anchors. They consist of two parts... the toggle itself (which looks like a pair of spring-loaded metal wings) and the accompanying machine screw. Toggle bolts are sized in two ways... by the diameter of the machine screw and by the length of the machine screw. The larger the screw diameter, the larger and stronger the toggle. The longer the screw, the thicker the material that can be hung or the thicker the wall it can be used in!

Toggles are massively strong. A "puny" 1/8" toggle can safely hold 50 lbs on 1/2" drywall... a 3/8" toggle over 100 lbs! Two or three 3/8" toggles can easily hold up most kitchen cabinets on solid 1/2" drywall. That is, as long as the wall is strong enough!

Toggles are the toggle of choice for hanging most anything from ceilings, too, such as hanging plants, mobiles, etc. The major exceptions would be "dynamic" objects such as ceiling fans, which require attachment to structural members. Also, though excessive weight may not break a large toggle through the ceiling, the ceiling itself may pull away from the joists!

[intarsiabox]

The Fiji bulbs do amazing things to greens and reds, I actually find that certain Corals I have really improved with the addition of red spectrum light that the Fiji produces. I highly suggest using them. I will only be using one actinic in the whole 10 bulb bank.

I have an 8-bulb fixture with 4 actinics and 4 10,000K's so I think I'll switch out 2 actinics for fiji purples. Good to know they really bring out the greens since most of my corals are various shades of green.:surprise:

[Oceanic]

I have an 8-bulb fixture with 4 actinics and 4 10,000K's so I think I'll switch out 2 actinics for fiji purples. Good to know they really bring out the greens since most of my corals are various shades of green.:surprise:

If I were you I would also switch out the 10k's too? Here is a really nice setup with an eight bulb fixture if you cannot get ATI bulbs...

from front to back;

KZ Coral light
UVL Actinic
KZ Fiji Purple
KZ Coral Light
KZ Coral Light
KZ Fiji Purple
UVL 75/25
KZ Coral Light

[intarsiabox]

Sounds like a good combo to try. I'll start with the fiji's then change out the others a couple at a time. The wife doesn't get too mad if I only spend a little here and there, fortunatly she has a short memory so spend a little bit here and there all the time and she doesn't notice! I have to admit that I'm not happy with the looks of my lighting the way it is now and need to make some changes.

[lastlight]

When you say drop ceiling do you mean t-bar tracks and the fibreboard panels? Toggle bolts are as good as you'll get without screwing something solid I guess but I think they are meant for drywall mostly and not the 2x4 ceiling panels. I'd be worried about the fibrous material weakening over time with the moisture too.

If it is the track ceiling those tracks are mounted into the bottom of the wooden joists with big screws/lag bolts. No reason you couldn't still mount into real wood and feed your wire through the panels.

If it's a different type of ceiling than what I have in mind ignore me!

Those fixtures are works of art man...congrats!

[Oceanic]

When you say drop ceiling do you mean t-bar tracks and the fibreboard panels? Toggle bolts are as good as you'll get without screwing something solid I guess but I think they are meant for drywall mostly and not the 2x4 ceiling panels. I'd be worried about the fibrous material weakening over time with the moisture too.

If it is the track ceiling those tracks are mounted into the bottom of the wooden joists with big screws/lag bolts. No reason you couldn't still mount into real wood and feed your wire through the panels.

If it's a different type of ceiling than what I have in mind ignore me!

Those fixtures are works of art man...congrats!


Yeah, not that kind of drop ceiling, it is still regular drywall ceiling but it comes down about 7 inches further in the corner of the room to accommodate the forced air heating ducts in behind. The toggle bolts will still go into 1/2" drywall, should be plenty strong.

[lastlight]

Gotcha. Get hangin =)

[JDigital]

Wow... that unit is GORGEOUS!! :surprise:

[Oceanic]

Wow... that unit is GORGEOUS!! :surprise:

It sure is! I am getting so itchy to set it up! I just need three more bulbs!!

I will offer free frags for anyone that can pick up three bulbs from J/L for me and bring them out to Langley! I will pay you back for the bulbs and load you up with 3-4 nice frags!

:mrgreen:

I am desperate! lol

[Boomboy]

how much that unit set you back without the bulbs i want to get an 8 bulb fixture for down the road. but i cant seem to find any prices.

[workn2hard2day]

Check out Progressive Reef web page all the prices are advertised. I just got a sunpower from them (& service was great)

[Boomboy]

looks like ive got to save some money for that one. maybe once im done school.

[StirCrazy]

forget about toggle bolts, they are good but you can't unscrew them and redo them so you have to thread it all togeather befor installing them never to come apart again. there is a much better type which holds more than toggles and basicly only puts the thredded part in the wall so you can install/remove the bolts at will.

http://www.nutty.com/pdfcharts/kaptoggle.pdf

Steve

[Oceanic]

forget about toggle bolts, they are good but you can't unscrew them and redo them so you have to thread it all togeather befor installing them never to come apart again. there is a much better type which holds more than toggles and basicly only puts the thredded part in the wall so you can install/remove the bolts at will.

http://www.nutty.com/pdfcharts/kaptoggle.pdf

Steve

Wow! Great suggestion, where might I find these beauties?

