PROBLEM: mounting a Coralife Aqualight on a 20 gallong long

[deviousrhesus]

I'm interested in getting the 30" 65x2 unit from http://www.marineandreef.com/shoppro/power..._aqualight.html <--- here, but its a couple of inches short. How do I mount it directly to the tank?

 

Also, does this come with a decent bulb setup?

[theclearblue]

one of the flaws in that unit IMO is that the two 65 watt bulbs are both 50/50, so for that price, you won't be able to do the dawn/dusk effect. Unfortunately, the 36" where you'd get 2 96w with 10k and acitinic is 40 bucks more.

 

My advice: send them an email and ask specifically if it will fit over a 30 inch tank, and what there return policy is.

 

Personally, if you decide to go with that fixture, I'd get hellolights to price match it - you get a free powerstrip, and if it doesn't fit I'm sure they'd take it back.

[deviousrhesus]

I'll e-mail hellolights and ask about the price matching. Also, is there anyone that sells a 30" fixture that has two seperate bulbs for the dawn/dusk effect (and is this effect really necessary for a healthy system, or is it just neat?)? The $40 isn't so much an issue as is the lights just being too long.

 

Thanks!

[sdbeazley]

I think the mounting legs you buy separately for it add the extra inches.

[jmt]

The mounting legs add an extra 2.5" to the fixture and it will mount on your 20L just fine. Oh yeah, dawn/desk effect is overrated IMO.

 

-Justin

[AnthonyNguyen]

hey i have 20 L and using 2x96 W from CoralLife. and i get my a lil longer 30" , and the Leg is come separete. and when i mouted on my 20 L its about 3 inches from each corner is hanging out, but i has the full light affect on my 20L its pretty.

[AReeferIsExpensive]

http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/showthread...&threadid=25258<~~~light legs??

[vetboy25]

this light tends to run hot and really doesn't have a venting option unless you hack into the metal top. my friend really gets nervous running hers... but the light output is pretty decent.

[DLeAnnM]

I have the 28" Coralife Aqualight 2x65. The Aqualight I have comes with 2 seperate powercords (one for each light) and also has two fans installed. Wouldnt these be considered a venting option?

[jmt]

It does have fans and they vent pretty good from what I've collected. And yes, those are the legs I was referring to.

 

-Justin

[Aiptasia]

I agree, I run the 2 x 65w. aqualights over my 20g. tall tanks and they are excellent lights. Mine came with one 10,000k and one 20,000k light in each strip, with separate on/off switches, so I could do the "dawn/dusk" thing. However, it's not absolutely necessary to do that. It can help stimulate corals to feed and creates a more natural light pattern, but my corals have been trained to feed in the morning and could care less about a dawn/dusk cycle. My corals like bluer light anyway, so I replaced my 10,000k bulb with a 50/50 bulb, so that there's 75% blue light and 25% daylight. I find this ratio works better with corals, especially corraline algaes.

 

Problematic algaes and macroalgaes prefer the daylight bulbs, and since I have some macroalgae in the tanks, I give them a little daylight. It's also just enough daylight to prevent the aquarium from looking like it's soaking in ty-d-bowl.

 

The mounting legs for the striplights are adjustable for height and width, as they fit into a groove built into the front and the back of the case on the light. I didn't even install my mounting kits as both tanks have glass canopies, they fit right on it with no trouble. I'd suggest the same thing if your tank has a sturdy glass canopy, don't bother with the mounting legs.

 

And yes, the coralife aqualights have small PC fans built right into the tops of the hoods, that kick on separately with the separate light switches. They're certainly cooler than my south bay aquatics hood at the same wattage, and the south bay hood has a 3x larger PC fan, but since it's side mounted on the case instead of top mounted like the aqualights, it runs a lot hotter.