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Nanobox Duo w\CORALUX Storm controller (review)


Blindf8th

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Blindf8th

About me:
I am still relatively new to the hobby and this is only my second tank (Innovative Marine Nano 16). This is also my first aftermarket light fixture. That said, I have read everything on the market that I could find about all lighting options available to me. All purchases I make are based on in depth reviews and I never buy anything without heavy research first.

Requirements:
To purchase a quality LED light fixture capable of growing anything I would like while keeping a good clean design, great color spectrum for pop factor, small non-intrusive mounting option, and a few extra features like dusk\dawn automation. I was open to all fixtures and mounting types providing they met my 4 requirements.

Order of importance:
Good clean design
Spectrum (Colors that make my corals pop)
Nice mounting option
Dusk\Dawn capable

Initial thoughts (pre-purchase)
Based on my requirements I ended up giving Dave's Nanobox Duo with the CORALUX Storm controller a shot. I was nervous and definitely a little hesitant because of the following reasons to name a few.
• His products aren't readily available at the LFS
• He has no 800 number
• You are dealing with an individual (potential for accountability issues)
• Support
• Warranty
• Trust

I can't think of one time in my life when I spent $465 dollars on something that wasn't backed by a company in the more traditional sense (meaning well established with employees etc.). I chose to buy from a guy in North Carolina that from what I could verify online, had a pretty solid product that was handmade. It was definitely a risk for me and it was outside my comfort zone.

Conversations with Dave:
Dave, as many have already stated, is very helpful when it comes to trying to fulfill your needs and meet your goals. We had a few conversations about what he has to offer and what he believed would fit exactly what I was looking for. From a customer sales perspective he said and did all the right things. He answered my questions and addressed my concerns. He also followed up on those talks (verbal and text) which was a positive and in the end helped me finalize my decision. I felt comfortable enough pulling the trigger, but still held onto a little reservation because pre-sales is one thing... backing it up is something else.

Purchase:
The purchase was made on February 24th and the expectation of when it would arrive was the 3rd week in March. Based on other reviews, I did not expect a fast turnaround. Dave is apparently a very busy man and as of the date of my purchase he still had another full time job (to my knowledge), so I knew it would take a few weeks and I was OK with that.

By March 19th I still had not received it and I had not yet received any updates from Dave, so I emailed him. Two days passed and I emailed him again on the 21st. He provided an update on the 22nd (Saturday) and let me know the order would be done and out no later than 25th (Tuesday) or 26th (Wednesday). Apparently there was a part delay and after a few additional emails, I received word that it would ship on April 3rd. It was delivered to my hands on April 7th. I understand he is busy and to be fair, busy is probably not the best word as he seems to be completely slammed. If he still has his day job… trying to balance that, family, his new company (sales orders etc.), it’s got to be next to impossible to keep up. Given all of these things, I think he is doing an amazing job. From a customer's perspective though, 6 weeks is a very long time to wait for any product you spend $465 on, especially when you had to wait an additional 3 weeks.

Un-boxed and In-hand
---Positives---
The ND (Nanobox Duo) was packed good and I had zero complaints. Once I held the ND it was very clear why the reviews I read online had scattered words like industrial and heavy duty among them. The ND is as solid as a rock. It looks and feels like an expensive quality fixture. I was very surprised and impressed at just how heavy it was. So much so that I initially questioned if the bottom of the goose neck could even hold it in place. The design was great and was exactly what I was hoping to receive. You can tell that Dave does take a lot pride in his work. He is definitely on the right track and to have someone like me give his product a try over the AI's, EcoTech's, Maxspect’s, and the list goes on... he is doing something right.

---Negative---
As I began to place everything out on the table I was surprised that a screw came out and that another one was very loose. The bolt was rattling on the inside of what I believe is the fan motor component. I let Dave know and initially I was upset. Because of the design, I ended up having to take off both sides so I could re-attach the nuts on the inside along with the cushion\spacer that is used to mount the board. Once I tightened them enough I had to super glue both ends in order to keep the sides from coming out (I used a very small amount) Now, we are talking about 2 screws here... that said, spending $465 dollars for anything and then going through fixing it was pretty frustrating. Dave apologized and did a really great job of defusing the situation. He let me vent a few times and just stayed on point. Kudos to him on his approach and how he handled it. Shipping or not though, me spending the hour or so getting it open (without scratching it) and fixing something like a couple of screws\bolts should not happen.