[Oceanic]

how much that unit set you back without the bulbs i want to get an 8 bulb fixture for down the road. but i cant seem to find any prices.

Yeah,

Your best bet is to look locally for the lights, to be honest I beleive the best prices I found within Canada were Ottowa Inverts, this was including shipping, bulbs, and everything.

[Oceanic]

It looks like I have a volunteer for bulbs for frags offer, I should have this guy hung over the tank by tomorrow night or Friday evening at the latest.

:mrgreen:

[StirCrazy]

Wow! Great suggestion, where might I find these beauties?

home depot has them, in the area with all the other hollow wall anchors.

Steve

[Oceanic]

I finally finished hanging the lights, WOW what a difference, that color is amazing, I actually don't miss the shimmer lines at all!

http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z142/fokusbmw/001-4.jpg

http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z142/fokusbmw/007-3.jpg

http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z142/fokusbmw/006-3.jpg

http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z142/fokusbmw/005-3.jpg

http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z142/fokusbmw/003-4.jpg

http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z142/fokusbmw/002-4.jpg

This is the old look!

http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z142/fokusbmw/001-3.jpg

[purelife]

Looks good, can't wait to get my 6 bulb hung over my new tank only a few more weeks

[Oceanic]

Looks good, can't wait to get my 6 bulb hung over my new tank only a few more weeks

You won't be disappointed!

[banditpowdercoat]

Looks Nice IAN, Got a FTS of both tanks comparing the light??

[Oceanic]

Looks Nice IAN, Got a FTS of both tanks comparing the light??

I do actually, the only problem is my camera has a hard time showing realistic color representations. I will see what I can post up tonight.

On a side note.

I am working on cleaning up your items and I will try to get everything together to ship out today!

[banditpowdercoat]

Cool, thx. So is the ATI more light in your tank, or just dispersed better? I will have to add a few T5's to my tank too I think. But not ATI LOL, to rich for me. but man, is it ever NICE!!!!!!

[Oceanic]

Cool, thx. So is the ATI more light in your tank, or just dispersed better? I will have to add a few T5's to my tank too I think. But not ATI LOL, to rich for me. but man, is it ever NICE!!!!!!

Yeah,

I was a bit pricey but it will save on my power bill and also the complaining from my wife that it is too hot in the TV room! lol.

It does put out more light but mainly it puts out light in the exact spectrum that I want for growth and color. I may take RON99's advice and just use a couple small LED's to add a bit of shimmer back in.

[workn2hard2day]

Could post a pic at your ceiling. I am stumped...
Can't figure out how to attached suspensions wires to the ceiling hooks. :redface: Thanks.

[Oceanic]

Could post a pic at your ceiling. I am stumped...
Can't figure out how to attached suspensions wires to the ceiling hooks. :redface: Thanks.

I take it you are trying to hang your Powermodule?

If so, I have a good way of doing so with the hanging hardware supplied. A picture of the ceiling won't do much to explain to you how this works...

Give me a call if you like



Ian

[Stones]

Just wondering if the powermodule came with an acrylic or glass bulb shield? I know years ago some people were having problems with the acrylic shields since they would bow down after the lights were on and the fixture's temperature rose. From your pictures it almost looks like ATI switched over to glass but I'm curious to know.

[Oceanic]

Just wondering if the powermodule came with an acrylic or glass bulb shield? I know years ago some people were having problems with the acrylic shields since they would bow down after the lights were on and the fixture's temperature rose. From your pictures it almost looks like ATI switched over to glass but I'm curious to know.

Yes they do come with an acrylic shield. The shield does bow down slightly but I fixed it with a strategically placed metal C-clip. I don't think glass would be a good option as these Powermodules are already heavy enough!!

[StirCrazy]

Yeah,

I was a bit pricey but it will save on my power bill and also the complaining from my wife that it is too hot in the TV room! lol.

It does put out more light but mainly it puts out light in the exact spectrum that I want for growth and color. I may take RON99's advice and just use a couple small LED's to add a bit of shimmer back in.

what were you running befor that you think you are going to notice a savings? 10 bulbs at 54 watts each is 540 watts plus a bit for the ballast I would say you are up around 555watts. My 250 watt HQIs used about 680 watts so the differance there is only about a few bucks a month if they are run the same amount of time. the overall heat output will be slightly lower but 540 watts of light is still a ton of heat. not as much point source but almost as much radiating into the room.

Steve

[Oceanic]

what were you running befor that you think you are going to notice a savings? 10 bulbs at 54 watts each is 540 watts plus a bit for the ballast I would say you are up around 555watts. My 250 watt HQIs used about 680 watts so the differance there is only about a few bucks a month if they are run the same amount of time. the overall heat output will be slightly lower but 540 watts of light is still a ton of heat. not as much point source but almost as much radiating into the room.

Steve

My old ballast was a dual 250W HQI M80 type ballast that was a full 9 amps + two 54W T5's = 608 watts of pure heat. The new Powermodule is 5 amps with 540 watts, the heat must be at least 50% less.

