tek t5 light system vs ATI

[Prairie_Pirate]

just wondering how the tek t5 light systems compare with the ATI t5 systems.

[horkn]

probably pretty comparably.

Please post a link of the ati units if you can. ATI has been one of the original t5ho companies in europe, i imagine they have the tech down probably even better than the americans (SLS) do

[Prairie_Pirate]

anyone else?

[nemo g]

heres a shot

<img src="http://www.atiaquaristik.com/content/images/62963831463627bf75f820d4ac93fee3.jpg">

from what i hear, their reflectors are much more efficent than the teks. so same bulbs, more light. not sure what type of ballasts they use though.

[The Grim Reefer]

The ATI is a more deluxe unit than the Tek. You will pay for that deluxness but you will also know where the money went IMO.

The ATI is very low profile and seems to be solid built. With a 4x39 watt unit an inch above my 18" tall tank the thing put 160 UMOL's of PAR to the sandbed with the splash shield in place. People tend to suggest 150 as the minimum for an SPS tank. The unit comes with the shield and hanging kit. It has reversable fans and you can change the speed on them. I found them to be very quite running at the fastest setting. Shutting down the fans kills the output, from 160 down to 89.

[3.99AfterTaxes]

Hey Grim, what does UMOL mean?

[The Grim Reefer]

It is the measurement of the number of light photons expressed in Micro Einstien's. I don't write em' I just relay the info:D

[moonpod]

Hey you got that unit after me huh Grim? Nice isn't it?

[The Grim Reefer]

Yeah :)

Until I figured out you need to run fans on even normally driven lamps (5 lamps in my 14" tall canopy gain better than 20% output with a fan) I am not sure I would have thought the price difference was worth it. As well as the Tek units are designed they got to be getting a lot hotter than my setup.

[nemo g]

grim,

this gain in performance, have you figured out what it is due to?

do the lamps perform better when cooler? or do the ballasts?

with the ati unit, is the par drop due indirectly to the heat produced, or a safe gaurd actually put into the unit to do so?

[nemo g]

btw,

what type of set up is your "5 lamps in 14" canopy"? aquactinic? or your own done on workhorse or other ballasts?

ps how difficult is it to remove the sheild on the ati?

my tank is sealed on top with glass (keeps salt spray out of room and evaporation is just about non existent), so i wouldnt need the shield.

thanks

[moonpod]

I'm guessing, but in the ATI design, the ballasts are located right behind the bulbs, whereas in the Tek the ballasts are off to the side. Fluorescent bulbs function better when cooled, so the fans are probably necessary to avoid having the ballasts heat the bulbs up too much.

[nemo g]

thanks moodpod. btw, care to pm me where you got the unit? the only place i know that will be getting them still has an eta od about 2 months :(

have either of you been able to compare the ati 4 bulb unit to a 6 bulb tek or 5 bulb aquactinic?

last question, do you have a pic of their reflectors, or at least know the dimensions and shape?

thanks again

[The Grim Reefer]

Keep an eye on Reefgeeks website for the ATI fixtures. It will be a couple months before he has them for sale.

The sheild just slides out of the fixture. The reflectors are pretty small. the 4 lamp fixture is only like 9" wide.

The lamps getting hot is what is causing the output drop I found. I tested a 2 lamp setup sitting on a table and cooling the ballast did nothing. Cooling the lamp increased output BUT cooling the lamp too much drops it again too, 12" fan 8" from the lamps.

My setup is just the reflectors from an Aquactinic system. They are mounted pretty low in the canopy. The back is open to within 4" of each side and the opening goes up 6" above the top of the lamp setup. There are 3" vents in each end of the canopy too. This thing has some passive airflow but it isn't enough. It was actually closer to a 30% gain with a fan, 160 or so with, 129 without.

[sjm817]

What does ATI use for ballasts? Their own?

[The Grim Reefer]

Not sure of the brand. I guess it is a pain to get to the ballasts.

[hey fishy fishy]

hey guys, sorry to but in, but did you see the news? i guess the sls people are "modding" their own tek light, coming out with a "special fixture" painted blue that has their new reflector material (98% i think).

wish i was at macna, to look at that tek and the icecap fixture. one at $800 and the other at $350. should be interesting to hear what people there think.

oh, grim, did you take those reflectors out of a unit? im looking for a fixture and havent completely ruled them out yet since i wont have to make legs and or a canopy.

how are the reflectors compared to the sls? i know smaller.

if you did take them out of the unit, are you still using their ballasts to fire them?

lastly, tom says its not an issue, but i fear the small reflectors, and then placed in a curved way really narrows the light, especially when compared to a flat row. that may have been a good idea for a 12" tank, but hows it supposed to evenly light a tank twice as wide as the fiture, even if it wasnt curved, then the curve narrows it even more.

[The Grim Reefer]

I have heard about Teks new reflectors but that doesn't address the heat issues. Maybe they will add fans to their fixtures as well.

The reflectors I am using were sent to me to test against the Ice Caps, about equal with perhaps a very slight margin in favor of the Aquactinics.

The aquactinics reflectors are about 2 1/4 inches wide, IC are just under 2 1/2. The reflectors aren't really mounted in a curve. The top reflector points straight down. Then on each side of it the bracket is bent slightly so both of the reflectors at the front are pointed slightly towards the rear of the tank and the rears towards the front.

If you had a short wide tank having a narrow light field might be an issue but these seem to spread plenty on my 18" tall tank. I get a hell of a light of light spill over the front but my tank is only 10" deep front to back.

[nemo g]

grim, what is your methodology for testing reflectors (and other equipment)?

- what type of set-up?

- how many reflectors, or bulbs do you test at a time?

- where do you take your readings?

- do you have tests with readings in multiple places comparing 2/4/6 bulb set-ups?

do you have a test "rig" that you use (have a pic)?

over the next few months a plan on doing a slew of tests myself and want to remove or control every variable that i can, and i dont think ive ever seen you explain your testing methods in detail, which to me is just as important as the results.

links to any of the info would be great (those threads are so long that i havent been able to find the answers so far)

thanks

[The Grim Reefer]

I Have posted this a few times but my testing is by no means lab spec, this is a hobby for me, not a business.

I place the PAR meter in a functioning reef tank. Reflector tests have stated the particulars. "The great T5 Glarathon" was using a single lamp using 80 watt equipment to compare Ice Cap, Tek and Aqualux reflectors.

The Ice Cap vs. Aquactinics was using 2 reflectors on a normally driven setup over an 18" tall tank. Once I set up the 105 I will try it again to see if the taller tank shows any advantage for either reflector.

The individual lamp tests were performed on a table. I use a dark grey PVC collar to isolate the light sensor from any other light about 1 inch from the lamp.

The fan test was done both on the tank and on a system sitting on the table.

Like I said, these are nothing like what Sanjay does. I do go out of my way to make numerous readings to make sure I get it right. I specifically don't test at different depths in the tank because it would take a jig that would hold the sensor perfectly to get accurate readings.