Functionality:
The CORALUX Storm controller the unit comes with is not the most user friendly option on the market. I know he has something on the horizon (Bluefish) that is probably going to help bridge that gap, but the CS is a very capable unit and because it does have 6 channels (2 dedicated to the ND’s default configuration), 4 can be used for other devices which might be a positive for some. I have no idea how I would use them and probably never will, but it is a good thing to be aware of. It didn't take long for me to get the hang of it although I still need to keep fine tuning the 2 channel day\night intensity levels. To see a few demos you can YouTube it I'm sure, but I knew what I was getting and it has delivered the dusk\dawn effect, range in lighting intensity, and cloud\lightning effects I was looking for. The range in brightness is just crazy with 256 levels. In my testing, I don't think I hit a different brightness on every single tick of that 256 levels, but it did a very good job and I was more than satisfied with its ability. I can't imagine not having this with the ND unit.

Spectrum\Color
After taking the CORALUX Storm controller for a spin and tinkering with the white and blue intensity levels, I can make a few statements in confidence now that I have had the ND unit in place for a month now. Fact, the blue combinations of LEDs he uses and the pop of my Zoo's has definitely exceeded my expectations. Fact, I am now able to see colors on my corals that I have never seen before. The LFS lighting combinations are good, but for the first time I can view a colorful coral in the store and know it will look awesome under my ND. This was my #2 requirement and it has delivered. I could not be happier with the color the ND puts out. Initially I thought I might be disappointed with the two channels as opposed to the 6 possible, but Dave was spot on right and I'm glad I took his advice. The default configuration and the two channels the ND comes with by default will not disappoint.

Growth:
Now that I’m a month in, I can provide a little feedback as to what I have observed. One of my Zoo’s that was fully extended towards my stock lights has completely shrunk back down to normal and is looking better than ever. My single polyp Rasta (which I have had for 3 months now) has 2 more polyps which I’m very happy to see. Maybe the two Rasta polyps I’ve added might have grown with or without the ND, but I seriously doubt it. I'm definitely going to be in the tweak phase for quite some time to see where the sweet spot is for all my corals with the lighting options the CS provides, but so far everything is doing very well. At this time I do not have any SPS’s, but I am very confident in the ND’s ability in that arena as well.

Final Thoughts:
The above notes depict my personal experience and are most likely a one off from what most others have or will experience (regarding the negative portion). After talking with Dave, reading about Dave, and taking a step back to evaluate everything as a whole, I believe that he has the potential to take http://nanoboxreef.com/ as far as he wants it to go. His design is dead on, the materials he uses are top notch, and the mounting option cannot be beat by any of the big boys I mentioned above. He is in a specific demographic and capitalizing on it very well. I seriously considered spending $100-$200 dollars more for the Radion G2\G3, but the mounting options alone kept me from pulling the trigger. The Radion is a quality light for sure, but IMO the simplicity of the Nanobox Duo and elegant look surpasses it and the others hands down. Some people have designed a few mounts that make those other options look pretty good, but at the end of the day, those companies do not have any good solutions for the size of my Nano 16 (or any reef in my opinion) with the sleek and clean look that matches the profile I was looking for. To each his own.

It's important to note that if you do any research on the Nanobox Duo, you will be hard pressed to find any negative comments or reviews (I know because I have tried). After having my ND up now for a month I am completely satisfied with my purchase and would purchase again. I would also recommend this unit to anyone looking for a quality LED fixture providing your requirements are along the same as mine. I don't think the build quality can get any better. Great job Dave!

Pictures that I take never seem to do anything tank related justice, but here are some that I took of both the Nanobox Duo and tank (two different shades of blue). Enjoy smile.gif

Blind



Pics Continued...

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DaveFason

Thanks for taking the time to write this great review! Glad the unit is working out exactly how you wanted.

 

Looking forward to seeing it progress over the next few months.

 

-Dave

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That was an excellent review! As someone who is also looking into buying a light from Dave, I really appreciate even pointing out the negatives that probably rarely happen. Because as you said... it's hard to find anyone saying a single negative thing about these lights!

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