Your opinion on Current USA fixtures please

[GlitcH]

Hey guys,
I would have put this in the General Hardware/Equipment Discussion
forum but I really need input on this soon and it takes forever to get feedback in that forum.

Anyway, I currently have an odessea 48" 260W fixture on my 92G.
I'm not really happy with it so I'm gonna upgrade.
My main concern is that it is QUIET!
The odessea is SOOOO annoyingly loud sometimes........other times it just puts out a moderate hum.........but man when it gets loud it really gets loud and its in my living room. I think it likes attention cuz when I have company it always wants to be the center of discussion.

So back to my question........can anyone vouch for the Current USA Orbit 36" 4 x 96?
Is it quiet?........meaning does the fan vibrate the whole strip like my odessea?
http://www.bigalsonline.com/catalog/product.xml?product_id=29631;category_id=1875;pcid1=1843;pcid2=

TIA guys

 

[Zezmo]

I use the sattelite Dual 4x 65w. There is a fan, and it is quiet and smooth. But it is still a fan, and you can hear the air it moves.

I have several other Current light fixtures, I am happy with all. Quality products IMO.

 

[gfink]

In contrast, I ordered a satellite 2X65 and it was LOUD. I could hear it upstairs easily. I sent it back and bought a coralife instead. It is quieter, but you can still hear it.

Now, that being said, the orbit may be quieter. I think the fan is larger, so it turns more slowly than a tiny one to move the same volume of air.

 

[jcarlilesiu]

i have the satelitte fixture.... dual 96W with a single fan. Its hard to say. i have had it set up now in my living room for about 4 months. At first I though it was pretty loud, but now I don't even know if its on. I think because im used to it. I would suppose all fans cause noise. I am very very happy with this product

 

[greenmaji]

Is it the fan's or the ballasts making the noise.. they make tons of quiet fans..

http://www.silentpcreview.com/article63-page2.html
stock 12V so application needs some consideration.. the same makers are good for diffent Voltages.

Panflow, papst, sanyo deiki and some delta models are good choices..

the humming sound is the ballast... and thats just not suppose to be going on with an electronic ballast to the extent your explaining (if its that loud that should be a magnitic) and if thats the case a new ballast would be cheaper..

I like the design of the fixtures your considering though.. if I didn't like how they sounded I would fix that

 

[GlitcH]

Its the fans causing the noise but its not from noisy fans. 8O

The whole strip is flimsy........so with both fans running.......the vibration causes considerable noise. I've tried to fix it many times but the noise just keeps returning.
If I run it without the fans it is completely silent and if I take the fans out and run them........they sound like any other fan.
So at the is point I'm running just one fan, and I am still aggravated by the noise from time to time.

BTW I ordered the new fixture.
I'll let ya's know how I like it in a week or so.

 

[2BeachGirls]

I have the Current fixture and my husband has already complained that he can hear it our bedroom that is across the house and upstairs.

It is definitely the fan making the noise and it is not "off kilter" or anything - just loud.

I am not an electrician by any means but I wonder how hard it would be to replace that fan with something quieter. Any suggestions?

Other than that, I love the light as it gives a lot of options. Currently I have the 2 "day" lights and the 2 blue lights and then late at night the moon lights come on. If I decide to go with high light plants I can switch over to more day bulbs for the wattage.

 

[GlitcH]

try disconnecting 1 of the fans..........it cut the noise in half for me.

 

[TeenReefer]

could it be vibrating against the metal? My coralife fixtures fan was loud so i pulled it out and found out that it was just vibrating against the metal underneath.

 

[fish_4_all]

Take all the guts out and put them in a sturdier frame if you can. I don't know if wood would work but it would be a lot quieter if it is a vibration thing. I had a fan setup in a huge tank for an albino burmease python. It came in the original metal housing and hummed like a prop plane. I took it out of the frame and mounted it to the wood and it never bothered me again. Just an idea and I honetly have no clue if can work because I have never seen the fixtures but it might be an option.

 

[Tiffi]

I have the Current Retrofit Kit and Coralife (?) fans. The fans are pretty quiet and the Kit doesn't make a sound. Got the fans from bigals and our bedroom is right next to the office with the aquarium next to the door. We always sleep with open doors but the fans don't disturb us a bit.

 

[rich311k]

I have both the satellite and the orbit fixtures. I have no complaints about either of them. The fan noise is audible but certainly not bothersome.