HQI Metal Halide lighting fixture?

[gypsie32]

I am looking at 2 types of HQI lighting fixtures for my 90gal reef tank. The 2 units I am looking at are the Aqualight Pro HQI fixture has 2x150w hqi bulbs and 2x96w actinic bulbs or the Outer Orbit HQI Fixture that has 2x150w hqi bulbs and 2x130w actinic bulbs...Does anyone have either one of the fixtures and do you like them...They are very pricey so I would like to get a few opinions before i buy....If anyone can help...Thanks

 

[fedukeford]

if you DIY youll save BIG $$$$

 

[murph145]

do some retros under a canopy and u save some money or do some pendants 2-250W HQI pfo mini pendants hung above the tank ull save some money too

 

[reeffer]

Originally Posted by gypsie32
I am looking at 2 types of HQI lighting fixtures for my 90gal reef tank. The 2 units I am looking at are the Aqualight Pro HQI fixture has 2x150w hqi bulbs and 2x96w actinic bulbs or the Outer Orbit HQI Fixture that has 2x150w hqi bulbs and 2x130w actinic bulbs...Does anyone have either one of the fixtures and do you like them...They are very pricey so I would like to get a few opinions before i buy....If anyone can help...Thanks

yeah i got the aqualight pro but its the 72" with 3-250w Mh and 4-96w actinic i love it, i have an opinion on the current lights to

 

[reeffer]

i originally ordered the Outer orbits because of the internal ballasts. That was two months ago, i had to wait a month before i got them, when the arrived they were packaged like crap and they were smashed on both ends. pastic was completely broke. i had it sent back and never was sent another one so i cancelled the order and went with a DEPENDABLE company...corallife

corallife had my lights there in 2 days!!

 

[gypsie32]

So how do you like your Coralife lights? also how big is your tank....I really like the fact that its one unit so I wouldnt have wires all over like I do now....I have a 90 gal tank with some soft corals now just wondering if I should get a unit with the 2x150 halides or 2x250..dont want over kill, plus there is a big price difference...Thanks

 

[jonnywater]

Some people like to save money, while other are willing to bother with the hassle of making one. I would go to each companies website and see what their warranties are and it should give bulb life behind it also. I cant really complain about either. .

 

[reeffer]

Originally Posted by gypsie32
So how do you like your Coralife lights? also how big is your tank....I really like the fact that its one unit so I wouldnt have wires all over like I do now....I have a 90 gal tank with some soft corals now just wondering if I should get a unit with the 2x150 halides or 2x250..dont want over kill, plus there is a big price difference...Thanks
i love the corallife fixture, its about 60lbs light than Currents(no internal ballasts) with a little creativity you can hide wires and make it look very clean (thats what im working on now) i have a 135G...im hoping i wont need a chiller... 150's are fine i just like as much light as possible, for my future clams and sps. Currents fixture is sweet but the service was awful and i dont condone buying from people who dont take care of the customer...and warranty info, they both have one year factory warranties which cover ballast and electrical probs...current also had a problem with ballast catching on fire about a year or two ago..i guess they said they fixed the problem :notsure:

 

[reeffer]

personally i like 10,000k lights w/ actinics--the look is more natural than 20000k which are more blue and dont have as broad of a color spectrum which is good for all
just my opinion though execpt for the color spectrum thing there are graphs you can look at to see that

 

[gypsie32]

Thanks for the info, money is really not an object just want a good product...right now I have 440w vho but I have wires all over and it looks like crap, also have external fans...really like the idea of having the cooling fans built in....thanks again

 

[funkyman]

I'm shopping for the same type of light. I thought I wanted a 2 x 150 watt fixture until I started to consider the depth of my tank which is 24" (120 gallon). It depends on what type of corals / anenomes / clams you want to keep, but I decided to hold out for a 2 x 250 watt light to gaurantee light penetration to the bottom.
Coralife has just come out with a 2 x 250 Aqualight Pro, but I believe the MH bulbs are single ended.

 

[gypsie32]

What is the difference in a single ended halide bulb and a hqi double ended bulb? Is one better then the other?

 

[funkyman]

HQI has a little bit better output and tend to last a little longer. You're also supposed to get more light with less wattage.

 

[xoxox]

The HQI in the pendants such as PFO

concentrate the light over a specific area. The angle of the reflectors in relation to the type of light released focuses the greatest amount of spectrum into a very defined area. I have two 250s on my 55 and I'm gonna have a total of three when I get my 150 up and running. Along with a DIY PC/VHO rack. I agree with whats said, you can save a TON when it comes to aquariums by doing DIY. I'm gonna be building my own stand for the 150 and save a fortune.