Which T5 should I get
 

I have a list below of the T5 fixtures I am interested in. Just wondering what you guys think is the best of the ones listed, which brand is known to be better/last longer, etc. I want to spend money on a good product, not some junk :lol:

My tank is 21" high, I don't want to be limited to what I can keep, I want to eventually incorporate all families of the coral, sps, soft, etc. The tank is 36" long.

These two listed at big al's
1) Current Nova Extreme High Output T5 Fixture-36"
This fixture has 4x39 watts bulb inputs. $350.00
2) Current USA Sundial 36" T5 High Output 4x39w 10K/460
Very similar item, I think it comes with bulbs?

Listed at J&L
3) Sunlight Supply 36" Tek Light T5 Fixture - 4-Bulb, 4 x 39W
Similar, but different company

4) Coralife 36" AquaLight Fixture - 2 x 96W
Only two bulbs, might be okay for my tank?, and is this HO?

5) Coralife 36" Lunar AquaLight Fixture - 2 x 96W
Has luner lights, two bulbs, is this HO?

And if you guys have something that is better than what I have listed for a 36" long tank, 21" high, let me know please! I just want some good quality stuff.

Also, can any fixture house these 10 K + bulbs? I have lots of normal output fixtures that I can slap a nice 10 K bulb into but I am sure it is not that easy. What makes it HO, just the reflector and fans?

Thank you!

I think the Coralife's you are looking at are Power Compact. I would go T5HO over PC for sure. I would stay away from coralife, not the best quality. High Output T5's have specific ballasts and lamps.

i am running an Aquaticlife T5HO fixture and the quality and customer service has been great. I am not sure on the price for what you are looking at, but they have an integrated digital timer that sequences the actinic, 10k and led moonlights which is very cool. I paid $279 for a 24" fixture and if you PM me i can get you the contact info for the guy i bought them from. He said he would give special deals to people on this forum that are referred. You can buy them in canada, but oly from Ontario right now. I ordered mine and got them within 4 working days. Here's a link http://aquaticlife.com/t5ho/index.html

I have the sunlight supply tek light (36" 4 X 39W) and I really like it. It works well and looks nnice too!

The two Coralife fixtures you listed are power compacts, not T5. Coralife is an entry level brand, definitely not the best. The two Current USA fixtures are better than Coralife, but still not very good. The Tek fixture is one of the best T5 fixtures you can buy, very nice, and good quality. HO is higher watts than NO. 36" T5HO will be 39w. You can buy NO 10K and up bulbs, you just won't get the same amount of intensity as you would with HO.

With your tank being 21" deep you will be limited in what you can keep in your tank if you choose to go with T5s to a certain extent. Once you get past about 14-16" T5s don't compare to metal halide for intensity. You will be able to keep all softies, probably all LPS, and some SPS. If you want to keep certain types of clams, anemones, and SPS corals then metal halide would be a better choice. If you're ok with a few limitations, then the Tek fixture you chose should do quite well for you.

Don't go with anything less than a Tek,i'm at 20" deep,clams and millis at the bottom. 8 x54 watts tho.

the reefshope
http://canreef.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=51203

The Hagen GLO T5HO fixtures are not bad either, although they are two lamp fixtures so if you want 4 lamps, you'll need to buy two of the fixtures. They will also have only a single reflector for two bulbs. Not sure whether any of the other fixtures you're looking at have individual reflectors.

If you plan on having a canopy over the tank, consider retrofit kits. You'll need to buy all the components separately, (end caps, ballasts, reflectors, bulbs, timers, switches) wire them up and install them in the canopy.

Hi,
I have the Coralife 3^" 2-95w in an 18" deep and upgrade to the Nova Xtreme T5 HO 4_39W and gald I did. The bulbs for Coralife are $45 each and I had severe algae bloon with em.
Jim

Ya, I would take the Hagen Glo T5HO fixtures over the Nova Extreme. Both of those have just the single reflector for both bulbs, but the Hagen is a better product imo, and cheaper i do believe.

