Fauna Marin UltraSolaris 6x24W

[Canadian]

Just when I thought I had my mind made up on a 250W HQI pendant I happened upon an Aquarium Obsessed post and discovered the Fauna Marin UltraSolaris were available in Canada. I did some searching here on RC and now have a few questions:

1) Anyone have any pictures of an UltraSolaris in operation? I'd like to see how the hanging system works on this unit. It doesn't look nearly as functional as that on the ATI PowerModule, but there's a big difference in price. I'd prefer to have one cable on each side or something like the ATI system.

2) I've read of a few instances in which people were experiencing corrosion of the reflectors due to the absense of an acrylic shield and despite the "special" coating on the lamps and reflectors. Is this something others have experienced?

3) Anyone have a final consensus on the PAR ratings of this unit compared to a comparable ATI or Aquactincs unit? There was some debate about the validity of previous tests given the variability in reflector design and "fishing" technique vs grid technique.

4) I'm assuming the 6x24W fixture would work nicely for my open top, rimless, braceless SPS only tank with a display area of 24x18x18. Do you think this is a better alternative to a 250W HQI? I like the idea of better coverage with T5s and if the intensity and PAR are comparable then it looks like a no-brainer.

5) What combination of lamps would you suggest?

[ReefRockerLive]

Canadian, in my gallery you will find one picture with the UltraSolaris light hanging over the tank. The hanging kit is very easy to install and has a very clean look to it. There are 3 holes on the each side of the fixture where 2 of those holes are used for the hanging kit, the front part and the back part. Also, the fixture has 3 plugs on the back right side.

As for the corrosion on the reflectors, I have not had that problem at all.I have not heard of this problem happening with this fixture. If the reflectors are properly maintained you should not have any problems. FWIW, I clean my reflectors every 1-2 months to remove slight salt creep and keep them as clean as possible at all times.

The PAR readings on this fixture was quite a bit above the PAR of the Aquatinics according to TheGrimReefer. Since the ATI and FM use similar ballasts I'd assume that they would put out a similar amount of PAR. Last I checked ATI was using Vollshe-Schwab(sp.) ballasts and FM was at one time also using those ballasts, but are now using Osram ballasts.

On your tank, the FM 6x24w fixture would probably give you a better spread and even light distribution than the 250w HQI. With T5 fixtures you have many more bulb choices so you can mix and match the bulbs to get your desired color.

I am currently running the following bulbs and will not change them for anything else because I think I have found my perfect coloration appearance.
*Front*
AquaScience Duo
AquaScience Blue
ATI Procolor
KZ Fiji Purple
AquaScience Special
AquaScience Special

HTH

[Canadian]

Thanks ReefRockerLive!

Any other owners out there?

[Canadian]

Never mind - it's a moot point. I just received an email from Will at Aquarium Obsessed and Fauna Marin informed him that a 6x24W is not available because they get too hot. I guess there's something to be said for the engineering of the ATI units considering they can keep a 10 lamp unit cool enough.

[Chrisrush]

Thanks for looking into this Andrew. I was hoping to run 6 or 8 T5 lamps over my 60 cube and this was one of the fixtures that I was looking at.