Aquaray Aquabeam

SneekaPeek

New member
Is anyone familiar with the aquabeam ultima 600s or aquaray led lighting in general. I was planning on using 2x reef white (1:1 blue white) on a 40 gallon fowlr tank 36x15x17. Was hoping if anyone has any insight if 2 strips will cover the tank enough to bring out fish colors. Or what else would you go with. I was planning on spending no more than $500 for lighting and I want to go led with sunrise/sunset.

Thoughts questions or concerns please feel free to ask.
 
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bump, I need some help before I drop some money!!!

I will have a canopy so I can't raise a fixture.
help needed!
 
How about a link so we can see the fixture? What are you putting them over? How much will they cost?

I googled the name and their website leave a lot to be desired in terms of info. For a small tank these may be OK. Anything bigger than a 40g...? Not many leds in a fixture and no cost info? They look to be well made, but that's easy in an ad. Wait a second... no dimmers? Really? If that is true, I wouldn't touch them with a ten foot pole! I'd want a LOT more info before I spent any money on their product. And not only have I never seen any of their fixtures, but I've never heard of them either (which is never a good sign). Good luck.
 
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Lighting and skimmers well cheap is not a word you want to use hear. As painful as letting money go can be, I would save some more and buy a reputation not a price. I screwed up on a cheaper skimmer and I regret it every day.

Just .02 cents and certainly didnt answer your question. Good luck on your purchase.
 
Im the furthest thing from a lighting expert, but With 500 you have some choices. I was in the same boat for my 90. I just ordered a photon 48, hopefully It will prove to be a good choice. Search ever grow, reef breeders, etc, and you'll find some fixtures in you price range with controllers and dimmers built in.
 
thanks all for replies. just trying to keep my options open so that I can choose the best option for my setup. I'm trying to keep my setup as simple as possible. FYI its only a fowlr :) im thinking led would be the best way to go because sunrise sunset/ as well as consistency and less of a headache. bulb changes and wires frying is quite common amongst t5 halide users with retrofit setups. hastle free is the key.
 
Check out 'build my led' as well. Theyre made here in the US and will custom build a fixture to whatever specs you want. They have amazing customer service too.

I have two 12,000k reef spectrum 46" lights over my 120 gallon and theyre great. (the 48" lights would have been too long for my canopy so they built a 46" version at no charge).

Like said before, for 500 you have a lot of options.
 
thanks for replies. looking for retrofit lighting to put under regular ls style canopy. I believe the ls canopies are super short in height maybe 6" total. was thinking build my led for a while for an open top tank. Do the build my led come with retrofit compatible? I came across aquaray lighting which looked promising for retro fit with sunrise/sunset. I was hoping if anyone had any insight on the aquaray lighting. the reef koi units seem to be Chinese led units which I do want to stay away from. I've had a couple units in the past and only had troubles with the units after x amount of time such as diodes burning out prematurely and connections covered with salt creep. I want this tank to be less demanding compared to my last sps tank.
 
any factual data or personal first hand knowledge that I can compare apples to apples to? I have a retailer around the area that sells the aquaray units. I am not going through this site. I just put it up as a reference of the items.
 
BML has a lot more proven results and happy customers than them but if you really really want to buy that for some reason go for it. Personally for me, they don't provide enough specs and aren't well known enough for me to spend my own $.
 
Aquaray strips have been around for years in the UK and are fairly old technology now. My first tank was lit with them. They are ok as entry level leds and will certainly light up a FOWLR. The problem with the strips is that they don't contain many leds so in order to get a balanced light across the width of the tank you would need 2 pairs of strips (ie 4 lights) or 2 tiles. In the UK that would cost you the equivalent of around $400-$450 US if you went for the strips and $550 if you went for the tiles and I'm sure that there are better alternatives that will give you better coverage.
 
Thanks for your help, what other units would you suggest for retro fitting in a regular ls style hood (canopy)? I want to go led and maybe down the road once time is available go the sps route again. I just hate the fact that led companies come out with new leds every year and at the end of each year I feel like I got ripped because I could have waited and have gotten better technology. But that's all technology lol. any advice would help wonderfully.
 
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What did you go with

What did you go with

I have had the strip ultimas on the two channel controller for about 4 months. Just after the Ultimas came out I guess. If I had to do it over again I would have gone for the new tile that has the NP natures perfect blues in it. That American Aquarium article is a great read and sold me. I most likely would go with something that is more familiar to the public now that I see how obscure these lights are. I have two 600s over a 29 standard, 30"x12" by 18" deep. Zoas and some euphylia are doing fine on the sand bed and I have some easy sps near the top of the tank. The colors are nice and everything seems to be happy. I have the lights about 4" over the water on a retro fit slide in my cannopy. The two strips overlap about 6" in the middle of the tank. I haven't seen anything long term, but I feel like I can grow the sps in the middle near the top and shrooms and stuff towards the perimeter bottom. Not sure if this helps, but at least it is some information. For the two strips and the controller it cost plus shipping it was about $450. For a few more dollars you can get one radion for this size tank. Although TMC pretty much talks you out of that if you read all of their information. It made since to me when I read it.
 
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