*gulp* I finally did it

[patsfan1130]

Aquaspacelight 2 - 250 watt HQI Metal Halide with BLV 150w 20,000K HQI DE lamp in a powder coated silver extruded aluminum housing. Includes all bulbs and steel cable hanging hardware. The cable hanging system allows for easy one-person height adjustment of the entire light system (great for acclimating new corals). Made in Germany by Aqualine Buschke. Dimensions - 48' x 12' x 3.2' (LxWxH).
Weight: 45 Lbs

I hope I am happy with this


Mark

[Reefland]

Mark,

I am sure you will be very pleased with not only the light output, but the fixture itself.

In the description though you state 2 - 250w but it goes on to say with BLV 150w 20,000k HQI Lamp?

[patsfan1130]

Mark,

I am sure you will be very pleased with not only the light output, but the fixture itself.

In the description though you state 2 - 250w but it goes on to say with BLV 150w 20,000k HQI Lamp?

I took Ninong's advice from about a month ago and decided to ditch the 24w osram blue PC and go with the 150w 20k. Have you seen this unit in action Scott? I must admit..I havn't and basically went on what other well respected reefers suggested. I hope I don't regret it.

Mark

[Reefland]

I have seen other Aqua Medic fixtures and was impressed, but not specifically the 10k and 20k fixtures; I am 99.9% sure you'll be pleased; the 0.01% is just because sometimes, people have different taste.

[patsfan1130]

I have seen other Aqua Medic fixtures and was impressed, but not specifically the 10k and 20k fixtures; I am 99.9% sure you'll be pleased; the 0.01% is just because sometimes, people have different taste.

Nah..The appearance is probably what made me say sc*** it and buy the thing.

My biggest concern is the fact that it has no onboard fans and I really dont want a chiller sitting in my living room.

[Reefland]

If your going to hang it and not enclose it, you shouldn't have a problem if you keep the ambient room temperature fairly cool. I run the 2 - 250w DE fixtures about 5" from the surface of our 75 gallon for 11 hours with no heat problems.

[patsfan1130]

If your going to hang it and not enclose it, you shouldn't have a problem if you keep the ambient room temperature fairly cool. I run the 2 - 250w DE fixtures about 5" from the surface of our 75 gallon for 11 hours with no heat problems.

thats very encouraging Scott! thanks I am an open top guy too so hopefully..I have the same luck you do.


For the money it cost me...It should come with an inline chiller

[Reefland]

The good thing is you got a very nice fixture, one you won't have to worry about upgrading with, from a good company with good service.

[patsfan1130]

The good thing is you got a very nice fixture, one you won't have to worry about upgrading with, from a good company with good service.

Aye..I agree

I must admit..I was very close to going with one of those "cool touch" setups or the Won brothers fixture but with both I felt there was a risk with both customer service AND quality.

Honestly though..Thanks to your website AND your advice I feel I made a good sound decision.

Thanks for all the help Scott

[Ninong]

In the description though you state 2 - 250w but it goes on to say with BLV 150w 20,000k HQI Lamp?

Scott,

That version doesn't even show up on Aqua-Medic's website because I believe it is a retrofit done in Colorado by their U.S. representative. Either that or they are doing it in Germany for the U.S. market and not talking about it on their website. Only one or two online vendors even offers it.

I talked to their U.S. representative about this a few months ago and he explained that they were getting requests from U.S. reefkeepers to do this sort of an option. It just so happens that there is an electronic ballast for the BLV 150w 20,000K HQI DE lamp that doesn't take up much space and they were able to fit everything in the same space as the two 24w Osram blue PC fluorescents.

I know a couple of people who have that exact version and they really like the effect. You can bring on the BLV 150w 20,000K lamp independently of the two 250w AB-10000 lamps (which are actually 13,000K) for dawn/dusk effect and leave it on with the 250w lamps as blue supplementation. The BLV 150w 20,000K HQI DE lamp is very blue.

[Ninong]

Mark,

You will have to post pics after you get it set up.

