JBJ;s NEW K-2 Viper Deluxe Thread (Integrated Fan & LED)

[aparnold]

Hey All,

 

Well I bit the bullet and have decided to buy one of these new units:

 

http://www.jbjlighting.com/prod_k2_viper_deluxe.html

 

I should have it either Thursday or Friday this week. I will post my results here. I'm pretty excited, it looks like JBJ has addressed a lot of peoples concerns with these new units. Separate power lines for the HQI, LED, and and integrated fan. If anybody has any questions, feel free to post and I'll address them as I can. I will be mounting the unit on a JBJ 24g tank.

 

Pics, & review to follow soon. I will be getting the 150w unit.

 

Al.

[aparnold]

Light will arrive Friday, review to come soon!

[aparnold]

OK, I got it all set up today,

 

Not enough time for a full review right now, but some initial impressions are:

 

THIS THING IS FREAKIN' HUGE! It's way bigger in person than in the photos, and dwarfs the regular K2 fixture. (I also own a K2)

 

The fan and HQI share the the same power, so the fan can not be timed with a timer separate from the light, although they are on separate switches so one can be on while the other is off. Good for emergencies when air conditioners fail! (I live in SoCal, and it was 100+ today!)

 

The Blue LEDs have a nice look, not too bright, and a little more purplish than the integrated hood LEDs.

 

Speaking of the moon light LEDs they are on a separate power cord, so they can be run on a timer for lunar light cycles.

 

The fan cools very well! At low, it droped my tank 2 degrees in about 10 minutes, at which point the heater kicked in, keeping my tank a PERFECT 78 degrees! Awesome.

 

THE FAN ON HIGH IS A FREAKIN' JET ENGINE! Really loud, and blowing a TON of air. I bet you it would cool a tank down very quickly, and very low. At low, the noise is not what I'd describe as low. Not loud enough to be annoying, but you can it hear it's hum. When I first powered it up, it emitted a high pitched whine, but it subsided. I guess it was the bearings loosening up or something.

 

The build quality seems pretty comparable to the original K2. Not great but not horrible. There is more plastic now, which houses the fan assembly.

 

CONCERNS:

 

If installed at a perfect 90 degree angle the light is about a foot off the water, so you're not going to get all the light out of the unit you might like. I found it a little too dim for my tastes. I think a 250w would be more appropriate for a 24 gallon if installed that high off of the water. I adjusted the lamp so it was closer to the water but then the LEDs are angled to the fan, not the water. Kinda sucks. There will probably be some bounce in to the tank, so better than nothing, but far from ideal.

 

With there being so much length on the fixture, and weight on the end (the lamp) you have to have faith in the build and mount, because that thing dropping in the tank would be a serious disaster. I have faith, but the thing is really big, heavy, full of electricity, and hanging over water filled with expensive fish and corals! Being an early adopter can be a scary thing sometimes!

 

 

CONCLUSION:

 

All in All, I'm pretty happy with the new lamp right now. I really like the look of the 14K bulb, and the fan works great. I like the style of the new unit over the original K2 as well. It looks a little more "hard-core" I guess. I can get over the moonlight angle issue, and I may spend some more time playing with the angle in the near future as well.

 

I'll post some more notes in the future as they become apparent.

[The Propagator]

Looks good.

Thanks for the in depth play by play man !