New Coralife 150 watt MH clamp on light.

[Naperville Reef]

very interesting tmerrick because when i spoke to them they gave me a very different answer.

 

i spoke with a guy by the name of David Troop. he told me that the primary funtion of the lens is that of a splash gaurd and that the UV protection comes from the glass they use to make the actual bulb.

 

he also wasn't sure of the reflective properties of UV light. if UV light does reflect then the lens is not going to be that effective.

[tmerrick]

has anyone bought a replacement bulb that wasnt from coralife? if so what do you think of its color and did you mod the housing at all to be safe?

 

I dont think the light is nearly blue enough to be a 20K, I would really like extra options when it is time to replace this bulb.

[Naperville Reef]

i agree regarding the color of the 20k bulb. most 14k bulbs i have seen are bluer.

 

i was told by coarlife that when they tested glass shields in lieu of the silver grate that temps reached too high. i think they said temps reached 160 and they thought the hood would eventually fail and was not safe.

[DerKomet]

Definitely different responses from Coralife from different people. :

 

I was told by Roland at ESU back in April (page 7 of this thread) that the bulb itself is treated to be UV resistant and the glass shield was only a "splash guard".

 

I have had my piece of custom tempered glass installed since May without a hitch. Given that I've had the tempered glass and a Phoenix 14K bulb installed since May, I might assume it would have failed by now if it were going to.

 

Given the heat factor, maybe, maybe not. Pic below, still cranking away.

 

Anyway, I really like the light and wouldn't hesitate to buy one again given the fact that I known I'll have to mod it to feel safe with it up front:

 

 

FWIW,

[Frankb1]

In a 20 long would I be able to keep a clam and some SPS with this light?

[DerKomet]

Frankb1,

 

My tank is a 20 long and I have 6 different acro colonies/frags and a birds nest that you can see in the pic. I also have a nice little Deresa clam that I'll have to move to a bigger tank soon.

 

HTH,

[brassmonkey]

Originally posted by cokevanilla

for all the ppl with aqualight mount fixture:

 

b4 buying Coralife MH i had had a pc fixture (1 white and 1 actinic); the colors of my zoas were magnificent under actinic only...very blue tint and the zoas were putting out a nice collor

 

 

the question is what r u doing? do u have an extra light (especially actinic) ... all the corals are viewd best under actinics.. what do we do?

 

thought about rippen into a 18w cl light for two 9w actinics to be placed in the mh yet don't need too, just a thought

[DerKomet]

To be honest brassmonkey,

 

all my zoos are incidental. I like LPS and SPS corals. My few zoos that I have look really good and under a 14K Phoenix bulb look fine! I haven't changed my lighting requirements and don't plan to. Actinics aren't necessary except for us and the way we like to view our corals.

 

 

Regards,

[Frankb1]

How is the distribution of light? The ends of the 20long look dark. Would a 4 bulb T5 Tek-Light be better? I want to keep some SPS and maybe a clam.

[siren's eye]

Would I beable to clamp this light onto the short side of my 10 gallon? I want the tank veiwable from 3 sides.

[SunsetApisto]

is the overall vote on this light yes or no?

[msn711]

Sunset, I think the answer's yes.

[snostorm]

Hey guys how about some more pics of this light in action and your experience so far with this light. I am just about to pull the trigger but I just cant bring my self to do it. Coralife scares me.

[brassmonkey]

still think the aqua medic lights are beter yet best light bought so far, many different uses and makes a great diy kit, now running my clamp on, a 12g petco glass as a prop tank, n one word, growth! never been on my nano yet, nanos stock and stays stock with pretty nice corals($wise) seven months and no need to go extreme. the clamp on good yet could use a new and improved model, some height up and down adjuster. still no problems, weakened reversed clamp, floating bulb sheild and open to water expo,,,,,gee thats alot of issues to stress about, cmon coralife

[Puffer1]

i just ordered this fixture from http://www.coralreefecosystems.com/ltg_sys...-coralife-6.asp

 

There price was $220.00 plus 22.00 for shipping. It comes with the 20K bulb and no upgrades availalbe. Does anyone have a pic using this color? I'm hoping it won't be too blue.......I plan on using it on a 29 gallon tank and may need help modifying it to not hang over the front. I saw a post earlier of someone turning the base around. I'm a granny and not up on doing any modification but have a son-in-law that could do it for me. What tool is used to cut through the slider? and where is the cut made? Thanks for the help.....

 

Janey in Iowa

(Pufferl)

[tmerrick]

For some pictures of this light on my tank (10g) check out my site: http://www.tylermerrick.com/index.php?page=10gallon

 

Here is the latest picture:

 

I just got a 4-3/8" x 9-3/4" x 1/8" piece of glass cut ($1.50) to replace the grille so that I can use a phoenix 14K bulb which gets here tomorrow. I will post before and after picutres later this week. I upgraded bulbs because I find the stock bulb not nearly blue enough for me, it is very white especially when compared to my girlfriends evc 250w 14k bulb which is across the room.

[tmerrick]

Update the glass is too long and also I am going to change it to a piece that is a 1/4" and also try to get sodalime glass (float glass) to block out more UV just to be safe.

[arguss66]

i just bought one and putting it on 24gal nano. has anyone else put one on this size tank i think it will work out well.

[masterswimmer]

Any more updates? I'm planning to put one on my 16 bow. An online vendor said they are all on backorder because Coralife is having problems with them and they are trying to do some design changes. Anybody else hear this? They aren't even sure if they are back on the R & D table yet.

 

Keep the info flowing, this thread has been invaluable.

Thanks,

Russ

[Mummer]

Anyone got a pic of this light on a 12 g Nano Cube DX? Do you just remove the stock hood and run the tank topless?

[Puffer1]

Mine light arrived yesterday and the fan doesn't work:( I've got a tank mount dual mini-fan that I can mount under the fixture to keep the MH cool. Do you think it would be enough circulation? I hate to send the unit back as others have mentioned receivng broken bulbs or noisy fans:(

 

Thanks,

Puffer1

[arguss66]

mine should be here this week im putting it on a 24gal jbj nano cube. ill let you know how it works out i ordered mine from big als they are on sale till sept 30th. seemed to be cheper than anyone else 229. $12 shipping.

[tmerrick]

This is what I did to keep my light / tank extra cool,

[Brian da lion]

I'm selling my aqualight, used less than 3 months, for 200 shipped, if anyone's intersted.

[arguss66]

where were you 3 days ago? temmerrick i may do same thing with mine. looks good....