The Sunlight Supply Maristar 2 HQI is a great looking hybrid light for the aquarium and should be available in the next month or so. Sporting a sleek, new extruded aluminum body the Maristar 2 doubled the amount of T5 lighting from the original Maristar light, added LED supplemental lighting and integrated a pair of timers to be able to give more onboard control to the fixture. More pictures and details after the break.
The new 48 in. fixture now holds four HO T5 bulbs with individual reflectors, 12 460nm blue LEDs and two 250 watt double-ended metal halide bulbs. The dual timers on the end of one side of the fixture allow you to control the T5 and LED lights and to get full control over the entire light, a separate timer could be used on the MHs remote ballast. The Maristar 2 also features built-in cooling fans to keep it from getting to toasty.
The Sunlight Supply Maristar 2 will run about the same pricing as the incumbent Maristar light with a huge chunk of the cost saving coming from saved manhours from using extruded over hand-bent metal on the housing. The company also plans on introducing other sizes and incorporating a mogul-based version of the fixture in the future.
