|
|
|
|
|
#1
11-13-2007, 09:49 PM
|
||||
|
||||
I have the aquatinics constellation fixture - 7 t-5 bulbs that you were speaking of.
I faced the same sort of decision as you did - however, my tank is a 90 gallon. I wanted a fixture that would work on a 120 gallon if I chose to upgrade. However, I decided to not have a canopy, and so the fans were important to me, as well as one extra bulb. The ballasts are overdriven, so keeping the heat down is important for the life of the bulb. My fixture is not housed in a canopy, but hangs instead. I totally love it! It has three seperate switches with three seperate power cords. This enables quite a bit of flexibility in regards to lighting schedule - and is nice to be able to reduce lighting to acclimatize new occupants. I have each cord on its own timer - set it and forget it. Can't say anything about sps corals - I'm just a newbie, and tank has only been up a couple of months, so I am slowly adding beginner type corals - no sps yet. 
|
|
#2
11-13-2007, 10:29 PM
|
|||||
|
|||||
|
Heat wont be an issue, i have two large fans built into the canopy, so the bulbs life shouldnt diminish from the heat.
So better ballast = better shades of light - aquactinics better reflector - aquactinics 3 switches vs 2 for dusk dawn effect - aquactinics price - Sunlight Tek 5 what to do, what to do..... wow this is a tough decision. If there is anything else im missing please let me know. Last edited by Phanman; 11-13-2007 at 10:36 PM.
|
|
#3
11-13-2007, 11:09 PM
|
|||||
|
|||||
|
don't forget tek lights come in 8 lamp as well not just 6 and for I'm sure still less money than aquantics
|
|
#4
11-13-2007, 11:32 PM
|
|||||
|
|||||
|
I wrestled with this issue for my planted FW tank, a 65g, wasn't sure whether I'd go Tek 4, Tek 6, or the Aquatinics with 5. Although I didn't end up doing anything just yet, I did at least look at these fixtures with an eye towards what I wanted to get "one day."
Anyhow, one thing I noticed, and this is important if you have a canopy that you don't want to modify - the Tek's ventilate (fan location) out the back, the Aquatinics ventilate out the sides. So if you have a canopy and you went with the Aquatinics, you'd have to cut holes in the canopy for the fans.
__________________
-- Tony My next hobby will be flooding my basement while repeatedly banging my head against a brick wall and tearing up $100 bills. Whee!
|
|
#5
11-14-2007, 11:55 AM
|
||||
|
||||
|
Fans and vents on the aquatinics fixture are located on top of the fixture.
|
|
#6
11-14-2007, 03:52 PM
|
|||||
|
|||||
|
Sorry, I didn't realize John was looking at the Constellation (guess it helps if I read things
 ). I had thought maybe the TX5 since it's in the same price category as the Tek 6 lamp.http://www.premiumaquatics.com/Merch...de=Aquactinics The Constellation fixtures and the Solar Flare fixtures are considerably more expensive, so it's probably not a fair comparison to look at those versus a Tek. You usually get what you pay for.. They likely wouldn't sell too many otherwise. If you can afford the upswing in cost, go for it.
__________________
-- Tony My next hobby will be flooding my basement while repeatedly banging my head against a brick wall and tearing up $100 bills. Whee! Last edited by Delphinus; 11-14-2007 at 04:00 PM.
|
|
#7
11-14-2007, 04:22 PM
|
|||||
|
|||||
|
Thx guys, i guess the real question i was trying to ask is if i could get away with just the Tek5 fixture for sps. and get good polp ext. and color. But for an extra few hundred i might as well go all the way.
Now another question for you guys. I can get my hands on an ATI 48" 6x54W Powermodule T5. Is this fixture way better then the aquatinics? http://www.reefgeek.com/lighting/T5_...Fixture_by_ATI Thanks for helping, i really want to make the right decision here, and not have to upgrade the lighting right away. Oh and ill be starting a tank journal once the tank is fully cleaned and ready for plumbing assembly 
|
Hybrid Mode