OP: The Tek has individual reflectors which is one of the reasons why the Tek is so much better than the others listed.

not completly true. going with a 4 bulb t5 id probably agree, 6-8 bulb fixtures have really good par. i have a par meter and have tested lots of lights and my 8 bulb tek fixture puts out better power at 27"down that most 250w halides ive tested by quite alot.

since your tank is 36" and only 21" high id say the a 6 bulb in either the tek or compact usa would allow you to keep almost anything you want, some sps probably would need to be in the upper 12" but most would be fine id think. a 4 bulb might not cut it for sps but lps and softies would be no problem.


im quite shure the compact usa lights with 4 and 6 bulbs have individual reflectors while the 8 bulb and the glo lights have 1 large relfector. you definatly want individual reflectors, imo the glo lights are junk as far as power goes thier cheep so people buy them and will defend them to the grave. i didnt even keep the 2 bulb glo light i bought on my qt tank made me crazy everytime id look at the tank
the 8 bulb compact usa with 1 reflector tested about 40% less power than my tek light with the same bulbs just for a comparison on how much reflectors matter

WHAT!? Hardly. I would argue the Tek fixtures fit somewhere between bottom of the barrel and mid range - hardly "one of the best". Mid range would be something like an ATI Sunpower which has active cooling with an acrylic shield in place. One of the best (upper range) would be something like maybe an Aquactinics Constellation and then ATI Powermodule, Fauna Marin Star Fire, Sfiligoi Stealth,.

Recommendations like this are why T5s get slagged more than they deserve - people recommend low end fixtures as if they are high end and then consumers end up complaining about staining of their reflectors, poor PAR output (when it actually gets measured), rapid lamp degradation, etc.

Read this thread from this page on for more information about choosing a quality T5 fixture: http://canreef.com/vbulletin/showthr...t=50915&page=3

The ATI fixtures are very sexy looking! Are they available in Canada?

Announced last night on our Saskatoon and area reef board was that The Reef Shoppe in Lloydminster would be carrying Aquaticlife T5HO fixtures! You should check them out, the owner is a stellar reef nut :)

As far as I know the only retailers are in the US. Progressive Reef can special order them but they simply purchase them from Reef Geek at a lowered price and then sell them to the customer.

And this is part of the problem with T5 fixture recommendations in Canada. Aside from Fauna Marin and Sfiligoi (basically the two most expensive fixtures you can purchase), none of the better fixtures are retailed in Canada. As a consequence you see people simply recommending the best thing readily available in Canada (Sunlight Supply Tek fixtures) but they're recommending low-level fixtures as if they're good quality. Unfortunately our dollar is so weak right now it's hard to justify purchasing from US retailers but if you want a good T5 fixture you basically have to either buck up for the Fauna Marin or Sfiligoi, or purchase a less expensive fixture in the US.

Those AquaticLife fixtures don't have active cooling as far as I can tell.

As far as PAR goes, Tek is one of the better brands (I did mean to say better, not best...oops). An Sfiligoi (or any of the others you listed) doesn't put out any higher PAR reading than a Tek. Sure you get all the fancy schamncy fans and dimmers n shizz, but that doesn't exactly make your corals grow any better.

Have you looked at the aquactinics fixtures? I got mine from Golds in Calgary and love it.

Are you kidding? That is so patently false it's actually comical.

Those "other" fixtures put out 30% more PAR (and this has been confirmed by several independent readings - not based on manufacturers claims) than a Tek and this is almost directly attributable to the "fancy schamncy[sic] fans" that provide active cooling to run the lamps at optimal temperature (in addition to superior ballasts and reflectors).

Ignorance is really leading to some poor recommendations and translation of information on this site lately . . .

Ive read as well that Tek fixtures do put out alot less par then the fixtures mentioned already. Active cooling does play a large role in PAR levels as well....