My tank now stays a full 2 degrees cooler than before and my heater in on more often. The room itself is way cooler and the cooling fan almost never comes on. Not to mention the chiller will almost never come on now unless it is 35 degrees outside.

I am not sure what the power savings will be but I am sure I will see some. I am actually not too worried about the savings, I am just so happy about the way the tanks looks and the fact it does not bake the room.

[StirCrazy]

608 watts of pure heat. The new Powermodule is 5 amps with 540 watts, the heat must be at least 50% less.

.

ok 600 watts of light = 600 watts of heat weather it is MH or CF, or T5, ect.. light is energy and when it stops being light it turnes into heat so you in reality only lowered your heat to the room by 9.5% the difference is the MH is more intense and burns at a hoter temp so it will heat local things more, but the exact same wattage of heat is put out nomater what kind of bulb if the power usage is the same.

now what counts is you like them and are happy with them, I just dont want people to be misinformed by advertising hype that says 600watts of T5's is going to put out less heat to the room or use less energy than 600 watts of MH, or CF, ect.

Steve

[Oceanic]

ok 600 watts of light = 600 watts of heat weather it is MH or CF, or T5, ect.. light is energy and when it stops being light it turnes into heat so you in reality only lowered your heat to the room by 9.5% the difference is the MH is more intense and burns at a hoter temp so it will heat local things more, but the exact same wattage of heat is put out nomater what kind of bulb if the power usage is the same.

now what counts is you like them and are happy with them, I just dont want people to be misinformed by advertising hype that says 600watts of T5's is going to put out less heat to the room or use less energy than 600 watts of MH, or CF, ect.

Steve

Yeah true enough, I am not aware of any such advertising hype on less heat unless you are refering to my observation. I beleive you are correct about the wattage and heat calculation; however, the fixture is cool to the touch, I don't have a big metal ballast that I could cook an egg on, and my chiller has not come on once. My power savings are coming from less use of the chiller and or cooling fans controlled by my reefkeeper. The ballast for the powermodule only draws 5 amps instead of 9 for the hqi ballast.

Yes i am happy with the lights, yes they are cooler for my tank an room.

[staceyd72]

Congrats on the Powermodule, these are amazing fixtures.
I have the 10 x 80w. I got mine last March from Reefgeek, this was the first 10x80 PM in Canada, I was on the waiting list for three months. Yes, bulbs are expensive, I just received 13 new tubes from reefgeek for $400. I can't find any 80W bulbs in Canada:confused:
I have mine set up on a sliding rail, so that it slides back into my fish room, I found this works best as I usually have to fix corals or move something every few days:sad:.

You should also raise it for the first month or so to assimilate your corals to the new type of light, as T5's evenly distribute light unlike metal halides, your corals may start to bleach from the new light.

Another idea is to run your fan speed higher instead of 4 switch it to 7 or 7.5(can't remember the exact number off hand). This will help your bulbs run a little cooler. I also have a small fan blowing across the unit's fans.

[Oceanic]

Congrats on the Powermodule, these are amazing fixtures.
I have the 10 x 80w. I got mine last March from Reefgeek, this was the first 10x80 PM in Canada, I was on the waiting list for three months. Yes, bulbs are expensive, I just received 13 new tubes from reefgeek for $400. I can't find any 80W bulbs in Canada:confused:
I have mine set up on a sliding rail, so that it slides back into my fish room, I found this works best as I usually have to fix corals or move something every few days:sad:.

You should also raise it for the first month or so to assimilate your corals to the new type of light, as T5's evenly distribute light unlike metal halides, your corals may start to bleach from the new light.

Another idea is to run your fan speed higher instead of 4 switch it to 7 or 7.5(can't remember the exact number off hand). This will help your bulbs run a little cooler. I also have a small fan blowing across the unit's fans.


Good advice, I love my lights! I wish I had room for a slider, much easier than the cable suspension wires. I just raise the unit up to clean it.

[shrimpchips]

ok 600 watts of light = 600 watts of heat weather it is MH or CF, or T5, ect.. light is energy and when it stops being light it turnes into heat so you in reality only lowered your heat to the room by 9.5% the difference is the MH is more intense and burns at a hoter temp so it will heat local things more, but the exact same wattage of heat is put out nomater what kind of bulb if the power usage is the same.

now what counts is you like them and are happy with them, I just dont want people to be misinformed by advertising hype that says 600watts of T5's is going to put out less heat to the room or use less energy than 600 watts of MH, or CF, ect.

Steve

Actually, the big issue is efficiency - MH ballasts and bulbs aren't as effieicent as flourescent ballasts and tubes, so for the same amount of energy they consume, more of it is turned into visible/useable light by the T5 ballast/bulbs. The MH ballast/bulb might consume the same 600 watts, but less of it becomes visible light and more of it is radiated directly as heat.

That powermodule sure is sexy though. Wish I had the funds for one, but I think I'll be going with it's more angular, slightly less attractive cousin, the Sunpower :lol:

[lastlight]

I wish I had room for a slider, much easier than the cable suspension wires. I just raise the unit up to clean it.

You need to head back to my build thread lol. Winch that badboy up =)