coachmancuso11
New member
Pros and cons to this fixture
Hydro Galaxy LED 165w
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- Start date
Ron Reefman
Active member
PRO: (and these are what you are paying for)
good PAR
normal 2'x2' coverage
inexpensive
CON: (all minor issues)
ugly Chinese black box case (personal aesthetics)
no built-in timers (easy to do with external timers, but built-in is nice)
only 2 channel of color control (typical of less expensive fixtures, more control costs more money... and is it really needed?)
it has red & green leds which add to the disco effect (I covered them with black electrical tape)
Questions to ask: (again, mostly minor issues)
doesn't come with legs? (only important if you want them and it doesn't have them)
is the case steel (rust) or aluminum?
is it painted (cheap) or powder coated (better quality)
does it have 'real' finned heat sinks or just a sheet of aluminum?
Are there better units out there? Of course. But they also cost more money and if you don't feel the need for the improvements you pay for, then the GalaxyHydro is a perfectly good fixture.
good PAR
normal 2'x2' coverage
inexpensive
CON: (all minor issues)
ugly Chinese black box case (personal aesthetics)
no built-in timers (easy to do with external timers, but built-in is nice)
only 2 channel of color control (typical of less expensive fixtures, more control costs more money... and is it really needed?)
it has red & green leds which add to the disco effect (I covered them with black electrical tape)
Questions to ask: (again, mostly minor issues)
doesn't come with legs? (only important if you want them and it doesn't have them)
is the case steel (rust) or aluminum?
is it painted (cheap) or powder coated (better quality)
does it have 'real' finned heat sinks or just a sheet of aluminum?
Are there better units out there? Of course. But they also cost more money and if you don't feel the need for the improvements you pay for, then the GalaxyHydro is a perfectly good fixture.
Last edited:
coachmancuso11
New member
Thanks Ron for all the info Do you know of any reef shows in Florida senior in Cape Coral? What light fixture do you have I'm looking to put something over 40 breeder
Ron Reefman
Active member
I run Reef Breeders Photon V2 over my 2 main tanks and older Ocean Revive fixtures over 'work' tanks. The OceanRevive fixtures have built-in timers and digital dimming, I think Reef Breeders has a similar fixture. One other brand, Galaxy Hydro or Vara Spectra has one as well and maybe even at a lower price. But I know the RB and OR fixtures are aluminum cases and have real heat sinks, so worth a bit more to me. The RB Photon V2 is more expensive because it has sunrise/sunset/moonlight control as well as 6 channels of color control. But it's probably the least expensive fixture with all those features. But a 32" Photon V2 that would fit your tank well is $500. But then a $750 Eco Tech Radion wouldn't be big enough and you'd likely need 2 Aqua Illumination Hydra fixtures at $350 each? So $500 isn't a bad deal for a very well made light sold and supported by a US based company (made in China by EverGrow).
Reef shows? Most of the local clubs in Florida do meetings and some have speakers or frag swaps or auctions or reef conferences. Here in SW Florida we have a big auction and raffle this coming Sunday (2/19) with nearly 400 corals being auctioned. And October 20 & 21 we have a Reef Conference with 3 or 4 speakers, lots of hardware & coral vendors and a HUGE raffle. I've turned a 'profit' in the raffle the last 4 years in a row!
Reef shows? Most of the local clubs in Florida do meetings and some have speakers or frag swaps or auctions or reef conferences. Here in SW Florida we have a big auction and raffle this coming Sunday (2/19) with nearly 400 corals being auctioned. And October 20 & 21 we have a Reef Conference with 3 or 4 speakers, lots of hardware & coral vendors and a HUGE raffle. I've turned a 'profit' in the raffle the last 4 years in a row!
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