lumenark minis

[neptune]

did i spell this correcly where can i get theses at the best deal?

 

[noodleman]

reefexotics.com or http://www.lumenarclighting.com/ if you want all those extra features

 

[nycmat]

reef exotics
tony is real good guy

 

[bad coffee]

got mine from tony as well.

They are indeed 250/400w switchable. NOT 150/250w. I had to retrofit sockets into mine to fit my 150's.

The cord is only about 5' long. Definatly not long enough if you're mounting the ballasts remotely.

B

 

[kimoyo]

From what I heard from the Lumenarc manufacture, Tony hasn't place an order with PGS for a long time now. So those have to be the knock-off lumenarcs from coralvue and not the same quality as the real lumenarcs.

I believe HOF or Aquarium Specialty can get you the real ones or you can go direct from PGS.

http://www.lumenarclighting.com/ if you want all those extra features

These guys are the manufactures.

BTW, I was surprised as everyone else when I was told Reef Exotics was selling the knock-offs since I met Tony and he and his wife seemed like very good people. But I happened to be looking into getting lumenarcs myself last month.

 

[chuck]

I got mine from tony also...:approve:

chuck

 

[Irisservice]

From what I heard from the Lumenarc manufacture, Tony hasn't place an order with PGS for a long time now. So those have to be the knock-off lumenarcs from coralvue and not the same quality as the real lumenarcs.

I believe HOF or Aquarium Specialty can get you the real ones or you can go direct from PGS.

These guys are the manufactures.

BTW, I was surprised as everyone else when I was told Reef Exotics was selling the knock-offs since I met Tony and he and his wife seemed like very good people. But I happened to be looking into getting lumenarcs myself last month.

I don't think tony sells knock off as i think PGS allows others to manufacturer them..thats what i heard a select few were awarded this...

 

[bad coffee]

i agree. mine look exactly like the ones in the pic, and mine said 'coralview' on the box.

B

 

[loismustdie]

How is it possibly acceptable for 2 vendors to gang up on one in the open discussion forum? Post it in the reefer ratings like the rest of us are expected to.

 

[Wes]

i agree. mine look exactly like the ones in the pic, and mine said 'coralview' on the box.

B

The coralvue reflectors ARE the knockoff lumenarcs.

AFAIK, lumenarc is the name of the company that makes the originals. Whether one is better than the other, that I do not know.

That being said i don't think Reef Exotics is trying to pull the wool over anyone's eyes or rip anyone off. They are obviously a Coralvue Rep and Coralvue happens to make lumenarc type reflectors.

 

[Irisservice]

The coralvue reflectors ARE the knockoff lumenarcs.

AFAIK, lumenarc is the name of the company that makes the originals. Whether one is better than the other, that I do not know.

just wondering how to confirm this, and what makes one better than another

 

[Wes]

just wondering how to confirm this, and what makes one better than another

found this thread on RC

OK, just got off the phone with Lumenarc Lighting and this is the scoop. They contracted CoralVue to make the reflectors for them, well in short Coral Vue basically took the design and started selling them behind Lumenar's back. Legal action has been taken. Now he did ask me what film cover I have on my reflectors and I said yellow. He told me what I have is a "good" knock off, but he said if I had a pink film it was junk. He said he'd like to say they are worth nothing and to send them back, but he said there is one company already being a @#^*! and he wasn't going to play the game. He asked me what price I paid and after I told him said I didn't get ripped off, I would be ok with what I have and suffer no ill effects. He's fine if Coral Vue wants to sell there own reflectors he's just a little upset they are using the Lumenarc name. Lumenarc Lighting of course has more options when buying the reflectors directly from them like the A/C kit.

Now I have to decide if I'm going to keep what I have or not. I bought them from Aquacave and the person at Lumenarc said it's really to bad for the retailers because they are caught in the middle of this whole thing. Again, I explained to him exactly what I had and he said I would be happy with the results.

