Quanta Atlas and Helix

[minus9]

Awesome looking tank! What are the dimensions on it? Any PAR readings you can share?

Thanks! It’s 36x36x16 the par readings vary, but range from the low 200’s up to 500 micro moles in the upper areas. This is on the 200w setting running at 80%.

 

[lucysdad]

Thanks! It’s 36x36x16 the par readings vary, but range from the low 200’s up to 500 micro moles in the upper areas. This is on the 200w setting running at 80%.

Impressive. I’m thinking about using 1 Atlas over a 4’x2’x2’ tank that will eventually house softies and LPS. Am I better off getting 3 of his light bars for a similar investment? I just feel like the dimmable feature and adjustable wattage of the Atlas gives me more flexibility and will be easier to use on a different tank someday.

 

[minus9]

Impressive. I’m thinking about using 1 Atlas over a 4’x2’x2’ tank that will eventually house softies and LPS. Am I better off getting 3 of his light bars for a similar investment? I just feel like the dimmable feature and adjustable wattage of the Atlas gives me more flexibility and will be easier to use on a different tank someday.

I honestly would choose the Helix bars for your tank. They’re dimmable, so you have some control on intensity and depending which color mix you go with, color blending/spectrum as well. You would need two Atlas fixtures to cover your tank properly. Unless you know that you’re upgrading to a different tank soon, I would pick lights that work for your current tank now. You can always add more bars in the future if you decide to keep more light demanding animals, so there’s room to upscale if needed.
Email Luca about your tank and what you want to do and he’ll guide you. He has amazing customer service.

 

[Jeffbear]

Hey everybody! I received to Atlas this week and found time this morning to set it up.

First impression, this is a well built industrial light. Made of mostly aluminum. It wieght approximately 6 pounds and is 13.5 inches in diameter.
As discussed the light is dimmable using 0-10v and I have it connected to my Hydros controller (x4) using the 0-10v output. I have the max output set to 30% and the par numbers, where taken with a PARWise meter ( take that for what it's worth).
I currently have it hung on my Kessil mount. I'm looking into other mounting options for a future build.

 

[Skep18]

I see the spectrum plot on the sale page for the Helix units and I see the marketing below but is there a published list of LED chip wavelengths used? Looks like they use the "4 chips in 1" parts from the photos and the chip breakdown vs LED count (i.e. 6ft Meso has 240 LED's in 60 chips (30 Ch-A Violet, 30 Wide Band Blue)) but curious to see what wavelengths are put out. I want to replace my setup with bars for a more blue look but I'm not sure how they'd compare. I would hate to spend as much only to find its still more white than I was hoping for.

Helix advert:

"The Meso Blue and the Reef Crest Daylight spectrums were designed to be used together. Use a 1:1 ratio to achieve the coveted AB+ spectrum. Our bundle packs take the guess work out of the process and offer a Blue+ and a White+ option."

 

[minus9]

I see the spectrum plot on the sale page for the Helix units and I see the marketing below but is there a published list of LED chip wavelengths used? Looks like they use the "4 chips in 1" parts from the photos and the chip breakdown vs LED count (i.e. 6ft Meso has 240 LED's in 60 chips (30 Ch-A Violet, 30 Wide Band Blue)) but curious to see what wavelengths are put out. I want to replace my setup with bars for a more blue look but I'm not sure how they'd compare. I would hate to spend as much only to find its still more white than I was hoping for.

Helix advert:

"The Meso Blue and the Reef Crest Daylight spectrums were designed to be used together. Use a 1:1 ratio to achieve the coveted AB+ spectrum. Our bundle packs take the guess work out of the process and offer a Blue+ and a White+ option."

I don’t think Luca listed the actual nm of each diode, but I recall him stating that he uses 4 different nm diodes to achieve the perfect blend. This is me paraphrasing, so don’t take “perfect” literally. My quanta pro MB has four sequencing lenses, whereas the new helix only has two, which increases the output by 15% and the blending is even better, if that’s possible? The pro version of the MB is great and there’s absolutely no separation of colors. If you’re looking for a more blue look with a great spectrum, then I think the MB helix is the choice.
I would suggest emailing Luca and asking him, he’s great to talk to and has awesome customer support.

