Aquaspacelight (AB Fixture)

[thinhvu]

Has anyone experienced and had picture of AB 2x250 (DE) with power compact? Please give me somefeedbacks.



Thanks in Advance.

 

[JT]

thinhvu: I use them on my personal tanks and absolutely love them. If you will be attending MACNA next month, stop by our booth and you will see them in action over our livestock tanks.

Unfortunately, I do not sell drygoods.. I will have to refer you to http://www.inverts.com (Coral Reef Aquarium) for the best selection of AB products.

 

[reefland]

I have the 3x250 HQI and 4x24w PC version.

Fantasic unit. I'm thrilled with the light color, light spread, coral color and growth. And the unit is slick looking and clutter free.

Here is an old picture from when I first hung the unit:

My only concern is that they ship poorly via UPS due to the size and weight. My box was pretty banged up and the unit itself has marks on it from shipping. Nothing bad enough to be worth shipping back but enough to get ya ticked off for the money you spend on them.

 

[IcantTHINKofONE]

Rich, are fans standard on it?

 

[thinhvu]

I am thinking of 2x250 with PC fixture for my 75 G ( 4 ft long). I hava not decided what size of the tank i will buy, probably the 75 g one.


How heave is the fixture? Do you need to find a stud in the sheetrock ceiling to hang it? OR just hang it at everywhere in the ceiling?



Thanks

 

[JT]

Rich, are fans standard on it?

Fans are not standard nor are they an option, they simply aren't needed. The hood is designed so that all the heat radiates off the top and not down into the tank. Directly cooling double ended bulbs is a big no no because they don't have an outer shield to protect them.

 

[IcantTHINKofONE]

JT, or anyone, do you have a link where I can learn the difference between SE and DE bulbs and their pros/cons? Thanx. I know nothing about lighting.

 

[JT]

How heavy is the fixture?

You are looking at 45 pounds because the ballasts are internal to the unit. Hanging from studs is ideal. If you can't do this, do what I am doing on my new tank. Lag bolt a 1x4 board to the studs in the ceiling and hang the unit from the 1x4. Doesn't look bad when you then paint the board to match the ceiling.

AquaMedic also makes "AquaWall" which is a hanger that mounts to the wall studs. Nice feature about this is it allows you to slide the unit all the way against the wall when you have to get in the tank.

 

[reefland]

Rich, are fans standard on it?

No they do not use fans. Not even an option.

 

[reefland]

The hood is designed so that all the heat radiates off the top and not down into the tank.

People will likely still need fans to cool the tank down however, the light puts out a lot of IR heat which heats my tank up.

 

[IcantTHINKofONE]

JT, or anyone, do you have a link where I can learn the difference between SE and DE bulbs and their pros/cons? Thanx. I know nothing about lighting.

Anyone?

 

[Marcosreef]

On the 48" 250w w/ 2 PC's, they put the PC's directly in the middle of the fixture. Will this cause a blue section in the center of the tank?

This makes me wonder if it's worth having the 2 PC's, esp. since I am deciding between the PC or Moonlight versions for a 75.

Marco

 

[JT]

JT, or anyone, do you have a link where I can learn the difference between SE and DE bulbs and their pros/cons?

I don't have any direct links off the top of my head. Try the search engine on reefs.org and reefcentral, I know there are alot of threads out there. The search engine is really easy to use.

 

[JT]

On the 48" 250w w/ 2 PC's, they put the PC's directly in the middle of the fixture. Will this cause a blue section in the center of the tank?

Marco, nope. The colors all blend together really well. I like to have the actinics on by themselves late at night, at the end of the photoperiod, as I unwind.. corals look really cool.

 

[Marcosreef]

Thanks JT!

I'll definetly consider that, esp. since the ballasts are not individually controlled!

Marco

 

[Rjung1]

JT, I take it then that their are two power cards coming out of the unit? One for the PC's and one for the MH's?

 

[Rjung1]

Sorry all: I meant "there" and "chords" (long day)

 

[JeremyR]

Yeah, there are 2 cords coming out, one for the halides, one for the actinics. The actinics do make a larger impact on the 6' units, but they are still nice on the 4', especially for dawn/dusk viewing as jt mentioned. I also like the DE lamps just fine with no actinic.. I use a few starlights myself and the color is fantastic. I would choose/not choose the actinics by whether you get into dawn dusk colors or not.

 

[thinhvu]

I just got a 100G tank (5feet long, 18 inch wide, and 23 inch height). I checked back online stores for a AB 5ft long, but they do not have it. I think they manufacture only 4ft and 6ft. I wonder that the 4ft ( 2x250-plus PC) will light up the lenght of the tank without shadows.

Please input your comments

Thanks

 

[reefland]

I would suggest the 6 foot unit. The 6 foot unit has 8 inches of a metal on each side where the ballasts are. That puts the lights on the inside edge of each side and one in the middle. It will be plenty of light.

But perhaps a 4 foot one will do. Not sure where the lights are placed in the 4 foot units.