(I am just sharing what I was told on the phone by Lumenarc Lighting. Take this info and use it as you see fit.)

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/s...ight=coralvue+knock+off+lumenarc#post10120830

 

[meschaefer]

I looked into this a while ago. There is pending ligitation regarding this issue, but the facts as I understand them areas follows. Pacific Garden Supply (PGS) is the original manufacturer of the reflector. They did not have the capacity to build them in volume, so they contracted with Coralvue to make reflectors. (as far as I can tell this is undisputed). After this point the story gets a little confusing, and investigated this some time ago and my memory is a little foggy. The two sides are; Either lumenarc rejected the reflectors made by Coralvue, and Coralvue sold them under a slightly different spelling or Coralvue decided that they could just sell them themselves and cut out PGS. The reflectors made by Coralvue have a yellow protective film overthem. Eitherway, there is a thread on RC where a guy got one of the coralview reflectors and ended up calling PGS about them. He was told that it wasn't worth the trouble of returning the reflector as they where basicly the same thing.

I honestly don't know if there is a sigificant difference between them.

 

[meschaefer]

found this thread on RC



http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/s...ight=coralvue+knock+off+lumenarc#post10120830

beat me to it.

 

[masterswimmer]

just wondering how to confirm this, and what makes one better than another

From the Lumenarc website. Just call them and ask:

We are open from 9:00am - 6:00pm Monday - Saturday PST. ​

We are located at 128 Carlos Drive Suite H, San Rafael, CA 94903​

We can be reached during business hours at (415)492-3355 ​

FYI - David is very knowledgeable and helpful.

swimmer

 

[reefman]

i got them from tony but dont remember what color the film was. i just remember it was apita taking on off.

either way, if PGS patented their Lumenarc. then they should have a solid case.

 

[Acropora]

I would like to take this time to address the Lumenarc /PGS/ Coralvue issue which is in litagation at this time. Coralvue has been making the Lumenarcs for PGS for some time. The original Lumenarcs (3+ years ago)were bent into shape using a bending tool. PGS contracted Coralvue to make all of their Lumenarcs using a stamped mold process which prevented the light escaping through the seems , while also providing a sturdier unit. We had purchased our Lumenarcs from PGS directly; who in turn got them from Coralvue, the same units.
The short of the lawsuit is a dispute in which Coralvue wants compensation for the molds which were quoted at 10,000 each mold; while PGS has accused Coralvue of selling some units without PGS's Knowledge. The law suit is aimed at PGS recovering some profits from Coralvue sales of the same unit and counter suit by Coralvue to get paid for the molds. I am not prevy to their actual contract conversations and will not takes sides.
I will say that the lumenarcs we have were purchased from PGS and they are the same exact units that Coralvue has sold. We had purchased a handful of Stealth version Lumenarcs and some black housing models from Coralvue which clearly have the Coralvue name on the box. This was reported to PGS.
Additionally PGS does not have a patent on the Lumenarcs. Taam a major corporation is also producing these units which are on the market as well. PGS does have a Trademark on the name.

 

[lfsmarineguy]

I actually spoke to Dan, a few weeks agowhen I was ordering the lights for our tanks. The story is that he used to work with Coralvue until they split and Coralvue kept making the fixtures and selling them. Coralvue also sold the design to a few other companies and told them they could make them (even though the design is owned by Dan). Dan is taking legal action against Coralvue. That's it in a nutshell. We didn't get into specifics.

 

[ireefny]

...but dont you take the film off once you hook it up & before you fire up the lamps?

if thats the case, why would film color have to do anything with perfromance?
I also dont believe that ReefExotics had bad intents towards selling MR members the reflectors. its polished Aluminum not Gucci

 

[lfsmarineguy]

the film is used to protect the sheet metal. It's like a wrapper from the company that made it. Different companies make different grades of metal. To the naked eye they may look alike but in reality have different reflective qualities.