AquaticLife G12 HID Reviewed

From the moment I installed this fixture of the 75 gallon SPS reef it was met with nothing but skepticism and with good reason. The HID lamps are only 150 watts each which typically would not enough to show much growth in deeper SPS tanks, and they light only limited portions of the tank. This feedback didn’t bother me though because I knew from the start what this fixture has up it’s sleeve. Though the lamps are only 150 watts each, they are in the 10k color range which gives them far more power than one would expect. Add to this that the tilting HID reflectors spotlight less space than a normal halide, and it adds up to focused power that penetrates deeper than most 250 watt set-ups. With small changes in the angle of the lights daily this has truly become one of the highest penetrating, most adaptive reef lights around.

It’s been about two months now since we fired this light up and it has only grown on me more. The HID lamps may be 10k, but with the T5actinics we still get a nice even white with enough blue to make corals pop. I’ve been slowly moving the HID buckets back and forth which seems to have really ignited growth in some of the SPS corals. As compared to the previous T5 fixture, growth rates are definitely up. As always AquaticLife has awesome quality and the built in timer works wonders for making the light cycle simple. This is one sweet light that I’m sure we won’t need to replace any time soon!

 

Mike

you know what this thread needs?

some comparison shots, so that we can see and appreciate the difference between the T5 and the unit your using now

Steve

 

I agree. I just upgraded my Aquaticlife T% unit to the Aquaticlife RS7 halide unit. I def agree with you!

 

Here's a picture when I started the tank with the T5 unit on there:


And the new light:


I know it's not a very fare comparison, but you can the color difference and how flat the lighting was with the T5's.

 

nice, not clear on the ballasts. internal or external?

 

Internal. They put them in a modular type system where the ballasts and reflectors slide in and out of the fixture independently. Pretty smooth!

 

That fixture is sick! My LFS has one over a 125 and I have been thinking of ordering one for my 40breeder. Did you replace the stock T5 bulbs to achiee that color? It looks goodQ

 

No, it's fully stock still.