A testament to buying locally!!!

[tuberider]

A little over a year ago I purchased a couple of new Lumatek ballasts, Lumenarec Reflectors, bulbs and other odds and ends from Pacific Garden Supply (PGS), sure I could have gotten it elsewhere for a lower price, but I've always liked Tom and Dan and I've learned a ton about lighting from them, I thought it would be nice to return the favor and put my money where my mouth is.

Yesterday I received my new Ushio 20k+ bulbs from another local business, coralreefecosystems.com, Steve is another stand up guy who you can trust to get good info from. Anyway, one of my ballasts will not fire either Ushio bulb, yet will fire any other bulb try. I placed a call to Dan at PGS this morning and much to my surprise he said, "lets just swap the ballast out", it's been over a year and it won't fire one silly little bulb yet he didn't even hesitate to do the swap, he even offered to ship a loaner down until I can get up there to do the exchange. Now I know why made the purchase that I did, in just about any other situation I'd be hosed.

Thanks PGS!!!

 

[eldiablosrt8]

thats what i like to see.....

 

[r0ck0]

Makes me glad I purchased my setup from him as well. Dan was a nice guy and even gave us a tour of his workshop where he builds the lights. Very cool.

 

[patchin]

Great news, J.

 

[gimmito]

Funny you should mention the Lumenarcs Jeremy. I've been corresponding with Tony Vargas regarding my setup and he recommended the Lumenarc 3's for my setup. Sanjay Joshi recommends the Lumenmax reflectors...decisions...decisions. :~

 

[GreshamH]

I bet Sanjay said the LM would blend together (IE. less harsh lines) better or something along that line?

 

[gimmito]

I bet Sanjay said the LM would blend together (IE. less harsh lines) better or something along that line?

Quote: "With a tank 4ft from to back... I would strongly suggest going with the largest reflectors you can find, else you are going to have to double up. I would suggest the LumenMax from sunlight supply, they are almost 22" square and will give you a very good spread." Sanjay

I can just fit those bad boys in my hood...what do recommed by the way Gresham ?

 

[tuberider]

Lumenarc IIIs are 19.5".....

 

[GreshamH]

I'm partial to LA's but I like the LM's as well.

http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2009/1/review

LM's you can't get glass for so I don't use them in my set-ups.

 

[sfsuphysics]

Jeremy that is totally super cool!

Now my question is whether or not that company would do that for anyone, or just the people who they know/do a lot of business with.

 

[GreshamH]

That's why I was leaning towards the Lumenbrites. I like the idea if a low-e glass for minimal light loss and in case the bulb burst.

But LB's do not accept glass???? You mean you are leaning to LA's (LumenArcs) ?

 

[GreshamH]

That is one of the reason why I went with LA's for my new tank, but I got minis as I needed a little room for LED's I also use the AC feature and I suck air though them. Word of warning if you plan on doing the AC part, don't pull too much air over the bulbs, you don't want to cool them too much as it changes their lifespan and the color output.

 

[sfsuphysics]

Yeah, that's why I did a smaller reflector on my 4x3 footprint 180, well not only would the larger ones hang over the edge a tiny bit, but I always wanted room for the supplemental blues and actinic.

That said.. I need to find a LM-Mini because I'm going to redo the lighting again. Merging out all the T5s for some of the LEDs

 

[tuberider]

Jeremy that is totally super cool!

Now my question is whether or not that company would do that for anyone, or just the people who they know/do a lot of business with.

I don't fall under either of those categories, they're just good hippies

 

[screebo]

Good point, Senior Tubster

 

[GreshamH]

Yeah, that's why I did a smaller reflector on my 4x3 footprint 180, well not only would the larger ones hang over the edge a tiny bit, but I always wanted room for the supplemental blues and actinic.

That said.. I need to find a LM-Mini because I'm going to redo the lighting again. Merging out all the T5s for some of the LEDs

I've heard it from numerous people, connected and non connected. When I first dealt with them they didn't know who I was and I got STELLAR treatment. I have been a fan ever since. CS and quality is top notch!!!

 

[bookfish]

I think that's right. We all got to know PGS originally through our first dealings with them, when we didn't know them personally and were not repeat customers.

 

[GreshamH]

I think that's right. We all got to know PGS originally through our first dealings with them, when we didn't know them personally and were not repeat customers.

I'm sure there's more then a few that bought stuff from them after getting to know them

 

[gimmito]

That's why I was leaning towards the Lumenbrites. I like the idea of a low-e glass for minimal light loss and in case the bulb burst.

 

[gimmito]

That's why I was leaning towards the Lumenbrites. I like the idea if a low-e glass for minimal light loss and in case the bulb burst.

But LB's do not accept glass???? You mean you are leaning to LA's (LumenArcs) ?

I talked to Mike at Reef Specialty and he said they have low e glass.

http://www.reefspecialty.com/Lighting-Reflectors-%7C-Pendants-CoralVue/c14_28_112/p231/CoralVue-Lumen-Bright-Finished-SE-Pendant/product_info.html