New Light

[Reefland]

Well, as you know I have began collecting the equipment for my upcoming tank. I just received my light.

I got the new Blue Wave and Reef Optix 250w HQI system and it appears to be great! I plugged it all up to make sure it was operational and everything fired right up!

The ballast has some weight to it like the PFO ballasts but these have a little handle on the top to make them easy to handle. The pendent/reflector has a nice black semi-glossy finish so I am not going to have to worry about hiding it. I'm just going to suspend it right over the tank. It is fairly light weight so I was considering getting the heaviest pound test fishing line I could find. The question is can I trust it? Any fisherman out there with thoughts on that?

Scott Z.

[dattack]

Most of the fisherman line is made out of nylon and overtime it becomes brittle and can easily snap. I know because I did lose the "the big one that got away" because the line hadn't been changed over a year.

I thought it might be better if you use metal chainlink lines so you can adjust the height if you need to.

[Reefland]

Thanks dattack! The only problem with chain link is the way it looks. Is there another, more "neat" option? How does the PFO hanging system look? What do people use with their AquaSpacelight fixtures?

Scott Z.

[Ninong]

Originally posted by Reefland

What do people use with their AquaSpacelight fixture?

The fixtures come with steel cable and fittings for hanging.

[Reefland]

Do you know if just the "hanging" equipment is available?

Scott Z.

[dattack]

How about those braided stainless steel coated with plastic wiring used for picture frames. Probably get stainless steel cables for hanging but I am sure there are other materials you might want to check into.

Try an art supply where they hang paintings.




http://www.framingsupplies.com/HangingWire.htm

http://arts-supplies.net/pr_wire.html

There are some rated for around 100 lbs for each wire.

Or some kind of steel cable wiring.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...tem=1758926885

[Ninong]

Originally posted by Reefland
Do you know if just the "hanging" equipment is available?

Scott Z.

Yes. Available online for $29. But that seems like overkill for a fixture as light as yours. I would follow dattack's suggestion and check out picture hanging cables. Probably a lot cheaper and you don't need the heaviest size.

[dattack]

I saw some steel cables at HD for 16 cents/ feet. Looks pretty strong.

[naser]

i have used the same stuff from home depot. each line will say what it can hold. i think the stuff i had holds like up to 900 pounds and is really thin.

[Baxter]

Why not use some stainless steel leader wire. It's strong, light weight and would be almost invisible. It should be available at any sporting goods store or on line @ http://www.eangler.com/eangler/prosh...0167DFCA2772D&

[orion25]

Is there a wall behind the tank? If so just get some braided wire with insulation the same color as the wall. Should be almost invisible. Since the light is not too heavy any braided wire (like 12g speaker wire) should do the trick.

Ryan

[reddhaus]

I think Baxter has a good idea. I will be building my own hanging canopy and i have not been able to think of a method for hanging the canopy that made me happy yet. Seems to me that the cable from HD would be plenty strong enough but maybe alittle overkill and not as pleasing to the eye as it could be. Thanks!