fixture question

debbie

Active Member
I currently have the 9" coralife 18 watt pc fixutre on my 3 gal pico. i have had this light for 1 1/2 yrs now but its falling apart. Very common I found out of this fixture. The sides are just cracking and and falling apart.
I have 2 fixtures I can replace this one with one has more wattage though but its a coralife so if anyone can give me some opinions about these two fixtures and their sturdiness would be great.
1. Current USA Satellite 12" 18 watts power compact fixture single stip with lunar light.
2. Coralife Aqualight Double Linear Strip power compact 12" 2 18 watt 50/50 bulbs.
 

nissan577

Active Member
Coralife Aqualight Double Linear Strip power compact 12" 2 18 watt 50/50 bulbs.
i would do that one. 36w total will sure let you keep sps like the pico guy did. thats the light im getting
 

debbie

Active Member
Do you know if it has the same issues as the coralife i have right now on the ends with it cracking and falling apart??
It looks like it is metal housing on the top but those sides look as if they are the same plastic. Do you know of anyone on here that has this light??
Also it comes with 2 50/50 bulbs
When they need replacement you can get the 50/50 or the 10,000k and the actinic.
So what would the difference be if you bought one 10,000k and one actinic over the 50/50??
Hey how much is this light at your end?? Here in Canada it is 79.99 have to love Canada hey.
 

debbie

Active Member
See there is another thing I am deciding on and maybe you can help me here. I either get this light or go to a 8 gal BioCube but I have read so many people not happy with the cubes. If you have to make all those adjustments to them then its not a real deal. I was looking at one of these tanks as they look like a nice being an all in one plug and play system but if one has to modify everything then the tank is not worth it IMO.
Any suggestions??
 

nissan577

Active Member
the best tank right now if you want all in one and you dont mind the money is the Cadlight.
here some info: $175.00
*Tank dimensions: (L)15" x (W)15" x (H)13"
*Full sized 3-chambers refugium dimensions: (L)14.5" x (W)3" x (H)12.5"
*90 degree hinged light mount.
*(2) 8W 10,000K and (2) 8W Actinic blues.
* German polished Aluminum individual reflectors that double the light output
*2 independent manual switches.
*Glass canopy optional.
*Now with Loc-line bulk-head fitting set for wavemaker compatibility and directional flow.
Our new addition to the family of Nano reef aquariums is the 12G tank. The 12G Nano system is designed like our 22G and 39G models equipped with a 3-chamber system. At the heart is a full sized built-in refugium offering an effective approach to a natural reef. The "Open top" design is great for maintaining cool operating temperatures and prevents overheating. The system runs at 20X per hour with a 250 GPH pump and has a surface skimmer intake just like our larger 22G and the 39G models. It comes with our 4 bulb 32W T5 lighting strip with individual reflectors that double the light output for keeping a wide variety of Corals and marine fish. Our new 12G mini-reef boasts many of these well-balanced attributes for a truly simplistic yet high performance system without the need for modifying.
 

debbie

Active Member
Thanks for the info, we don't have that tank available to us here. Ordering it from the US is just to expensive. But many people complain about the salt creep, ballasts going, filter etc on the nano cubes. It has the same type of light wattage as that coralife one you want so the only thing different would be the tank itself. I have also heard its very very hard to clean as well. so maybe just keeping what i have is the best.
Say with this coralife light can you use mounting legs??
My tank is also a rimless tank so would these work or not??
 

debbie

Active Member
Sure, I can post one, this pic the little yellow clown goby is in it but I don't have it anymore. Also the new little sps is not in it but all else looks the same. That orange ric in the right hand corner, that baby is the size of my hand, its crazy.
 

debbie

Active Member
Thanks, yes there is alot of purple that is for sure, cannot see any ugly rock as i call it, its all purple. All this growing like weeds with a 18 watt light, tiny hob (tom) filter and heater, its insane but I quite like it. Not sure about the sps though, definatley the white is spreading over the old growth but i don't know if this is a good thing or bad thing.
I don't now if I mentioned this but the guy whom gave me this sps has quite the setup, holly smacks I have never seen so much pvc, electrical cords and light in my life. I would hate to pay his electric bill especially with all those halides running. But one thing i have noticed with the few people i know that have these over the top knock out systems is that they cannot keep a coral alive if they wanted to.
I guess the saying "Less is more" might mean something hey??
All I do is water changes and feed the critters, no additions of anything and my lord this stuff just grows and grows.
Must be my green thumb....
 

nissan577

Active Member
i know what you mean. many people told me to get vortech and or koralia 4 for my tank or sps and my tank is doing amazing!!!!
like you said the less the better. im running K1 2 of them and the sps love it except the birdsnest which we cannot keep.
as for your sps if the white is growing over everything it could be cause it is bleaching. meaning coral is dying
 

debbie

Active Member
oh well thats okay, i am pretty sure it was dead before it was given to me anyways, might try a birdsnest next as this other guy like i told you said i could have one for free.
he also has monti caps but i think that would be just a pain for me to try and keep undercontrol in such a small tank.
 
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