Coralife Aqualight Pro mod

mseepman · #1 03-17-2008, 07:13 PM

Myka,

At first, I really considered replacing my fixture entirely too. But the only lights cheap enough were the Odyssea out of the US and I would have to spend money replacing their poor ballasts on top of the their purchase price.

Since I bought this light originally in the Okanagan, I was already into it for far more than it sells at the coast. J&L sells it for $530 now but I'm into it for about $700 from AJ's from 2 years ago.

So here's a breakdown on the mod pricing:
4 Sunblaster strip lights $130 plus tax
4 T5HO bulbs of my choice: $87 plus tax
Wiring and mar-connectors: $2.50 plus tax
Total cost: $248 including taxes.

Since my PC bulbs were due for replacement they would have been $70 plus tax at J&L, so I see my real costs as being about $170 plus my time, but I get the ability to mix my lighting up a bit and a lot more PAR.

StirCrazy · #2 03-18-2008, 01:01 AM

good, job, the only thing I would have done different is used solid wire for your marette connectors as that what they are designed for and stranded will work loose over time.

you could use a smaller bell shaped crimp connector if you have it apart again as these would give you more room as they are about 1/2 the dia of the marette connectors you used. you can get them from car stereo installers or suppliers along that line.

Steve

mseepman · #3 03-18-2008, 01:11 AM

I agree with you Steve, but the only thing that made me change my mind on them was that Coralife used them originally and some of them were burned right through and melted when I opened it up the first time. That alarmed me, so I thought I would use marettes instead.

StirCrazy · #4 03-18-2008, 06:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mseepman

I agree with you Steve, but the only thing that made me change my mind on them was that Coralife used them originally and some of them were burned right through and melted when I opened it up the first time. That alarmed me, so I thought I would use marettes instead.

ahh, thats what you were talking about being burnt.

I have been looking for the extrusions they use to make these light fixtures so I can make my own setup, but they are hard to find.. I guess getting a old unit and breathing new life into it is an option now that I see some one else has done it

Steve

Reverend Reefer · #5 03-23-2009, 07:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by StirCrazy

ahh, thats what you were talking about being burnt.

I have been looking for the extrusions they use to make these light fixtures so I can make my own setup, but they are hard to find.. I guess getting a old unit and breathing new life into it is an option now that I see some one else has done it

Steve

if yer looking for those sunblaster fixtures, try a hydroponics shop. they will sell them for less cuz they market to hippies who have no money while local fish stores market to people with cash, hence the price discrepancy!

Myka · #6 03-18-2008, 01:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mseepman

Since I bought this light originally in the Okanagan, I was already into it for far more than it sells at the coast.

That's what I was thinking. It's really quite a spiffy little unit you've put together. I'd like to see a PAR meter under it.

Thanks for the price breakdown.

Reverend Reefer · #7 03-23-2009, 07:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mseepman

Myka,

At first, I really considered replacing my fixture entirely too. But the only lights cheap enough were the Odyssea out of the US and I would have to spend money replacing their poor ballasts on top of the their purchase price.

Since I bought this light originally in the Okanagan, I was already into it for far more than it sells at the coast. J&L sells it for $530 now but I'm into it for about $700 from AJ's from 2 years ago.

So here's a breakdown on the mod pricing:
4 Sunblaster strip lights $130 plus tax
4 T5HO bulbs of my choice: $87 plus tax
Wiring and mar-connectors: $2.50 plus tax
Total cost: $248 including taxes.

Since my PC bulbs were due for replacement they would have been $70 plus tax at J&L, so I see my real costs as being about $170 plus my time, but I get the ability to mix my lighting up a bit and a lot more PAR.

hi! i joined just so i could post on this!

thank you so much for the diy mod instructions. i have a coralife aqualight lunar deluxe model, 48" PC lights and so i decided to mod one set of the light fixture to T5s as per your instructions. i found some of those sunblaster T5HO single strip fixtures from a local hydoponics shop, which they sold for 49$ (the 48" ones are 54W). i bought some 54W T5HO bulbs at LFS for 20$ each.

everything worked out great except for two things....
there were two main differences.

1. the sunblasters i got had an off/off switch so i ended up with less wiring than expected cuz i had to cut closer to the ballast. this was fine once i figured i needed to add alot more wire than expected.

2. i used the hot glue gun to glue the end plugs to the coralife reflector as per your instructions. UNFORTUNATELY, once the lights came on, everything got hot and the glue ended up melting away!

so as a mod on your mod, i would recommend not using the hot glue gun. thanks for the idea tho, corals are much more vibrant looking and it didn't cost me an arm and a leg for the upgrade!