Giesemann Aurora vs ATI?

[BurgerFish]

Also what height are you mounting at? I do want to mitigate light spill as well if possible.

8 bulb for your tank. I also supplement mine with Reefbrite XHO for color pop.

7.5 inch. Four 60 fixture over 60-inch tank it will be lower.

 

[Zach W]

8 bulb for your tank. I also supplement mine with Reefbrite XHO for color pop.

7.5 inch. Four 60 fixture over 60-inch tank it will be lower.

What is heat output like with your fixture? Any struggles in keeping the tank cool? This is definitely a concern for me going from LED to a predominantly T5 fixture

 

[BurgerFish]

What is heat output like with your fixture? Any struggles in keeping the tank cool?

Zero problem with heat. ATI T5 blows hot air from the side.

 

[fishnugget1]

I have had an Aurora 60 " over a red sea reefer750. Running 2coral + 2 blue plus ATI bulbs. Running Aurora at 100 % for all channels except white at 20. Over 20 the tank is too white for me. Par is 250 8" from fixture. Sand barely 100 par. Getting good growth at top SPS dominant but colors fair. 150 par mid range. Fixture is gorgeous but leds do nothing as far as par except for white channel. I myself am considering a change. The Aurora uses neither the T5's or leds as the driving force.
I love t5 look. I am considering ATI Powermodule 58". 6 T5 pushed to their limits with ATI having better reflectors giving over 1.5 times more light. Ballasts are also better and drive bulbs better. Should give great par on own. Leds would just be secondary giving some color and ramp up & off capability. I don't want to add reefbrites to their sunpower. Too many wires. I had my Aurora made with 3 white wires so they are not noticed. Also bought a stellar to drop in LEDS. Decided too many wires seen. My wife & I dont like that Look. Leds are great for shimmer but not as an add on for me

 

[fishnugget1]

 

[fishnugget1]

They make the nicest looking stuff but behind in times on product.

 

[oldmonk]

I have the 8 bulb 60" Powermodule hybrid from ATI. It can pump out some serious PAR, I'm happy with the results. Bulb changes are fairly easy, the reflectors are top notch. The LEDs leave a little to be desired, but truthfully I'm only using them for shimmer and actinic pop after the T5s turn off.

A buddy purchased the aurora from giesmann and ended up selling it after a few months. From what I can tell, ATI focuses more on the T5 aspect of the fixture, where the Aurora was more focused on the LEDs. He decided that if he was getting something with an LED focus, he'd rather have fixture(s) dedicated to that purpose (XR30s), and supplemented with a few stand alone T5 bulbs.

The Giesmann is a sexy fixture, but the ATI isn't ugly either. Both look great. The ATI especially in white - if you decide you can wait for a month, BRS will custom order one from Germany for you. Another hobbyist in my area ordered a white 60" 8 bulb powermodule (I have black). The white one makes me jealous.

Hey...can you please elaborate on why your friend ended up selling the Aurora? I was thinking of Aurora V4 for my new 150 x 60x 60 mixed reef( more of lps /softies). Now this got me thinking once again

 

[fishnugget1]

LED's where sparse. Sold & purchase Stellar which allowed me to add 3 Radion Pro's XR30

 

[oldmonk]

LED's where sparse. Sold & purchase Stellar which allowed me to add 3 Radion Pro's XR30

thanks..

 

[Goubli]

I'll add in my 2 cents as I have an Aurora 60" fixture. This is my first attempt at an SPS setup and I set this up mainly as an experiment tank to see if I wanted to get back into the hobby. It has been wet since April 2017 and started with dry rock. First SPS went in around Sept of 2017.

I've heard about this low Par from these fixtures, and maybe higher Par would change the look of the tank. I run a KZ blue plus, true actinic, Fiji purple, and a new generation for t5s. My led channels run at 55% for blues and 30% for the white.

The first pic is from April this year before I reworked aquascape on the left and removed a lot of coral. I have never had problems growing coral all over the place. The second pic is what it looks like now.

The main issue I have with the aurora is that you have to do the programming and there is blue tooth required to control the light.

 

[oldmonk]

I'll add in my 2 cents as I have an Aurora 60" fixture. This is my first attempt at an SPS setup and I set this up mainly as an experiment tank to see if I wanted to get back into the hobby. It has been wet since April 2017 and started with dry rock. First SPS went in around Sept of 2017.

I've heard about this low Par from these fixtures, and maybe higher Par would change the look of the tank. I run a KZ blue plus, true actinic, Fiji purple, and a new generation for t5s. My led channels run at 55% for blues and 30% for the white.

The first pic is from April this year before I reworked aquascape on the left and removed a lot of coral. I have never had problems growing coral all over the place. The second pic is what it looks like now.

The main issue I have with the aurora is that you have to do the programming and there is blue tooth required to control the light.

