I would be interested to read more about your experience with this new system
Finally decided that I needed more light for my Vision 180 and, being an electronic engineer and having designed LED driving electronics, making my own LED lights would be the way to go. However making the LED fixture look professional on top the tank, as well as actually giving more light than the existing Juwel dual T5 HO lights and being reliable would be hard and consume a large amount of time. Quality T5HO lights are about same brightness as LED, but not as concentrated as LED.
However I was well chuffed when I saw iQuatics postings on UKApps, offering Juwel lighting unit equivalents AND available with 4 tubes. This would be a much easier (and potentially cheaper) solution enabling me to double up the lights easily. Light levels would be known ie 4 x T5HO. Done.
So a 92cm iQuatics Aqualumi 4 tube fixture (and 4 free reflectors, as part of Xmas offer), was ordered, just before Xmas for delivery at start of January. I had a bit of correspondence with iQuatics, about would the light fixture be clear of external filter pipes in the tank, which in the end it is well clear and is no problem.
The light unit arrived, via DHL, well packaged. The package consists of two long boxes stuck together, one containing the light unit and other the tubes and reflectors. All very robust and strong. Unfortunately, DHL, bless them, had obviously decided to store the box in water, the smaller tube box had very soggy/mushy ends where water had clearly run through the box. The DHL guy, was actually refusing to deliver it in this state, however removing the soggy/mush revealed the tubes wrapped/sealed in bubble wrap and appeared OK. So I signed for it, but as NOT INSPECTED. Upon opening all was OK, the bubble wrap kept the water off the tubes and reflectors and main lighting unit was untouched. Plugging it all together it worked fine.
Anyway installed on tank, fine, is an exact fit on Vision 190, no length adjustment needed. The existing Juwel tank flaps fit fine.
Points to note are:
- It is heavy compared to the Juwel unit, being made from metal, so is really a two hand lift.
- The reflectors are very solid aluminium with polyester film inserts. Handy so when they get dirty you can use the other side of the film, before buying more film.
- The reflector clips are metal, so no plastic degradation and falling to bits like the Juwel reflector kits.
- It has two mains leads, one for a each pair of tubes. I have mine on two mains timers so I run two tubes 5pm to 11pm and the other two 7pm to 10pm.
- The lights are bright, especially with the reflectors, if you are not careful and haven't got CO2 and fertilisers spot on, you will melt your plants and grow algae.
- One issue I, found the 4 supplied tropical tubes, too pink/red for my liking. Plants didn't care, of course, still growing and pearling nicely. So I have switched two of the tubes to my previous Juwel HiLite day tubes. Looks a lot better in my opinion.
- The Juwel flaps now open and close much better with the light unit. With the Juwel lighting unit I used to have issues with the flaps "popping out of their holder" each time I opened the tank. Doesn't happen any more.
So a good purchased, from a UK company. Well done iQuatics.
-Any chance of a mini review some time?
