AquaBeam 1000

[Tom@HaslettMI]

Hi Evil... not so much a question, more of an announcement.

I was at Preuss the other day and they recently got a shipment of Aquabeam 1000 LED lights in, however, they didn't have one on display yet :(. I know there's some debate (on NR) as to Kelvin rating and quality of these units, but I thought you (and others) might be interested.

Here's the company link...
http://www.tmc-ltd.co.uk/aquarium/aquabeam-1000.asp

Steve also mentioned that they already sold one... wonder who it was?

[jimsflies]

Would like to see these in action...how much do they run? It mentions a control unit on the link does that control the intensity (and seperately the amount of blue/white)?

[Argent]

I wonder what outrageous prices they'll want for these

[Tom@HaslettMI]

Somewhere in the $400 range. A single unit is supposed to be equivalent to a 150watt MH.

Steve said they didn't get the controller units. I'm not sure if it was a price thing or a patent thing...

[Mike]

Are you planing on trying one out?

[evilc66]

Somewhere in the $400 range. A single unit is supposed to be equivalent to a 150watt MH.

Steve said they didn't get the controller units. I'm not sure if it was a price thing or a patent thing...

It's most likely a patent thing. I'm not sure of any retailer in the US that is getting the controllers. Nothing stopping you from personally importing one though.

I'd like to see one in person and get some measurements, as it seems that they have bumped the output since the initial announcement of the product last year. If they had kept it the way it was at the announcement, it would be a waste of $400. With the increased output now, there is some hope that it's a decent product. It's certainly a far sight better than the Aquaray strips.

[jimsflies]

Any idea what sort of coverage these have? Could I get by with one over a 54 corner bow with lps and zoas?

[Argent]

I'd guess probably not Jim - it's only 7.8 inches square - but I bet Evil would know better....

and for the $400ish pricetag - I think I'd just go with the Nanotuners 5.6 upgrade for my Cube

[evilc66]

Without knowing what the lens angle is, I'd say no. Two maybe, but not one. At that price point, there are better options though. I could be wrong, but I'll reserve judgement till I can see one in person.

After some reading, it looks like our reef bretheren from across the pond aren't too thrilled with it.

http://www.reef-face.co.uk/forum/index.php?showtopic=17694&st=20

Based on the PAR numbers given, and the distances, it seems like they are driven at a lower wattage than advertized, with a very tight optics (guessing around 40 degrees). PAR dropoff once you go off center seems very poor.