Looking for 36" T5's online or in Calgary

[Moogled]

Why bother with TWO units? If that's the case, you can buy five Coralife T5 strips and place them on your tank. The 36" Tek Light offers four T5HO bulbs with individual reflectors for each. Each bulb has about 39w with an approximate 300% light reflection.

When I say don't use Hagen lights, I don't mean don't use HAGEN lights. I don't discriminate brands because there's a suitable light for every situation. I'm not knocking your Hagen lights either, so there's no need to project on me and assume I'm dismissing Hagen just because. You also make it clear that there are corals your light can't keep.

There's no question that the Hagen light is considerably cheaper and can also sustain corals. I'm also offering a biased suggestion which you seemed to take quick offense to. The question isn't if your lights work or not. All I'm saying is that with a Tek Light there's very little else you can improve in terms of lighting - with the exception being MH which is the next step up.

FYI, your SPS frag growth is impressive, but it's also being kept as high as it can on the tank which also contributes to growth. Have you tested an SPS any lower?

http://www.specialty-lights.com/aqua...ghts-faq3.html

You can see the Tek Lights in action at Golds. They're on the left side of the tank as you make your way to the back. Any corals that you put under them have brilliant fluorescence. These lights are strong enough to keep almost any coral at any level.

Alot of fellow Canreefers own Tek Lights and have excellent experiences with them. Buy whatever is within your budget.

[albert_dao]

I wouldn't place HOT5 output any higher than an average PC. They don't have individual reflectors.

[fishytime]

Originally Posted by kadaytar

I saw Hagen individual reflectors and some T5 HO bulbs but no ballast. Are there complete fixtures or retros as well? Any online vendors selling them?

They come both ways, as a retro fit kit and as a fully assembled unit.

Moogled I suspect you would take offence too , if someone running a LED system said they wouldnt use a tek light without ever using one. Josh asked for T5 lighting options and where to look.I offered my opinion. Which you promptly shot down. As for it being two units instead of one, I find it kinda handy not having to remove the whole light when doing maintenence( I only remove the front one). No I havnt tried the sps lower in my tank because I do know the limitations of my lighting. But I find that a mute point as the vast majority of sps keepers place them in the top third of the tank regardless of their lighting system.

But enough bickering ...Josh what are the dimensions of your tank and what do you think you would like to keep as far as corals go. If a softie orriented with a couple lower light sps tank like mine appeals to you then you dont need to spend the big bucks. If you want a sps and lps dominated tank then you will need to cough for a meatier lighting system.

[Moogled]

Sorry, but the line between a Tek Light and MH/LED Lighting is very clear. Only someone that hasn't researched the pros/cons of the lighting in question would take offense - which I don't. There's no point in creating a hypothetical situation about my Tek Light and LED systems and then assume my actions, especially since there's a very real example in this thread here.

I shot down your opinion? Brother, please. I made a suggestion where I blatantly state that a Tek Light is better overall than 2 Hagen light fixtures - plus technical features that define the essential success. Remember, I said that it isn't a question of whether your light works or not - it does - it's a question of which one is better and I answered that promptly.

Coral placement says alot about a lighting system - it's not a "mute" point.

Come to think of it, you're pretty much saying what I said several posts earlier.

"Yeah, the Hagen light fixtures work, but if you want to keep SPS and LPS - then you'll need to buy a better light system. I only keep my SPS frag at the top because I know my limitations."

Good - I knew your limitations too. Once again, not knocking your choice but making a very objective analysis.

BTW, I don't find this bickering seeing as how I try to make valid points. You might find my biases a bit strong but everyone is opinionated.

[Ruth]

Well, the lord hates a coward, as the saying goes, so I might as well wade in here just a little bit.
I think that Fishytime asks a very pertinent question of Josh - what is your intent as far as keeping coral? If you are going for an SPS dominated tank then you will probably have to look at the more expensive T5 lighting systems or........you can just skip that particular buy and go direct to Metal Halide lighting. There are often good quality used MH lights for sale on this and other boards and so very often I have seen people posting similar question to the one that Josh has posted about PC or VHO or various combo's thereof and then a few months later you see them with a post looking for a used MH light or posing a question on what kind of MH light to buy.
Just something else to consider Josh. Really think about where you want to take your tank down the road in a year or so and plan accordingly. Don't do like I (and a few others) have done and spend way more $ than you have to constantly upgrading one step at a time. It will really save you $ in the long run.

[Moogled]

http://www.canreef.com/ftotm/may06a/index.php

http://www.canreef.com/ftotm/sept06/index.php

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2007-05/totm/index.php

These tanks all have acros on the lower portion of their tank - possibly deep water acros. Like you said, alot of reef keepers like to keep acros high up for two reasons:

1. Aesthetics - corals grow upwards.

2. Maximize (keyword) SPS growth.

The light you're using serves a third reason - your acro would most likely not thrive if it was placed lower in your tank due to a lack of light penetration. If that's the case, how many acros would you keep? The point being illustrated is that a better lighting system also allows a larger variety of locations for coral to be placed.

[JOSH]

thanks for all the opinions. The tank I'm considering building will only be 12" deep, 36" long and 16" wide. I doubt i'll require the lighting strength of MH. I would prefer to use T5 as as I understand it they are cheaper to run, bulbs last a long time and the bulbs are cheap to replace. I would like to keep mainly lps and some sps.

thanks again for your help

[Ruth]

Excellent choice for that depth of tank The only thing you might want to research further is the price of replacement bulbs. For good quality bulbs they are not cheap.

[Moogled]

German ATI bulbs cost roughly $25 each.

[Ruth]

Boy those prices have come down - mind you when I replace mine I am looking at 4 60" bulbs so they were running me about $50 a piece. Which reminds me I should look at replacing mine