[Reefland]

Scott,

That version doesn't even show up on Aqua-Medic's website because I believe it is a retrofit done in Colorado by their U.S. representative. Either that or they are doing it in Germany for the U.S. market and not talking about it on their website. Only one or two online vendors even offers it.

I talked to their U.S. representative about this a few months ago and he explained that they were getting requests from U.S. reefkeepers to do this sort of an option. It just so happens that there is an electronic ballast for the BLV 150w 20,000K HQI DE lamp that doesn't take up much space and they were able to fit everything in the same space as the two 24w Osram blue PC fluorescents.

I know a couple of people who have that exact version and they really like the effect. You can bring on the BLV 150w 20,000K lamp independently of the two 250w AB-10000 lamps (which are actually 13,000K) for dawn/dusk effect and leave it on with the 250w lamps as blue supplementation. The BLV 150w 20,000K HQI DE lamp is very blue.

If I had the disposable cash I would add 2 more 250w DE fixtures to our reef and run then just behind the 20k's were running now for some serious lighting on our tank.

You know, it seems the feedback on the boards is that the 20ks provide great coloration but not the same growth as the 10k's which would leave one to think logically that a 15k bulb would provide the best of both worlds but obviously that isn't the case. 10k's and 20k's running right on top of each other would be very nice though!

[patsfan1130]

Mark,

You will have to post pics after you get it set up.

I am sooooo jacked up!!!! I can hardly wait for it to arrive

[Reefland]

When is the expected delivery?

[patsfan1130]

When is the expected delivery?

I got an email about 3 hours ago that states "order shipped complete"

whatever that means...It is being shipped via UPS so it wont go out until Monday.

Ninong..maybe you can help me with my heat issue. I am planning on using a couple 7'' clip on fans on the back of the tank since the unit has no fans. do you think this will keep it cool? My tank has a completely open top and I am thinking the unit will be approx 8'' from the surface. I have an AC in the room as well and am not overly concerned but just trying to get all my ducks in a row


Mark

[Reefland]

Mark,

I think you might be better off adding one of the fans under your cabinet blowing across the sump if possible. I say better off meaning that it wouldn't look as bad being under the stand. If you have a heat problem after that, then you could add one blowing across the top.

That would be my approach.
Scott Z.

[patsfan1130]

Mark,

I think you might be better off adding one of the fans under your cabinet blowing across the sump if possible. I say better off meaning that it wouldn't look as bad being under the stand. If you have a heat problem after that, then you could add one blowing across the top.

That would be my approach.
Scott Z.

cool Scott

I already have one blowing over the sump. hopefully that will suffice

[Ninong]

I got an email about 3 hours ago that states "order shipped complete"

whatever that means...It is being shipped via UPS so it wont go out until Monday.

Ninong..maybe you can help me with my heat issue. I am planning on using a couple 7'' clip on fans on the back of the tank since the unit has no fans. do you think this will keep it cool? My tank has a completely open top and I am thinking the unit will be approx 8'' from the surface. I have an AC in the room as well and am not overly concerned but just trying to get all my ducks in a row


Mark

Mark,

I would start out with the bottom of the fixture 10" above the surface and see how that works out.

Right now I have a single 7" clip on fan at the top of my tank but my tank is partially enclosed, not completely open like yours. Our house has central A/C but my room doesn't get good circulation, so it heats up when the halides are on to the point where it is a good three degrees warmer than the rest of the house. The fixture gets hot because of the onboard magnetic ballasts. Of course if you had magnetic ballasts anywhere in the room, they would still be adding heat to the room.

It's hard for me to compare my situation with yours because we live in entirely different climates. I think you will be OK without a chiller provided you keep your fixture 10" above the surface and have a cool room to begin with.

[kenn157]

I gotta see this thing! Oh BTW Mark, Salisbury just opened an aquarium on Main st. http://www.salisburyaquarium.com/ NIce guy too. He'll have marine fish in soon, probably less then two weeks. He uses deionized water, the system cost him over $600. He almost done cycleing the tanks.