 

[Skep18]

Thanks for the detailed response. Truth told I've been wearing Luca out on email. Was trying to not bug him much more. lol

 

[minus9]

I think if you’re supplementing decent lights, then you can add some cheap “blue” bars with a certain spectrum and you would be okay, but if spectrum, spread, blending and overall quality is your goal, I wouldn’t buy any other bar, especially for the money. There’s simply no comparison in my opinion.

 

[Skep18]

I think if you’re supplementing decent lights, then you can add some cheap “blue” bars with a certain spectrum and you would be okay, but if spectrum, spread, blending and overall quality is your goal, I wouldn’t buy any other bar, especially for the money. There’s simply no comparison in my opinion.

i currently run Reef Breeders Photon V2 and 4x T5's. Planning on going to 5x Helix bars and 4x T5's.

 

[oreo54]

Thanks for the detailed response. Truth told I've been wearing Luca out on email. Was trying to not bug him much more. lol

This is what the new Reefcrest looks like The closest somewhat common light source that plots similar is a Geisseman lagoon blue or KZ Coral light.. .

 

[minus9]

i currently run Reef Breeders Photon V2 and 4x T5's. Planning on going to 5x Helix bars and 4x T5's.

Are you keeping the photon or replacing it? I’m not sure you’ll need the T5’s, the 5 bar combo will probably do the trick.

 

[spsick]

This is what the new Reefcrest looks like The closest somewhat common light source that plots similar is a Geisseman lagoon blue or KZ Coral light.. .

Is the little red mark where it lands in the spectrum? I’m not sure how to read this time of spectral plot.

 

[Skep18]

Are you keeping the photon or replacing it? I’m not sure you’ll need the T5’s, the 5 bar combo will probably do the trick.

I intend on replacing the photons. I'm sure I won't need the T5's but I'm too big of a fan to give them up. Want some "real" full spectrum light from a bulb. I'm just looking for more blanket coverage with the spread of the 5 bars. I'm sure they'll be turned down a decent bit. Though I'm curious how high I can take them. My current setup is turned to pretty high and my suspicion is if I can throw some more light down the coral, I hope, will pick up on growth some.

 

[oreo54]

Is the little red mark where it lands in the spectrum? I’m not sure how to read this time of spectral plot.

Yea that's it's spacial color coordinate

Is the little red mark where it lands in the spectrum? I’m not sure how to read this time of spectral plot.

Yea the red x is like the dominant color of the blended light.
Simplist use is that 2 lights with the x in the same place should look the same.
And the predominant tone is, in this case blue.
This gives a bit more depth :

Color basics – CIE 1931 chromaticity coordinates; Chroma Meter - LISUN

Coordinate system - x, y Cartesian coordinate system.x – represents the relative magnitude in relation to red; y – represents the relative magnitude associated with green; z – represents the relative magnitude associated with blue. and z=1-(x+y)

www.lisungroup.com

By itself it didn't really tell you how " white" it is.. My point was just to try to define it against other lights .

 

[spsick]

Yea that's it's spacial color coordinate

Yea the red x is like the dominant color of the blended light.
Simplist use is that 2 lights with the x in the same place should look the same.
And the predominant tone is, in this case blue.
This gives a bit more depth :

Color basics – CIE 1931 chromaticity coordinates; Chroma Meter - LISUN

Coordinate system - x, y Cartesian coordinate system.x – represents the relative magnitude in relation to red; y – represents the relative magnitude associated with green; z – represents the relative magnitude associated with blue. and z=1-(x+y)

www.lisungroup.com

By itself it didn't really tell you how " white" it is.. My point was just to try to define it against other lights .

Oh awesome, thank you for the explanation!