Which MH fixture?

[MikeyZO]

Im going to be setting up a 75gallon soon. In the interim Ive been looking into purchasing a new 48" MH fixture with either supplimental T5s or CFs. Between Current USA (Outer Orbit CF or T5), Coralife(Aqualight Elite or Pro), Hamilton Technology(regular or Belize), Sunlight Supply and Marineland (Marine Series Pro), which are the better systems with better ballasts? Who has good customer service? Are there any other fixtures I should look at? I don't have the money to go crazy, but I'm not about to just chince out on this either.

Also, a friend of mine can get Ushio bulbs for me at like half the price. Has anyone used these bulbs at all? Anyone have any pros or cons about them? I know they retail for around $80-90 like a lot of other bulbs, so getting them at half price would be a huge bonus in the long run if these are good bulbs.

Thanks for the input everyone!

 

[Chiefmcfuz]

Mikey, You don't need a visit from FD because of your lighting, AT has a proven record of boosting FD's stats. I had the Coralife aqualight pro and I loved it. Slap some phoenix bulbs and no hassle of having to rewire a brand new fixture and it is well worth the $$ and your insurance company can rest easier at night

 

[D1J8Z]

I have a coralife pro and you saw my tank :tongue1:

But if I was to buy a 48'' light I would buy this

http://www.manhattanreefs.com/forum/wingo-led/65618-tek-light-used-8-bulb.html

 

[Wes]

You know if you actually read about those fixtures you would see that those incidents happen from the MH ballasts not from anything else. How can you compare quality of the metal used in a Coralife fixture and that of an AT fixture? It's definitely the same, the fixtures look identical minus the Coralife sticker. **** if you really think you have a great lighting system with a Coralife fixture just because it's Coralife then more power to you but usually I like to read on things before I make comments or decisions

The fires were from bad wiring. The ballasts just suck. I woulnt buy one unless you plan to rewire everything AND change out the ballasts.

I'd rather pay more for a quality fixture that requires no work and doesn't have a history of burning houses down. Time is money.

 

[MikeyZO]

Does having internal electronic ballasts as opposed to remote ballasts make the fixture that much hotter?

 

[Wes]

bad wiring starts fires all of the time. Thats why OSHA requires you to inspect your trade workers' power tools once a month.

a quick google search on aquatraders mh fixture brings up countles stories of these things catching fire. it is irresponsible to recommend this fixture with out that important footnote. You seem to be very defensive about it, you must be a little worried yourself

 

[Keith P]

I liked the Sunlight Supply Maristar. I would buy another if I didn't go ATI T5.

 

[juiceguy]

Maristar or Hamilton Belize fixture. if anything you learn from this hobby is buy the right equipment the first time around and that usually entails spending the extra $$ but do it right the first time to avoid bigger headaches down the line.

 

[Chiefmcfuz]

reefs4life, I think you need to read as well. I have read too many bad experiences with those fixtures from cheap wiring to bad ballasts to poor quality bulbs causing fires in peoples houses. And besides who really wants to buy a new light fixture and gut it and re-wire it? Certainly not me, and most others for that fact. If you have time on your hands to spend doing that then be my guest. People have different opinions than you, DEAL WITH IT!

 

[Keith P]

Not to throw fuel on the fire but...
My LFS told me Coralife is a fire hazard too. Possibly because they don't sell it.

 

[CHEMCHEF]

"Not to throw fuel on the fire but..." KeithP

Now That Funny

 

[Chiefmcfuz]

I have read and that's why I said you need to make some changes. Swapping out the ballasts is the first thing and there's no rewiring needed for that because you just disconnect the connector of the ballast from the one of the fixture and add the icecap ballast which has the SAME EXACT connector. And I'm pretty sure I said you need to change the bulbs at well. You people are acting like what I'm saying is rocket science and as if you need the whole fixture apart just to do a very simple swap of very important components on a MH fixture. Now look at this it's a Coralife http://www.buy.com/retail/product.asp?sku=211943405&listingid=49367238 now look at this http://shop.aquatraders.com/Odyssea-48in-Metal-Halide-with-Power-Compact-p/54205.htm you're telling me it's worth spending close to 4 times as much money on probably the same exact quality metal that's shaped exactly the same way? And the coralife ballast and bulbs aren't the best are they? The answer is no. You can make yourself a decent fixture with some of the best bulbs and ballasts for about 1/2 the price of a so so Coralife fixture WITHOUT REWIRING THE WHOLE FIXTURE

:wow:

 

[MikeyZO]

What about the option of having an 8 bulb T-5 fixture over a 75gallon (432w) as opposed to a MH T-5 combo (300w MH, 108w T-5)? Would this work well for an mixed SPS LPS reef? I know many have done it with success, Such as Dave pointed out to me. Any comments?

 

[juiceguy]

The T-5 fixture gets mounted closer to the water line which means you have to either be able to move the fixture or have it be able to move up and down as needed when doing chores on your tank. halides could be mounted higher so less of an obstacle when doing chores.

depending on your choice of bulbs, t-5 could cost more to swap out old and new bulbs and as far as electricity............i think that is a draw because halides use more electricity upfront but you are not running them as much as you would run the t-5 fixture on a daily schedule.

 

[masterswimmer]

What about the option of having an 8 bulb T-5 fixture over a 75gallon (432w) as opposed to a MH T-5 combo (300w MH, 108w T-5)? Would this work well for an mixed SPS LPS reef? I know many have done it with success, Such as Dave pointed out to me. Any comments?

A 75g tank is only 18" wide (front to back). An 8 bulb fixture is approx. 20" wide (depending upon which fixture).

If the fixture is centered above the tank, then you've got a total of one bulb hanging over the edge of the tank. This is obviously unused light (at least for purposes of your livestock ).

Take it another direction and consider the spread of the light from the bulb. Even a 7 bulb fixture (don't know of any) would be adequate (if not too much) light for a 75g tank.

IMO a 6 bulb fixture is all you'd need for any tank that is 18" wide.

swimmer

 

[BackwardsBill]

Im going to be setting up a 75gallon soon. In the interim Ive been looking into purchasing a new 48" MH fixture with either supplimental T5s or CFs. Between Current USA (Outer Orbit CF or T5), Coralife(Aqualight Elite or Pro), Hamilton Technology(regular or Belize), Sunlight Supply and Marineland (Marine Series Pro), which are the better systems with better ballasts? Who has good customer service? Are there any other fixtures I should look at? I don't have the money to go crazy, but I'm not about to just chince out on this either.

Also, a friend of mine can get Ushio bulbs for me at like half the price. Has anyone used these bulbs at all? Anyone have any pros or cons about them? I know they retail for around $80-90 like a lot of other bulbs, so getting them at half price would be a huge bonus in the long run if these are good bulbs.

Thanks for the input everyone!

Hi Mike,

Just an fyi that although there are some people who would caution you about the Aquatrader (Odyssea) fixture, there are also a huge number of people who run these fixtures and have been very happy with them. There was a problem, from what I have read(there is a huge thread on this over at RC), with the ballasts 3 or 4 years ago on Odyssea units. They have since corrected that problem. As someone else said here, the Odyssea fixture is identical to Coralife. You cannot tell the difference. I switched out the ballast to an Icecap and changed bulbs, but this was my choice. Many people run stock ballasts and bulbs and are happy with them.

Just thought I would provide another point of view on the Odyssea fixture.

I've been running mine for a year and couldn't be more happy with it.

 

[tonyyammine]

i had a coralife pro 150watt for 4 years it is doing its job but i would like to try a icecap

 

[dubs]

i like the current outer orbit mh/t5 lights i just got one and i have no complain at all