Hamilton vs. Aqua Medic

[Aquariumist]

would everyone that has one(or both) of these fixtures tell me their preference? i am undecided for the fixture and all info is appreciated. by the way i am thinking of going 250 watt(unless someone thinks 150 watt is adequate)for my 46 gallon bowfront. will this cause heat issues? and watt Kelvin rating should i go with? i would like it to be vissualy appealing, as well as have good growth, so i was thinking 14K. thanks for any info you can provide.

 

[Aquariumist]

anyone? please i need some help on this!

 

[GSMguy]

i have two 250w aquamedics on my 50 and i love them one over a 46 is not too much i went aquamedic because the design looks better i am super happy

 

[mderise]

Do you have a canopy? If you do what is the height of it?

 

[whatcaneyedo]

I've got both an aquamedic and a hamilton pendant that run 250W double ended bulbs. I honestly cant say that I see any difference in my tank between the two fixtures but the aquamedic fixture does look a lot nicer. I do hear the occational complaint about the hamiltons even though I have not had any problems. However if I were going to purchase all new equipment I'd go with PFO pendants and icecap ballasts.

 

[chriscolt]

I have Aquamedic (48" fixture and Pendants) they are reliable, compact, german made, reliable and good looking - especially if you use their ceiling hanging kit.

They DO NOT recommend that you install their fixtures in a canopy - there are no fans in AQ's fixtures and they cool by convection - so they need open space all around them in order to cool properly - if you put them in a canopy they may fail due to overheating

chris

 

[coralguy1]

Just to confuse your choices a little more...Have you checked out the Sunlight Supply Lumenmax 3? It is sold seperately from the ballast. It is a double ended HQI style done in the same style as the Diamond Lumenarc which tested so highly in Sanjay's reflector tests. Put that together with an Icecap electronic 250 and I think you'll have a much better system than the Hamilton or the Aqua Medic.

 

[Aquariumist]

the reason i am going between hamilton and aquamedic is because for the general price. and right now i am leaning towards the aquamedic, although i will check out the pfo pendants and the icecap ballasts