Hey thanks for chiming in. Assuming that u had 60" fixture over a 60" tank, would like to know how high you had the lights mounted?. Did you have any significant light spill?
You mentioned the programming aspect with the bluetooth. do u mean that its a cummbersome thing or its needs to be done frequently.
Btw both the pics are nice.. crisp bluish look.. not tooooo blue neither tooo white..

 

[Goubli]

Hey thanks for chiming in. Assuming that u had 60" fixture over a 60" tank, would like to know how high you had the lights mounted?. Did you have any significant light spill?
You mentioned the programming aspect with the bluetooth. do u mean that its a cummbersome thing or its needs to be done frequently.
Btw both the pics are nice.. crisp bluish look.. not tooooo blue neither tooo white..

Thanks. Yeah I had to play with the t5 combos to get the look I wanted. I still wish I could get a bit more pop out of the corals with the blue, but I don't like overly blue dark tanks because I like to see the colors of my fish. Lights are mounted about 8-9" over tank. It is a 60" fixture.

The issue with the bluetooth is that it can be cumbersome doing the programming. I definitely agree with the once you get it set, leave it set. Whenever you play with new t5 combos you will have to then go back in and play with the led's to get the color to how you want it. I have the lights ceiling hung with the wire cables. I was going for a clean look and can't do MH due to heat in Arizona. I don't think other lights can match MH, but I was told this aurora would be able to grow sps everywhere so I tried it.

Overall I'm happy with it, but sometimes I wish I had better color on the coral. But I can't tell if that's a light issue or a nutrient issue, or just not having any truly show stopping corals. Also, since I have a large angel I don't get as much daytime polyp extension anymore and that affects looks too.

Anyway, here's what the light spillage looks like. This is later in evening with lights not on full blast.

 

[oldmonk]

Thanks. Yeah I had to play with the t5 combos to get the look I wanted. I still wish I could get a bit more pop out of the corals with the blue, but I don't like overly blue dark tanks because I like to see the colors of my fish. Lights are mounted about 8-9" over tank. It is a 60" fixture.

The issue with the bluetooth is that it can be cumbersome doing the programming. I definitely agree with the once you get it set, leave it set. Whenever you play with new t5 combos you will have to then go back in and play with the led's to get the color to how you want it. I have the lights ceiling hung with the wire cables. I was going for a clean look and can't do MH due to heat in Arizona. I don't think other lights can match MH, but I was told this aurora would be able to grow sps everywhere so I tried it.

Overall I'm happy with it, but sometimes I wish I had better color on the coral. But I can't tell if that's a light issue or a nutrient issue, or just not having any truly show stopping corals. Also, since I have a large angel I don't get as much daytime polyp extension anymore and that affects looks too.

Anyway, here's what the light spillage looks like. This is later in evening with lights not on full blast.

We are more or less on the same boat in quiet a few things , the look of the tank, reason for avoiding MH, thinking of fish colors, having a clean integrated hybrid set up

True that nothing can beat the performance of MH. Due to heat in my region even i cant think of going with MH.

Yes, setting the leds every time can be annoying. One thing i fail to understand why Giesemann have not included the UV leds in their lamps whereas all the major players in the market do have UVs. Surprisingly hardly any reviews on that aspect.

The coral colors can be attributed to many aspects, can't put a finger on any one thing. Sometimes i feel we as hobbyists over think this thing and actually forget to enjoy our tank .. Or we get carried away by the internet photos.

Here in india i don't think there is any one using the complete Giesemann fixture neither do we have any distributor, so i will have to do some more study if i am pulling the trigger on them. I am also waiting/looking for an in-depth review of their Aurora V8 fixture. My major concern is the width of V8 which is 58cm(23 inches) and my new set up is 60(24inches) cm front to back. So will there be a lot of light spill as i like to hang my lights arnd 12-13" above?. I wrote to Giesemann about this, they replied saying since the fixture is curved and also you can dim the t5s, the light spill will not significant. This is for the 48" model btw. What are your thoughts?

For 60" tank i was thinking of 48" Aurora V4 model, but now looking at your set up i don't think there is much of light spill even at 9" with a 60" fixture. Add on benefit of 60" fixture is you get 4 led boards as compared to 3 on 48". Do you find it difficult at that height to carry out any maintenance or you just raise the lights?

 

[Goubli]

I haven't really had much issue with the maintenance at that height. If you are going for LPS and softies I think it's less important to get the 60" fixture. But I do think you will need to plan your scape properly to place the sps vs the lps so take that into account.

Also, just because you can dim the lights doesn't mean they are always going to be dimmed. You need them running 100% for at least 3-6 hours. If I had to build another setup I would go back to having a canopy as it is the cleanest look and has the least amount of light spillage.

 

[oldmonk]

Yes, i really dont need a 60" fixture, since i am planning my scape only upto 48" in a 60" tank. I am also looking at other options as i still have time for my build,Just want to be sure with what i buy. These fixtures be it Giesemann , ATI, or any other premium ones are pretty expensive to afford a wrong decision..
Canopy by all means is the cleanest , but summers in india are very hot and humid, so open lights will be the best option for me..