Coralife Aqualight Pro help

[Cstar_BC]

Ok - this is my first MH fixture .

Explain like I’m 5 because I can not find consistent information .
- I know this is an old light and a lot of things are discontinued

A) someone mentioned there is an add on you can purchase that will control the lights like a timer ?

B) how often do you change the MH ? Same frequency as t5?

C) any upgrades people have made - switching from the compact fluorescent to t5 ?

D) the moonlight fixture seems to be broken , I assume this is just small LEDs , worth replacing ?
Thank you

 

[Pntbll687]

You can use a regular outlet timer that you buy at walmart to turn the light on and off

 

[DesertReefT4r]

Ok - this is my first MH fixture .

Explain like I’m 5 because I can not find consistent information .
- I know this is an old light and a lot of things are discontinued

A) someone mentioned there is an add on you can purchase that will control the lights like a timer ?

B) how often do you change the MH ? Same frequency as t5?

C) any upgrades people have made - switching from the compact fluorescent to t5 ?

D) the moonlight fixture seems to be broken , I assume this is just small LEDs , worth replacing ?
Thank you

Man I have not seen an Aqualight Pro in a long time. It used to be one of the most popular reef light fixtures and has produced many a beautiful reef tank. They have been discontinued for a long time now but if you are resourceful replacement parts can be found.
A) A simple light timer can be used to turn off and on the lights, get 2, 1 for the PC lights and 1 for the MH lights. Even better is wifi controlled power strips.
B) Both bulbs should be changed every 12 months. PC bulbs are hard to find now but check on ebay.
C) As for upgrades we would swap out to higher quality bulbs like 14k Phoenix, better ballasts than the Coralife ballasts Icecap was popular. You can convert the PC to T5HO if you are handy and can do a little wiring, new ballasts and end caps will be needed. Converting to T5 will make finding replacent bulbs a lot easier and vastly increases the selection of bulb color combos. You can add some XHO Reefbrites to the fixture to give some blue LED pop.
D) Imo its not worth it to replace the moon LEDs, they do nothing for the coral or fish and are really dim. Just for night viewing.

 

[Cstar_BC]

Thank you this is exactly what I was looking for .

I got a screaming deal on the light $50

Couldn’t turn it down but it’s definitely a project . All works though !

Man I have not seen an Aqualight Pro in a long time. It used to be one of the most popular reef light fixtures and has produced many a beautiful reef tank. They have been discontinued for a long time now but if you are resourceful replacement parts can be found.
A) A simple light timer can be used to turn off and on the lights, get 2, 1 for the PC lights and 1 for the MH lights. Even better is wifi controlled power strips.
B) Both bulbs should be changed every 12 months. PC bulbs are hard to find now but check on ebay.
C) As for upgrades we would swap out to higher quality bulbs like 14k Phoenix, better ballasts than the Coralife ballasts Icecap was popular. You can convert the PC to T5HO if you are handy and can do a little wiring, new ballasts and end caps will be needed. Converting to T5 will make finding replacent bulbs a lot easier and vastly increases the selection of bulb color combos. You can add some XHO Reefbrites to the fixture to give some blue LED pop.
D) Imo its not worth it to replace the moon LEDs, they do nothing for the coral or fish and are really dim. Just for night viewing.

 

[Pntbll687]

Thank you this is exactly what I was looking for .

I got a screaming deal on the light $50

Couldn’t turn it down but it’s definitely a project . All works though !

Did you end up using this fixture?

I'm actually picking one of these lights up later today!! Someone moving and needs to get rid of it

 

[Cstar_BC]

Did you end up using this fixture?

I'm actually picking one of these lights up later today!! Someone moving and needs to get rid of it

it was WAAY harder to find the “square pin” I think lights that go with the halide than anticipated.
So I have been trying to source those bulbs for quiet a while .
The halide gets amazing coverage But the fixture is so heavy .

it’s in the bottom of the stand until I can get some time to upgrade the bulbs

 

[c_johns89]

I know this is an old post, but I am curious if you were able to hunt down any of the square pin powercompact bulbs?

 

[stephj03]

What wattage do you need?

Custom Sealife Compact on Sale, Buy Discount Custom Sealife Compact Online - Opentip

 

[stephj03]

Custom Sealife was the big OEM importer if these but they're long gone. Search for that company and you might find some old stock.hth

 

[stephj03]

Power Compact 28 Watt Actinic Square :: Pinned Bulb For Aquariums Brand New !!! | eBay

They are 12 3/8" in length.

www.ebay.com

There's a decent amount of 28w ant 55w on the bay

 

[c_johns89]

Yea I need a 96Watt unfortunately- they seem pretty hard to come by these days...

 

[stephj03]

Oh, yeah 96w was hard to come by even when they were still making them.

Maybe just replace the square pin endcaps with straight pin. That's a 30min job and all you need is to Google the ballast schematics.

 

[c_johns89]

Thanks for the suggestion! I'll look into it.

 

[DesertReefT4r]

Yeah power compact bulbs are all but gone now. You can find lower quality ones on ebay.