250W HQI users. anyone unsatisfied?

[somethings fishy]

I am real close to buying the aqualine dual 250s for my reef. I just wanted to hear if anyone was unhappy with the HQI performance and for what reasons. It seems to be a somewhat debated subject wether HQIs are worth it. Most of what i heard about them was good but I would like to hear what people disliked about them if anything.
By the way I would be putting them on a 75G.

 

[Mouse]

Man i want to buy the same lights, are they the AB Aqualine ones. I was thinking about getting the Aquasunlight Future. I'd need two units, both with Twin double ended 240w bulbs, the NO Actinics and the moon light bulbs. I think this would be the best i can afford for my tank. Im going for a 7' x 25" x 25" aquarium. I have spoken to Paul from AB aqualine in the UK and he just so happens to be the lighting engineer also. He rates these lights very highly, apparently there the first true 13000K bulbs on the market. Most 10000 k bulbs actually run at 13000k, but because of colour shift they end up at about 10000k. Well thats what he told me anyways, but i have heard people mention 10000K bulbs colour shifting on the board. I was tempted by the unit with the PC "blue" bulbs in them but i think i would miss the "glow". What am i talking about, i dont think i could live without the glow.

What are the measurements of your tank like:

L x W x D

Have you heard weather the Moonlight bulbs are compatable with other computers, i think you may be able to turn them on and dimm them, but im not sure if they would "ripple" in the same way.

[ December 05, 2001: Message edited by: Mouse ]

[ December 05, 2001: Message edited by: Mouse ]</p>

 

[Carpentersreef]

I've got the Aqualine Spacelight, 3 x 250w HQI.
My only complaint is the price. $300/bulb.

Mitch

 

[Mouse]

Talking of price i just got a quote for the twin bulb unit with the 250 doubles and all the toys NO, moonlight, ciggarette lighter.

£1280 per unit

£2500 to sort my tank out. Looks like im either going to start renting my ass in the park, or go for the older unit. Which could save me £1000.

Hey, they could be Guissemann for that price.

 

[Carpentersreef]

Yep, that sounds about right. My whole unit was $3500.
i don't think that the Guissemann's are certified for use in Canada.
i had to wait 6 months for Aqualine to get a Spacelight certified for use here.

Mitch

BTW, when you're out in the park renting out YOUR butt, stay away from MY end of the park!

[ December 05, 2001: Message edited by: Carpentersreef ]</p>

 

[Mouse]

Erm.... it was more a figure of speech but ill keep that in mind. I dont think id get any buisness on your patch anyhow.

 

[nhkimmy]

Put the mouse back in the house.

We are talking about a public park where kids may see him renting out his butt.

 

[golfish]

I use 2x250 watt HQI's (10K Ushio) PFO mini pendants and a dual PFO ballast. IMO, their just OK, The light spread is not at all what I wanted. I also use a 400 watt Iwasaki on the same 48" 150 gal reef. The Iwasaki puts out more light then both the 250 watt HQI's......I think there ok for a smaller tank.

Mark

 

[Mouse]

How deeps your tank Golfish

 

[Gatortailale1]

Glad I read this post. I wasn't sure those little pendants would spread light sufficiently for a 6 foot tank - even at 3 pendants.

LFS guy was trying to talk me into getting the 250w PFO HQI mini's for my 125. I was almost going to do it until he told me his price for replacement bulbs ($160 what a markup) But even online prices vary from $99 to 130). In the end I bought 3 x 250 blueline ballasts and 10k bulbs. Waiting for new canopy so I can install them.

 

[SohalTang]

I have 4 of them over my 375 gallons tank. The tank's dimension is 8 feet by 30 inches by 30 inches. The light spread is fine and I like it much better than the German ones as its reflective material is dimple aluminum. DImple aluminum diffuse and give better light spread without hot spots.

 

[somethings fishy]

My tank dimensions are 4'x18"x24". I was looking at the fixtures from reef fanatic they have two different models I couldn't really tell what the big difference between them was, I think one is meant to be hung. Anyone know a cheaper place to get them I am pretty much set on a whole fixture and not pendants and what not. Sounds like people with big tamks are unhappy with the light spread wich was one of my concerns, but since I have a small tank they should do alright. anyone else have any complaints. Anyone using the two 250s on a 75G specifically.

 

[golfish]

Mouse,
My tank is 48" long x 24" tall x 30" wide,


Gatortailale,
I think that 3x250watt PFO mini pendants would be a good choice for your tank. There are a few + for HQI's...The bulbs are reported to last longer then mogul base bulbs (about 50% longer) The bulbs are cheaper then mogul base bulbs (85.00)

Mark

 

[TazzBear]

I switched to 3 x 250W HQI PFO Mini hoods with Ushio 10K bulbs. My SPS are growing like crazy and the light spread is great. I have them on my 125g tank. I tried the 400W, the 250W and 175w mogul with 6500K, 10K and 20K. The 400W 10K was great but it burned allot of my corals and I had some trouble with hair algea and barely any coraline algea growth. I put a 660IceCap with a 160W 50/50 and a 160W Actinic bulb to help simulate light intensity. The spread is great and they don't heat the tank like the mogul especially the 400K lights. They also put out 170-165Par for up to a 18 months where the mogul drop to 65 after 12 months. You do the math.

 

[BOLLOX]

Tazz, how tall is your tank I was thinking about getting 1 400W on each end and a 250W in the middle the tank which I don't have yet will be 30in tall with about a 4in deep sand bed.

 

[blownalcohol]

I have the aquaspacelight 3-250w HQI and 4-24w pc's over my 180g. Looks nice and bright.