Lighting Selection

[kien]

Originally Posted by BerryNice

Can someone explain the difference, advantages, and disadvantages between "compact fluorecent" T-5s (Coralife) vs. "fluorscent" T-5s (Current USA)? Preference?

Thanks,

The Compact Fluorescent bulbs that come with the Corallife fixture are not T5 bulbs, they are.. well, compact flurescent bulbs. Very different from T5 bulbs (like what the Current USA comes with).

T5s are generally brighter/more powerful and have a much more available spectrum and colour temperature to choose from. You choose from a very yellow 6500K all the way to very blue 22K or actinics and purples. There are also many manufacturers that offer the bulb so you have a lot of choice.

I have only ever seen actinics and 10K bulbs come out of CoralLife CF bulbs. I honestly do not know what the advantage of a Compact Fluroescent would be, other than energy savings. The CF would probably run cooler and consume less power? Also, if I am not mistaken those corallife CF bulbs are proprietary which means limited selection.

[blueyota]

pcs are also more expensive than t5s

[Carmen]

I run a 2X250W MH with pc's and I can tell you the pc's are worthless. Nice for an actinic/moonlight glow after lights out but that's about it. They do not contribute at all to the overall color when the MH are on. I have found it necessary to supplement with T5's as well to achieve a nicer color.

[BerryNice]

So based on the feedback so far, it sounds like the Current USA fixture is the preferred choice over Coralife, am I correct?

+'s
T-5 bulbs vs. power compacts
Replacement T-5 bulbs are more cost effective and not proprietary to the fixture
full 60" coverage vs. 48"
60" allows me to properly mount

Anything else I should consider?

What is warranty/repair like with Current USA?

Thanks!

[kien]

Originally Posted by BerryNice

So based on the feedback so far, it sounds like the Current USA fixture is the preferred choice over Coralife, am I correct?

+'s
T-5 bulbs vs. power compacts
Replacement T-5 bulbs are more cost effective and not proprietary to the fixture
full 60" coverage vs. 48"
60" allows me to properly mount

Anything else I should consider?

What is warranty/repair like with Current USA?

Thanks!

I'm not sure if the Current USA fixture takes 48" bulbs or 60" bulbs but also consider the fact that 60" T5 bulbs are hard to come by. If they do in fact use the 60" bulbs I would recommend maybe getting two 24" fixtures to get your spread if that's what you're concerned about. If your tank isn't too deep one 48" fixture high enough should spread enough for the whole tank.