What does everyone think of T5's for reefs

[kwirky]

my tank's 48x24x24 and I keep lps and softies and such, and my 8 bulb 4' light fixture is more than adequate. I'm planning for some sps this summer because the upper regions of the tank are a no-fly zone for the softies, it's so bright. I'm quite satisfied with T5 bulbs. I have the sunlight supply Tek light fixture.

I'd recommend making sure you have two separate ballasts, because I had to change my lighting schedule to 12 hours actinic and 9 hours bright.

Also, we're gonna be getting the Korallen Zucht bulbs in canada very soon. Been reading bout them for a bit, and it seems some people in europe are going to T5 and never going back because of these bulbs. The pictures are outright amazing

[marcingo]

Sounds great. What I wanted to hear. Do you think brand name of the fixture makes a big difference? I have found these for 249 for a 8x39watt in edmonton but Im guessing its not a well known brand name. Also would anyone know where I might be able to compare prices with brand name stuff.

Thanks

http://www.aquagiant.com/product_inf...roducts_id/971

[kwirky]

I don't recommend that one. It doesn't have individual parabolic reflectors. For T5 to be worth it, each bulb needs it's own reflector, and they're usually about 2.5" wide each.

If you're looking for a budget fixture, you could go with a sunlight supply new wave fixture. They're new and aimed to be a little lower budget. They only have a single ballast though, and the 48" 8 bulb units are hard to find.

if you're looking for prices, check j&l http://www.jlaquatics.com, and call Gold's aquariums. Even better, go in and talk to Albert personally. Gold's usually has great prices, only you have to wait sometimes if they have to order it. Great service there. Highly recommended. *thumbs up*

[mr_alberta]

For T5's you can talk to Ryan over at ReefWerkz. He hooked my up with my TekLight fixture on my nano.

[Bartman]

Originally Posted by marcingo

I have found these for 249 for a 8x39watt in edmonton

If you have a 4' tank I would go with the 54W bulbs instead of the shorter 39W units.

[marcingo]

Thanks for the advice. I went to take a look at that unit and was very dissapointed. The only one he had running barely lit up a fresh water tank. When I talked to him on the phone he told me each bulb had an individual reflector but when I got there it didnt- maybe thats why the light was so dim on it.

[kwirky]

they might be normally driven too (NO), and not high output (HO). I've got a coralife aqualight NO T5 light for my FW tank. It's two NO bulbs sharing a reflector packed together, and it's not much light.

When you finally see a proper HO driven T5 light with parabolic reflectors, you'll be amazed at it's brightness.

sorry bout recommending gold's. thought you were in calgary. J&L's a good place to order stuff from. I've gotten quite a bit from there.

[marcingo]

no problem. It might have been normal driven but I also asked if it was HO T5 and he assured me it was. Would the NO t5 be thin bulbs as well? because these were pretty thin.

[Rumika]

I hope you don't mind me asking a question but this is also interesting to me. I have a 90g FW that I will be looking at changing over to SW so I am looking for a light fixture for it as well.
Would you know what kind of depth the HO T5's are good for? Also Sean, would you suggest some name brands to look for. I believe you pay for what you get and you may pay more for it in the beginning but in the long run it is worth it.

Thanx