Current Outer Orbit Halides

[dieselndixie]

So, anyone have or had these?

I am looking at purchasing them (used - but barely)

Just want pros and cons if you have them

2 x 150w 10,000k 1 x 130w dual actinic 6 x lunar leds 560 total watts

http://www.current-usa.com/outerorbit.html

thanks

[addboy]

Steve at Horizon pets was one of the first to have them....he has one on a tank in the back it is really sleek, runs really cool and quiet....a little yellow though and you need to keep them clean.

[reefman]

dieselndixie, got your response to my response. I meant to mention that if I had it to do over again, another option I would consider the CoralLife Aqualight Advance Lighting fixtures. After wrestling with the Outer Orbits, those little ones on the pendulum seem pretty nice. I understand you can get them now with the 14K bulbs (I understand the 20K ones will limit you to only growing deeper water corals).

Stephen

[Carlos@River City]

We have the Current Outer Orbit 4' on one of our coral tanks, and for the most part I really like it. Unlike the Corallife the Outer Orbit has its ballast built-in to the fixture so there is definately some heat issues, but we suspend it about 16" from the water so not that big a deal for us.

[dieselndixie]

carlos, which tank are you talking about....i have your store memorized

[Carlos@River City]

Its on our first coral tank when you walk into the saltwater room. We sell the Outer Orbit almost 10 to 1 over the Corallife mostly because of the price and the OO has 130W actinic PCs vs 96W on the corallife. I think if I ever used one of these fixtures on a home aquarium I would go with the Corallife just because of the external ballast.

[reefman]

Carlos,

Have you had any issues with the bulbs going out quickly (blue actinics)? I have the OO 4' fixture on one of my tanks, and have had it less than 7 months, and I've already had the outer bulbs on the blue actinics (both at the same time) go out (BTW, I bought these b/4 I even knew RC existed). I wasn't very impressed by their customer service, either. It took Steve at Horizon pets over 2 weeks (closer to 3) just to get them to ship a replacement ballst, which we thought was the issue at first. It turned out to be both bulbs going out at the same time.

Stephen

[Carlos@River City]

I'm guessing you are talking about 1/2 of the PC bulb on each side? If this is the case, are you sure that the bulb is going out? Current's "Dual Actinic" has two different nm of actinic light on each bulb and one of the sides looks VERY much like they are not working. With the bulb running it will appear that only one side is running but in reality they are both firing. If you already know this, I apologize for repeating the info.

We have not had a single return on the OO out of selling at least 30-40 fixtures with the halides. Also, with out getting into too much with other stores return/warranty policies, ALL current light fixtures have a one year warranty. We simply replace the light off the shelf or if it's not in stock we will have an entire new light in the shop in less that 4 days. That is one of the reasons we went with the Current fixtures--the return policy. Coralife is now sending out replacement PARTS instead of replacing the fixture. As much as I like the Coralife fixtures, I don't want to have to tell a customer that they have to wait for Coralife to send out parts in hopes that that is what is causing the problems, all the while your corals are with out all or part of their light.

[reefman]

That is exactly waht is happening, and although it had registered in my mind that they had a dual nm reading, I dodn't know it was particular to each bulb nor did I know that was what the bulbs were doing. I turned it over at the suggestion of a customer at Steve's shop with the idea that if had burned out it might "migrate" back (he was an electrician, and said the phosperous in dual floursecent bulbs will do that). Of course nothing has changed and it does look like one is out on each side still. Is there anyway to be sure, or test it.

Stephen

[Carlos@River City]

Put a piece of dark paper or cardboard between the two forks of the buld and you should be able to see the "less intense" bulb glowing.

[Crab Rangoon]

Yeah, like Carlos said, the "Dual Actinic" bulbs from Current have both a 420nm and 450nm color to them, so they are a more well rounded spectrum than the Coralife counterparts. In fact, most of our customers with Coralife fixtures end up replacing their bulbs with Current bulbs for the better range of spectrum, as well as the colors.

Back on topic to the Outer Orbit fixtures, and Current in general, I know most "advanced aquarists" tend to shy away from Current, and I saw a lot of people seemingly turn their nose up at their booth at MACNA, but I gotta give it to them for being a good company. They have been around for a much shorter time than any of the other big lighting companies, but they've come on big and strong. I was more impressed with the LED lighting offered by them than I was the over-hyped PFO Solaris (flame-suit on). But their "no questions asked" return policy has been a BREEZE with business, and, though we've had a handful of returns, all returns were little things, such as a fan going out, or one ballast going bad, nothing as extreme as bad wiring resulting in fire, or bulbs being damaged. They really do wonders with their pricing too, and I'll say they are a good competitor to other lighting companies (retro's and halide lovers excluded).

As far as Outer Orbits vs. Aqualight Pro's: I dont like any Coralife bulbs, and I'm very open with my customers about that. The ALP, namely, has MH bulbs that are white/yellow (Coralife 10K's, I believe) coupled with PC bulbs that are not a bright blue to properly contrast them. In many people's opinions, it seems as though the actinics are too "purple," or a deeper, darker blue, rather than a bright blue that helps colors pop and stand out. I've turned a lot of people on to changing their PC's on the ALP to Current's offerings, but generally steer people towards a 10-14k bulb from either XM or Phoenix, because of their price range, and I think that strongly blue MH bulbs + the actinic PC's comes off too blue.

I'd say the main thing to consider is whether you have a chiller or not, as well as a canopy on the tank. The OO fixture does have an internal ballast, and during Sanjay's light seminar, the topic of PC's PAR value dropping as their temperature is raised (such as with an internal MH ballast heating them and the fixture up) was discussed, and that may or may not be important to you. For those with a canopy, I'd probably vote ALP, but for those with chillers or no canopy, I'd say get the OO.