Outer Orbit

[Salty D-O-G]

I'm not impressed with mine. I think the lighting really sucks we know how much they cost. Any thoughts how I can approve it? Thanks in advance

Jerry

 

[Meche]

Any thoughts how I can approve it?

Improve?

What kind of bulbs are you using?

Other than changing them out, you can always take the whole thing apart, build a hood, buy top-of-the-line reflectors, and use what you have now as a retrofit kit.

 

[Salty D-O-G]

What came with it. The PC Compacts are very blue 96 watt but the 150 watt metal halides don't reflect for sh**!! The reflectors are just polished aluminum with dimples. The reason for buying this was their reputation and the fact everything is self contained in the fixture. I don't know if it's because it's to close to the tank or what but they act more like a spot light than a flood light and the tank doesn't look lit up at all.

Jerry

 

[Meche]

Hmmm... :dunno: . I have no experience with this fixture. Maybe someone else will chime-in with a hint. You would think, the feet provided, would set the proper designed height.

The reflectors are just polished aluminum with dimples.

This, by itself, does not mean the reflectors are crap. I believe the best reflectors are made from polished and dimpled Al sheet. However your reflectors may have a shape that is not ideal for your application.

 

[coil1002]

try raising the hood higher above the water to allow for more dispersion of the light MH's will look like a spot too close to the water.


Hope this helps

 

[shallowreef]

I use to run this system over my 90 and i liked it a lot. My lights though were about a foot off of teh water. I f you leave it on the legs where its only like 3 inches above the water than yeah its going to be like a spotlight. Try raising it up higher. I had lots of luck with that light system. I then moved up to 250 and got a hamilton fixture a very wise investment.

Good Luck

 

[Salty D-O-G]

Here's what it looks like.............

 

[DaBrowns]

I'm comfused. Did you buy this new? If so I would try the ceiling mount kit if you can. It allows for MUCH better height control. For an example...I own this fixture in the 48" model and have it hanging over a 72" tank. We started out w/it 12" off the water...moved it to 9"...and I think now it's back @ 12. As a general rule...I remove and clean the light covers once a month whether they need it or not. I do regret not getting the 250W instead of the 150W but they were an extra $300. Overall we are quite happy with it.

The angled pic was taken from about 4 feet away...the straight on ones are about 6 feet and no other lights are on in the room...and no enhancements to the photo. I wanted the ends of the tank to be a little shaded to give me the biggest variety of inhabitants for the tank.

Hopefully you can get it tuned in...they really are plug and play if you use the timers.

Best of luck

 

[keithstangland]

i have the 48" hood on my 72gal bow front as well. i made a custom canopy that makes the light sit about 7" above the tank. thought the halides were a little too white myself, so i changed out the bulbs from the stock 10k hqi bulbs to the 14k's. a little softer light (blue) and my corals seem to love it. also had an issue with the center moon lights being directly over the tanks center brace. who ever designed that was a complete idiot!! no light would shine down at night. so i pulled the light apart and rearranged the placement so they weren't over the brace. other then that my corals seem to love them a lot more then the t5 hood i had.

 

[keithstangland]

 

[kevinpo]

I did have a customer retrofit a 250W bulb into the fixture and add a remote PFO ballast but it certainly wasn't cheap to do. I will try to remember to take a picture of it today.

Regards,
Kevin

 

[Salty D-O-G]

Sorry been busy with work BUT, last night I used the adjustable cable hang kit for it and raised it 12" off the top of the tank and BAM!!! She rooks marvelous now!!! Thanks for the pointers. I will however be changing the MH bulbs to 150w 20K's.

 

[shallowreef]

Yeah i figured once you lifted it up it would look better.

Glad to hear that your problem is resolved.

 

[DaBrowns]

Glad to hear you got it fixed and are now happy with it. I think the 20K's will make it "more blue" but may be mistaken on that. Post up some pix after you change them out. I just cleaned my glass covers for the first time since installation...4 months ago...can't wait to see if it made a difference this morning.

 

[engine]

im going to buy a lighting unit for my 75 gallon. I was looking at the currentusa outer orbit dual 150w halides w/ t5. would you guys recommend this unit, or suggest that I spend more(which i hate to do lol) for a 'better' brand/unit? Also, would you suggest the dual 150 or 250 model? I dont want to add a chiller, and am a little worried the 250 might add too much heat. what do you guys think? -eric

 

[shallowreef]

I ran dual 250s over a 90 and they would heat up my tank. So i would suggest sticking with the 150s.

The outer orbit is a great fixture and is all built in so all you have hanging out of the fixture is the chords which is really nice. I suggest the outer orbit.

 

[burning2nd]

damn dog!


shoot me down like that,

no but witch one did you get? the one with the vho's?

im gonna get the 72" with 3x150 HQI but the 8 t5's

i thought that might be the case, 2 blue....... so replace 2 or 3 of the t5's (14k) with 10k

 

[Salty D-O-G]

I think it is a good quality unit especially now that I understand lighting better. I have 150 watt bulbs and that should do you fine but use the ceiling hangers and keep the lights between 9-12" above the water

 

[engine]

good advice, thanks shallowreef & salty dog

 

[keithstangland]

i posted earlier about this light. i have a 72 bowfront and the light rocks. fans very quite. 150w halides very bright. going to the high kelvin will make it bluer.. as for heat. it isn't as bad as i thought. i keep my tank glass lids on all day and i only have to add water every four to five days or so. if you have plans of getting a bigger tank i would say invest in the 250w so you can just transfer it over. but overall, my fish, corals, seem to love it!!!