DaveFason Posted April 12, 2009 Share Posted April 12, 2009 Well I figured I could write a small little review on the ATI Sunpower fixture that I have been using for a little over a month now. I'm no expert but have some experience in this little hobby and maybe this will help someone out! I have the 4x24w 24"... Build - The fixture is constructed in a aluminum housing that has a brushed look to it. It held together by 10-12 allen head screws but its built very well. I have seen the powermodule in person but I prefer the look of the SP. The fixture is much lighter than the PM too. Reflectors and Fan - This is one of the main differences with the SP and PM. The Sunpower has one fan for the 4 bulb fixture and two for the 6 bulb fixture. The PM has a fan for every two bulbs. I have my fan set at 6.5V and seems too keep them very cool. There are four 1/2" holes at the end on the bulbs. This is the "sweet spot" that they found to be the best place for cooling the bulbs. The reflectors themselves have a very nice polished look. There is a power cord for every two bulbs so you can configure your lights for the dust/down effect. The fixture comes with a acrylic splash shield that gets the job done. Small holes for cooling Lighting - I have no way to measure the PAR or anything like that but I do have a good feel for how intense these lights are. I am running one ATI Aquablues, two ATI Blue+ and one UVI 75/25. This gives me a nice crisp white/blue. Almost like a Phoenix 14k but a little more on the white side. Like I said I have only been using this unit for a little over a month but the colors I am getting out of my corals are amazing! My Red Planet has intense Pink with neon green base, the Setosa is glowing orange and any browned out coral I have put in there has taken on its true color. I dont feel limited to where I can put and of my corals too like I did with my old MHs. My tank is 30" long x 18" deep x 15" tall and this unit is only 23.5" x 9 x 2.5". I am able to put my birdnest in the far left corner out of direct light and it still has the purple polyps and greenish base. My unit is about 4-5" off the water surface and most of my corals are 8-10" down without ANY probelms. My little rig I have for now to hold the lights up... Overall I love this fixture! I bought mine for 409.95 with bulbs from reefgeek. Its around 100$ cheaper than the Powermodule and to me I dont see that big of a difference between the two. After using a 250 HQI Sunlight supply pendant for 2 years before taking a break from the hobby I thought I would always use MH's. My only problem with them was how much heat came off of them and how much more power I was using. I did achieve some great colors but nothing like I am getting from these new T5's. At first I thought I was jumping on the T5 fad but after using them I totally understand why SO many people are switching over. Sure they dont have the shimmer lines but being able to adjust what color you want, run cooler ( only because I am running 96w instead of the 250w ) and being able to place corals anywhere in my tank I will always use T5's. Like I said I'm no expert but with how everything looks I'm not complaining! Just a kinda cool shot of one side of my tank. Hope this helps some people. If you have any other questions just post it on here. Maybe I can help you out! -Dave Link to comment
TriggerHappyDude Posted April 12, 2009 Share Posted April 12, 2009 Would like to see more shots of how the lighting looks with the tank. FTS of the display as well as how you have the light mounted above the tank. Link to comment
DaveFason Posted April 12, 2009 Author Share Posted April 12, 2009 Like I said I am still working on a way to have the lights hanging from the back of my tank. I really want to weld together something but for the time being..... Its PVC kinda cool top down newest FTS Link to comment
Tanque Verde Posted April 12, 2009 Share Posted April 12, 2009 Like I said I am still working on a way to have the lights hanging from the back of my tank. I really want to weld together something but for the time being..... Its PVC Thanks for this review. Looks to be a fantastic fixture. Shame they didn't add some LEDs for moonlight/shimmer. As for hanging, I recently saw a pic in another thread where the owner had mounted a shelf above the tank and hanged the lamp off of it. Nicer than a ceiling hang on a low tank and it has the added benefit of the additional storage or decorative capacity of the shelf. Here's the link. I like this concept for a low tank. http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.php?...t&p=1983036 Link to comment
annamarie421 Posted April 12, 2009 Share Posted April 12, 2009 Looks great! Are these available for sale anywhere yet? I really wanted to get one for my 90 when I switched to T5 from halides. Link to comment
Weetabix7 Posted April 12, 2009 Share Posted April 12, 2009 While they don't have them listed on the site, they do have them for sale at ReefGeek.com. You just have to call them up to order. I have personally been very happy with the recent order I placed with ReefGeek. I have all of ReefGeek's prices on the Sunpower fixtures listed on either the last or second to last pg. of the "T5HO Information" thread that is stickied at the top of the Lighting Forum. Link to comment
annamarie421 Posted April 12, 2009 Share Posted April 12, 2009 Thanks for the info Weetie!!! Link to comment
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