Check out Grims thread on RC. He's done alot of testing and confirmed by others as well.

Myka,

Sorry if it comes across as if I'm lashing out at you. I've been reading a lot of really bad advice on this site over the last couple months (most of it coming from inexperienced hobbysists) and I've basically been biting my tongue because I didn't want to stir the pot. But I guess the misinformation finally got to me and I had to say something.

Maybe Grim Reefer and others have done more testing in the last little while (I admit I haven't read up on T5 lighting is some time now), but awhile back all the top brands (including Tek) were putting out very similar numbers. Definitely not 30% difference. I will go do some reading...maybe I'm behind the times.

For the record though, Tek have fancy schmancy fans too. ;)

I guess fancy schmancy fans and superior ballasts would increase bulb life as well as PAR?

.

I just fired up my 12 bulb Sfiligoi Stealth for the first time. When I turned it off my wife thought it was 10pm at night! I've never owned a T5 fixture but trust me these are bright ones! There are 6 fans blowing on the label ends of the tubes and a glass shield to channel the hot air out the other end. I'd say this is going to def help keep the bulbs burning at their best if they do in fact have a target temp range.

The best part is I can look up at the bulbs and it's not even close to blinding. The light is totally blasted DOWN. Already a T5 fan.

im gonna have to track you down for some par readings one day. along with some others i still havnt done yet.

I'm down with that for sure.

Yep, I'm inexperienced compared to many of the members of this board, that's why I generally offer advice only on what I've experienced so far and do my best not to regurgitate things I've read elsewhere. I have a 36" Hagen Glo T5HO fixture which I purchased when I first set up my used tank. Yes I'm cheap but it worked for me initially even if it didn't completely cover my 48" long tank. A mushroom and zoa both started growing on their own a few months after I started the tank, I did not add them, they appeared on the Live Rock on their own under the cheapo Glo. I'm currently not keeping any SPS corals, but now have a large colony of zoas and a hammer coral. I've since 'upgraded' to a 4x48" T5HO retrofit kit with individual reflectors run by two Fulham Workhorse 8 ballasts. Nothing fancy but it works for me. I still use the Glo fixture with actinics for dawn/dusk effect and am quite happy with it's performance. Did have an issue with one of the endcaps but it works fine. I would not "defend them to the grave" and I think I was quite candid in my original post in stating that the Glo fixture is "not bad". I was simply trying to provide the OP with an alternative to what he was looking at. I do not consider them as 'junk' either though. We don't all have the budget for the actively cooled high end fixtures with all the bells and whistles. Personally if I was going to go to that expense, I'd probably just fire up the used tar and coil MH goodies I have gathering dust in the basement. Not ready for SPS yet, so I'm quite content with my current set up.

FWIW,

I think getting a T5 fixture without active cooling and quality individual parabolic reflectors is tantamount to using MH with flat piece of polished aluminum as a reflector. The type of lighting (T5 or MH) isn't so much important as is the quality of the reflector (and in the case of T5s of equal importance is active cooling).

If a consumer can't afford to get some of the most simple and necessary components (active cooling and good reflectors) then they would be far better served operating MH. And I'll state it again: MH is still typically the best simple option for lighting a reef tank. T5 has been proven to work superbly if appropriately implemented but doing it half-a$$ed will almost certainly lead to disappointment.

You're comparing grapes to raisins. 8 bulbs x how many watts? 54w? That is 432 w (quick math I hope that's right haha). You can't compare 432w of T5 to 250w of halide! That's not a fair comparison. PLUS, you have to use the same Kelvin bulbs in order for it to be accurate. According to Steve (Stir Crazy) actinic bulbs put out a false high PAR reading as well, so if you have actinics in your 8 bulb fixture you're not getting an accurate reading.

In order to compare T5 to MH you need to make sure all the variables are equal...this is where a lot of people fail, and come up with misleading numbers which they now think is the be all end all.

