Coralife Lunar Aqualight Power Compact Lighting

Review
This is a power compact lighting fixture with available sizes anywhere from 12 inches up to 48 inches. This is an economical alternative for those hobbyists wanting to put more light over their tanks without breaking the bank. The one we use is a 30 inch Lunar Aqua Light over a 29 gallon saltwater aquarium which gives approximately 130 watts total, or 4.5 watts per gallon. It comes with a 65 watt 10,000K full spectrum bulb and 65 watt True Actinic 03 Blue straight pin base compact fluorescent lamp. It also has a really neat moon light, hence the name of this product, lunar aqua light. There are three switches, one for the full spectrum power compact light, one for the actinic power compact light and one for the moon bulb. The moon light is 3/4 of a watt. It also has three separate power cords that makes it easy to set this baby up on a timer to make your life even easier.

We have ours set up so that the actinic light bulb comes on first and stays on for 11 hours. The full spectrum bulb comes on an hour later and stays on for 9 hours and then turns off. This is a really poor simulation of the dawn/dusk cycle but we like the effect. Finally the moon lights come on after the actinics turn off and they stay on for about 6 hours.

We have some green zoanthids (sea mat) and some pink tinted zoanthids in this tank along with a pulsing xenia. The green zoanthids have really taken off and have doubled in the number of polyps in just two months. The pulsing xenia is doing really well too, often displaying the signature pulsing behavior.

Nothing beats the metal halides for keeping the more light demanding saltwater specimens, but for those hobbyists trying to run a semi-reef type setup with lesser light demanding species, then the lunar aqua lights from coralife can be a nice product to use.

Lunar Aqua Light Specs

• Dimensions: 30″ x 7″ x 2 1/2″
• Two 65 watt 50/50 straight pin base compact fluorescent lamps
• Two on/off switches with two 8-foot power cords for separate timers
• Built-in ballasts
• Two cooling fans
• Sleek aluminum housing
• Highly-polished reflector
• Acrylic lens cover

Positives

• Gets you into the medium lighting levels with power compacts for a reasonable price tag
• Very cool moon bulb that creates a nice look in a darkened room
• Three switches with three separate power cords for easy setup with a light timer.

Negatives

• Does not come with mounting brackets! You have to purchase them separately. Grrrrr.
• We couldn’t get the acrylic light lens cover to slide out and had to remove 4 screws and a side bracket to get the lens cover to slide out properly. This is important for when you need to replace or change the power compact flourescent light bulbs. This isn’t a big deal, just kind of a bother.

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