Hey hows it going everyone? Im just hoping to find someone that personally owns and is using either the vertex illumina sr260 or sr360. Im looking into the 3ft model for my 90gal and just want to hear about how well they really work. How long youve been using it, and how well it has worked for you. and if its really worth the pretty penny that it cost compared to other led lighting options. Ive been doing as much online research as i can on it, and just need some personal input on it. So far i feel its a great light compared to many others such as the ecotech and evo systems. I like that the evo's are cheaper, but from what ive seen, they dont have near the options that the vertex has. But then again you do get what you pay for. I just dont want to buy a light and not be happy with it. And with the vertex it seems like they found a perfected design that they will stick with so when new options come around you can just get upgrades rather than having to buy a whole new fixture. Everything ive read and found about the vertex illumina's just blow all the other fixtures out of the water if your willing to pay the price for it. But, if you have one, let me know, id love to hear some personal input about it.
Vertex Illumina sr260/sr360
- Thread starter B-Rizzle0279
- Start date
Following along as i have a 4' tank and had considered the Vertex sr260. I have some EVOs that I will be starting with, but I like the single bar approach and the overall controllablity. By the way. ReefKoi has some new EVOs with a digital controller that he just got in. You can find a video on his website.
Yea, I've looked into but there's still a few downfalls about it. Cause all the led's are on one circuit board. So if one led goes out and your within warranty, you have to send in the whole unit rather than just replacing the one circuit pad. And in the mean time you have to figure out another lighting source. And I haven't found any real info on what kind of warranty the offer. While the vertex is a full 2 year warranty. And from what I understand is they will send you what you need replaced so your not missing a circuit board while waiting for a new one. And I'm trying to stay away from hanging my lights so I can have a regular sized canopy to cover it rather than a canopy the size of the tank just to hang and allow breathing room for the lights. And so far vertex is the only led fixture with those capabilities outside of a model by Coralife and I really want to stay away from that brand. It's the same price as the vertex so you might as well go with the vertex cause most of these fixtures are being made in china. And so many products from there always have problems. And the vertex is made is Austria, rather than china
Good point although ReefKoi has a pretty good reputation for taking care of his EVO customers. I happen to be lucky enough to live here in Falcon and could walk to his place if I had to.
I do like the modularity of the Vertex and the ability to upgrade or add on boards of LEDs. The large heat sink to reduce the need of the fan for cooling is also pretty nice. If you have the coin, You can really create a full dawn to dusk effect with the sun rising on one side and then setting on the other. Have you watched the video from BRS on selecting led lighting? They show how you can set up a 12 hour light cycle based on the natural sun rise and sun set.
I do like the modularity of the Vertex and the ability to upgrade or add on boards of LEDs. The large heat sink to reduce the need of the fan for cooling is also pretty nice. If you have the coin, You can really create a full dawn to dusk effect with the sun rising on one side and then setting on the other. Have you watched the video from BRS on selecting led lighting? They show how you can set up a 12 hour light cycle based on the natural sun rise and sun set.
Yea, I watch all the BRS videos I can. They do such a good job with actual reviews of products and it becomes hard to settle for anything else after seeing em. And BRS is such a good distribution company to begin with that I'm having a hard time going to anyone else for stuff. They just really hit the head of nail when it comes to customer service and satisfaction. I mean it will still be a few months before I even have my 90 up and running. So I have plenty of time for more research and saving money to get what ever I go with. I just don't want to get something and not be happy with it and replace it in the end. Cause the other downfall I noticed with the evo's is when adjusting the intensity of the lighting it only allows certain percentages unlike the vertex you can adjust it by single digit percentages. I got to check out an evo at d and g pets in Fort Collins. And I noticed it adjusts the light intensity by 5-10% so you jump from 30% to 40-45%. There's no in betweens. And the way the dusk to dawn effect works different on the evo's. it only lights up certain led's at a time where the vertex lights up all the led's on each pad and just raises the intensity little by little. It's hard to compete with the vertex outside of its actual cost. But it can be worth the wait to go with it from the beginning then settling for one just to get the tank up and going. I've just lucked out with having the time to research rather than just go blowing money on things without knowing about the light or other products itself. And it allows me to have a set plan of what will be best to go with from the beginning rather than upgrading as time goes by and having used equipment I may not be able to resell right away. I'm just trying to be patient with it rather then getting something I may not be happy with in the end