reefsandrotts
NJRC Member
Looking into changing my lighting back to MH and was wondering if anyone has any feedback on the Aquamedic light systems.
Thanks
Jim
Thanks
Jim
-
Folks, if you've recently upgraded or renewed your annual club membership but it's still not active, please reach out to the BOD or a moderator. The PayPal system has a slight bug which it doesn't allow it to activate the account on it's own.
Looking for feedback
- Thread starter reefsandrotts
- Start date
If you can afford it get the solaris. Yes its more money. But look at this way.
1.) no replacing bulbs - bulbs are $200 a year for two metal halide and two compact flor.
2.) no heat pushed into the tank especially during the summer time.
3.) energy costs - their not getting cheaper.
4.) it pays itself in 3-4 years in energy costs.
5.) moon lights are included in the solaris.
6.) timers included in the solaris.
7.) there is no light lose since the LEDs shine directly down, where bulbs lose alot of light sideways.
8.) Strange thing is that I have alot less algea than I had with metal halide bulbs.
1.) no replacing bulbs - bulbs are $200 a year for two metal halide and two compact flor.
2.) no heat pushed into the tank especially during the summer time.
3.) energy costs - their not getting cheaper.
4.) it pays itself in 3-4 years in energy costs.
5.) moon lights are included in the solaris.
6.) timers included in the solaris.
7.) there is no light lose since the LEDs shine directly down, where bulbs lose alot of light sideways.
8.) Strange thing is that I have alot less algea than I had with metal halide bulbs.
I've had nothing but disappointment from Aqua Medic, I had to replace both ballast on my spacelight this year, which was 3-4 years old, just this year my new bio therm heater and controller died under warranty, they blamed me for it's untimely death and would not replace it, their customer service is the worst. I personally will never buy one of their products again...
I've got an Aqua Medic AquaSpace light and an AquaStar light.
I have to admit that the fixtures look great, very sleek, modern, and so on. The extruded aluminum housing is just about indestructible. That's the good part.
The down side was that both of these fixtures were designed for the European market, where 220 volts is standard. To make them work on our 110 volt systems, they front ended the ballasts with an additional transformer. This was a disaster.
In addition to the additional heat produced, the double transformers are very inefficient from a power consumption point a view. A single transformer is only about 60% to 65% efficient. With two of them it's 65% times 65% or only about 36% to 42% efficient. On top of all that, this makes the fixtures extremely heavy. (As a note, and electronic ballast is about 90% to 95% efficient)
My solution was to remove all the ballasts and replace them with electronic ballasts. In the process the fixtures lost a lot of weight, and now consume about half the power, and put out a lot less heat.
I would say that if you can get an extremely good price, and you can make the switch to electronic ballasts, and redo the wiring yourself, it's not a bad fixture.
However, if you have to pay "full price" on a new one, look for an alternative.
I have to admit that the fixtures look great, very sleek, modern, and so on. The extruded aluminum housing is just about indestructible. That's the good part.
The down side was that both of these fixtures were designed for the European market, where 220 volts is standard. To make them work on our 110 volt systems, they front ended the ballasts with an additional transformer. This was a disaster.
In addition to the additional heat produced, the double transformers are very inefficient from a power consumption point a view. A single transformer is only about 60% to 65% efficient. With two of them it's 65% times 65% or only about 36% to 42% efficient. On top of all that, this makes the fixtures extremely heavy. (As a note, and electronic ballast is about 90% to 95% efficient)
My solution was to remove all the ballasts and replace them with electronic ballasts. In the process the fixtures lost a lot of weight, and now consume about half the power, and put out a lot less heat.
I would say that if you can get an extremely good price, and you can make the switch to electronic ballasts, and redo the wiring yourself, it's not a bad fixture.
However, if you have to pay "full price" on a new one, look for an alternative.