MH hood lights
- Thread starter Dace
- Start date
I've been looking into this alot lately...
Do you mean a custom hood you'll build or a full system that sits on the top of the tank?
I personally like the Outer Orbit system for a 150w MH & PC combo...
Depends on what you are looking to spend as well... more $$$ can get you some sick lighting systems.
Do you mean a custom hood you'll build or a full system that sits on the top of the tank?
I personally like the Outer Orbit system for a 150w MH & PC combo...
Depends on what you are looking to spend as well... more $$$ can get you some sick lighting systems.
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- Location
- Ossining, NY
Geissman
House
House
- Location
- Wallingford, CT
I don't really like hanging lights though a Geissman can set you back over $2k. I don't like hoods either (PFO comes to mind).
Can you consider having a nice wood canopy built by a local craftsman and then retro how ever many DE pendants that you need and supplement with either VHO actinics or T5 actinic+ bulbs.
If this is an inwall then forget my entire post
Can you consider having a nice wood canopy built by a local craftsman and then retro how ever many DE pendants that you need and supplement with either VHO actinics or T5 actinic+ bulbs.
If this is an inwall then forget my entire post
I can give you some links on custom hoods (or jsut look up my recent posts- I listed a couple of links a while back...)
Pecan- you know of any local people who can make a custom hood? I am talking a nice looking piece of furniture, not a simple canopy...
jhale???
Pecan- you know of any local people who can make a custom hood? I am talking a nice looking piece of furniture, not a simple canopy...
jhale???
Giesmann is not UL listed here. They are too expensive by far for what you can get cheaper and comparable value/product.
List of Top Lighting.
Complete Hood/Fixtures
Maristar complete HQI hood with T-5 supplemental lighting
Pros: Good quality and Great R&D with reflector and bulb/ballasts matchup. Icecap electronic ballasts inside SS enclosure. Plug and play. Great Customer Service and have a bulletin board for questions and answers and CS on RC. Hobbiest designed.
Cons: Price in the upper range, fixture not to sturdy when replacing bulbs or putting back together. (minor flaws)
Aquamedic Aquaspacelight HQI lighting with 150w 20k supplemental lighting
Pros: Affordable and space saving design. Comes in all length's and colors.
Cons: Wiring is too small for the application inside of the fixture. No cooling fans inside fixture Gets exceptionally hot (would not recommend using inside of enclosed hood for this reason. Customer service is poor to say the least. No real actinic supplementation. Even the ones with PC bulbs do not utilize the correct color frequency actinic bulbs. The AB 10k bulbs that are standard for the fixture are too yellow at times and shift to fast for my liking. Magnetic HQI ballasts.
Aquamedic Oceanlight Series HQI with T-5 supplemental lighting
Pros: A direct competitor to the Maristar fixture. Cheaper price and well made. Slim design and remote ballasts. Choice of bulbs upon purchase so you get what color scheme you want.Comes in different sizes including 150w and 250w HQI bulbs. Well made. Magnetic ballasts.
Cons: Bulb replacement requires removal of 6 screws and entire glass to be removed (not too much of a pain but I am picky) Fixture gets hot because once again there are no fans (I would not mount directly to any wood or flammable surface)
Hamilton Reefstar HQI fixtures
Pros: Reputable company. Comes in single and double fixtures. Good Customer Service.
Cons: External ballast. No real choice of bulbs. No supplemental actinic lighting available. Magnetic ballasts/new ones with electronic. Ugly as hell.
PFO Acrolight HQI with choice of PC/VHO supplemental lighting
Pros: Great company and well built. Reasonably priced. Choice of bulbs and wattages. Choice of type and color of suplemental lighting. External Icecap ballast available for the actinic lighting. Easy access to all bulbs. Excellent Customer Service.
Cons: Internal Magnetic HQI ballasts. Extrenal Icecap ballast additional charge. No option for external ballasts for halide bulbs. Bulky and heavy hood. could have been designed better for HQI lighting into a slimmer hood instead of using thier standard hood for all of their fixtures.
Giesmann 230, 260 and 400 (has PC bulbs) HQI hoods with T-5 or PC supplemental lighting
230 plus
260 moonlight
400
Pros: Excellent quality hoods and designs. Comes in custom colors (up to 8 standard and 137 custom colors) A few Bulb wattages between 150w and 400w and colors choices. Different sizes available and has Econo models and custom models. Each model has a choice between 2 x T-5 lighting (except the 400 model) and PC actinic lighting. The model 260 has 4 x T-5's and a moonlight and seasonal setting and microprocessor controls to simulate clouds,dimming, seasonal changes and night time effects and moon control. Beautiful design and cool fixtures that are mountable (but why would you??) Internal Electronic ballasts.One cord for everything. Neat.