Well, I spent all my scheckels on a VorTech pump for flow and am hoping to get another. The livestock I have is doing just fine under my half-a$$ed T5 setup so I'll just have to live with it for now.

If you're going to calculate the T5 as if it's going on a 4 foot tank (54W) then you also need to be reasonable about the application of the MH - no one is going to try to realistically light a 4 foot tank with a single 250W MH. So consider that the above example is likely 2 x 250W MH in a real-world application (although that's purely speculation on my part as I wasn't the one making the claim - but it's certainly a reasonable consideration).

Secondly, very few people actually recommend running T5HO actinic lamps. A typical application would include lamps measured some where around 450nm but generally not pure "actinic" 420nm. And as an example even a 250W AB 10,000K on an M80 ballast has its largest peak at 420nm (actinic) so I suppose it's producing false high PAR readings?

Don't take the half-a$$ed quote as being derogatory. I'm just trying to impress upon people that you can't compare a low end T5 set up to a properly cooled and reflected T5 set up and expect to get comparable results.

You are correct of course. Fair enough, I think the OP will make the right decision and perhaps I'm getting a little carried away. No offense taken, and the OP is considering SPS, so he should get the best he can.

After two days worth of research, posting, checking stores, looking at market value, pricing, etc etc.

I have decided to go with the current usa 6x39 watt nova extreme pro fixture.

It has more than enough wattage for my tank, economical, individual reflectors, dual switch, splash guard, comes with bulbs, tank mounts, cooling fans built in, etc. for 450 canadian dollars. That is the best I think I will do.

Thanks folks, didn't mean to start a heated thread :p

ive tested a few different setups, the 4 foot tanks i tested were under 2 250w's for comparison, the tek i have tested equall to a 400w even, the 400w was a tar ballast and not so nice reflector though, personally i hate how every t5 thread goes this way every time, im just stating facts that ive tested with my own par meter for my own knowledge, if anyone wants to listen great if not fine too my corals are doing great in a 27" deep tank with the light way higher than it needs to be so in my opinion tek lights work great, i havnt yet tested any higher end 48" t5 lights that would make a fair comparison so im still a bit skeptical on how much better the light output is on them, personally i think its mostly name and features like cooling and dimming that make the over double the price

Sounds like a great decision - you've ensured your fixture has the most important components and found a reasonable compromise with respect to pricing and "quality".

I'm not sure why this was directed at me as I was defending your comparison of 8x54W to a 250W while deducing that the tested 250W set up was actually 2 x 250W while Myka erroneously assumed the comparison was to a single 250W.

With respect to the "double the price" comment I agree. I don't believe that the prices charged for the higher end fixtures are necessarily justified as being purely a consequence of quality or features. In most cases fixtures fetch those prices based on brand IMO. But it's also true that there are few "half the price" fixtures that incorporate active cooling, splash guards, quality individual parabolic reflectors, and good ballasts/components.

For some visual appeal is its own performance stat I suppose. The higher end fixtures have the much nicer extruded aluminum shells which I think are well worth the extra money. If you're going to put it in a canopy go retrofit in my opinion.

It is one thing that I am allready sic of in this hobby. The gross overpricing of equiptment once you put "Aquarium grade" on it. Me, being an electrician, Know the costs of alot of things. And I hate it that the same item is cheaper if its for Commercial installations, rather than Industrial. but in reality, its the same darn thing....

Cost DOES NOT allways mean quality

no, not aimed at anyone, personally i like the good stuff and have often payed more for a similar product just cause its cooler(to someone i guess) i like to have a nice looking fixture even if its hidden in a canopy,, like my $600 reddragon return pump im quite shure is just a pump with a fluvalfx5 impeller and i nice housing ohwell its cooler shure ill pay $500 more than a mag pump. not quite shure what part of my brain turns off when i look at aquarium equipment