Cons: Expensive. The HQI bulbs have not had the best reviews. Not UL listed (never had the chance to open up these to see what guage wiring it had on the inside) But the power cord was sufficient unlike some other products coming out of Europe.
These are just the HQI fixtures that I have had over the last 10 years alone not including the pendent and DIY units that I have gone through.
I will list those as well.
Kasei
List of Top Lighting.
Complete Hood/Fixtures
Maristar complete HQI hood with T-5 supplemental lighting
Pros: Good quality and Great R&D with reflector and bulb/ballasts matchup. Icecap electronic ballasts inside SS enclosure. Plug and play. Great Customer Service and have a bulletin board for questions and answers and CS on RC. Hobbiest designed.
Cons: Price in the upper range, fixture not to sturdy when replacing bulbs or putting back together. (minor flaws)
Aquamedic Aquaspacelight HQI lighting with 150w 20k supplemental lighting
Pros: Affordable and space saving design. Comes in all length's and colors.
Cons: Wiring is too small for the application inside of the fixture. No cooling fans inside fixture Gets exceptionally hot (would not recommend using inside of enclosed hood for this reason. Customer service is poor to say the least. No real actinic supplementation. Even the ones with PC bulbs do not utilize the correct color frequency actinic bulbs. The AB 10k bulbs that are standard for the fixture are too yellow at times and shift to fast for my liking. Magnetic HQI ballasts.
Aquamedic Oceanlight Series HQI with T-5 supplemental lighting
Pros: A direct competitor to the Maristar fixture. Cheaper price and well made. Slim design and remote ballasts. Choice of bulbs upon purchase so you get what color scheme you want.Comes in different sizes including 150w and 250w HQI bulbs. Well made. Magnetic ballasts.
Cons: Bulb replacement requires removal of 6 screws and entire glass to be removed (not too much of a pain but I am picky) Fixture gets hot because once again there are no fans (I would not mount directly to any wood or flammable surface)
Hamilton Reefstar HQI fixtures
Pros: Reputable company. Comes in single and double fixtures. Good Customer Service.
Cons: External ballast. No real choice of bulbs. No supplemental actinic lighting available. Magnetic ballasts/new ones with electronic. Ugly as hell.
PFO Acrolight HQI with choice of PC/VHO supplemental lighting
Pros: Great company and well built. Reasonably priced. Choice of bulbs and wattages. Choice of type and color of suplemental lighting. External Icecap ballast available for the actinic lighting. Easy access to all bulbs. Excellent Customer Service.
Cons: Internal Magnetic HQI ballasts. Extrenal Icecap ballast additional charge. No option for external ballasts for halide bulbs. Bulky and heavy hood. could have been designed better for HQI lighting into a slimmer hood instead of using thier standard hood for all of their fixtures.
Giesmann 230, 260 and 400 (has PC bulbs) HQI hoods with T-5 or PC supplemental lighting
230 plus
260 moonlight
400
Pros: Excellent quality hoods and designs. Comes in custom colors (up to 8 standard and 137 custom colors) A few Bulb wattages between 150w and 400w and colors choices. Different sizes available and has Econo models and custom models. Each model has a choice between 2 x T-5 lighting (except the 400 model) and PC actinic lighting. The model 260 has 4 x T-5's and a moonlight and seasonal setting and microprocessor controls to simulate clouds,dimming, seasonal changes and night time effects and moon control. Beautiful design and cool fixtures that are mountable (but why would you??) Internal Electronic ballasts.One cord for everything. Neat.
Cons: Expensive. The HQI bulbs have not had the best reviews. Not UL listed (never had the chance to open up these to see what guage wiring it had on the inside) But the power cord was sufficient unlike some other products coming out of Europe.
These are just the HQI fixtures that I have had over the last 10 years alone not including the pendent and DIY units that I have gone through.
I will list those as well.
Kasei
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Are you looking for SE or DE? I didn't list the SE hoods yet either... I have had alot of lighting systems over the years man.. The ones I liked best were the PFO single ended 400w with all Icecap ballasts and Dual Icecap fans with VHO's for supplementation. Those are the Pro Hoods they have. Nothing beats them.
They have the best of all worlds. They look good and give great coverage (one of the best parallel reflector on the market) unlimited choice of bulbs (you can buy the hood bare and buy the bulbs of your choice later) Best re-build ability and Customer service (they are partnered with Icecap and PFO also has great CS)
Kasei
They have the best of all worlds. They look good and give great coverage (one of the best parallel reflector on the market) unlimited choice of bulbs (you can buy the hood bare and buy the bulbs of your choice later) Best re-build ability and Customer service (they are partnered with Icecap and PFO also has great CS)
Kasei
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