Help on some hardware decisions

[PoonTang]

Originally Posted by serratus

Thanks for the quick replies everyone!

"OA and JL can be reasonable even with shipping"
JL I assume is J&L Aquatics, but what is OA?

The two links that you've given me are both for TEK lights. How do TEK lights compare to Current Nova lights? Do TEK bulbs produce more light at the same power?, or are they quieter? Can you use TEK bulbs in NOVA fixtures?

TEK lights are way better than Nova lights if T5 lighting is the route you are going to take. They take the same bulbs.

[Trigger Man]

I agree, I would say Tek lights then Hagen Glos then the nova fixtures. I have had a chance to see all three going side by side and for light output the Teks were the best then the glos (with a noticable difference between them and the Teks), then the Novas. Currently I've got the Teks and some glos as additional back lighting.

[mseepman]

I would recommend both J&L and OA as excellent places to get items online. As for you "get what you pay for"...I agree to a point. Many of us DIY (Do It Yourself) which results in a low price and decent results. I think sometimes the Odyssea stuff can be a good starting point for a beginner but you must realize that this "Saltwater habit" is exactly that...a habit and an expensive one. We all end up wanting to go bigger and better so in the end we replace our cheaper equipment with better stuff.

I would stay away from a cannister filter...that's what I started out with and quickly found out what a mistake that was.

If you are looking at skimmers...Bubble Magus is a very low cost brand that has been given very good reviews. I have a nano version and I'm solidly impressed with it. Again...cheap with amazing results.

Make sure your tank has good flow and that you check here before you buy anything so that you can get some advice. The people here are amazing and have some of the most beautiful tanks around. Many of those tanks are in Edmonton so maybe you'll have a chance to see some of them sometime.

[serratus]

Originally Posted by mseepman

I would stay away from a cannister filter...that's what I started out with and quickly found out what a mistake that was.

Make sure your tank has good flow and that you check here before you buy anything so that you can get some advice. The people here are amazing and have some of the most beautiful tanks around. Many of those tanks are in Edmonton so maybe you'll have a chance to see some of them sometime.

Thanks! I'll check on here before I buy for sure now! What is the down side of cannister filters? My main problem is that it's for a space that's already built into the house so there isn't room for a sump design. There's barely enough room for cannister filters (gotta stay under 15" tall).

[serratus]

So you guys got me looking into these TEK fixtures now

I'm wondering why there is such a huge price discrepancy between the ones that are currently for sale:

1) $450:
http://canreef.com/vbulletin/showthr...&highlight=TEK
2) $400:
http://canreef.com/vbulletin/showthr...&highlight=TEK

versus these TEK lights:

3) $200
http://canreef.com/vbulletin/showthr...&highlight=TEK
4) $280
http://canreef.com/vbulletin/showthr...&highlight=TEK

Are (3) and (4) completely different light fixtures that are much cheaper to begin with? I cannot use them because they are 48" but I would have thought the 48" models are more expensive than the 36" ones.

[mseepman]

Could be a factor of new bulbs...or could be related to a change that TEK made in their reflectors (I think they call them TEK2 reflectors now)

If you are looking at a TEK Light...try OA here as they seem to be the cheapest:
http://oceanaquatics.com/store/produ...-6-Bulb-Light/

[Trigger Man]

Originally Posted by serratus

So you guys got me looking into these TEK fixtures now

I'm wondering why there is such a huge price discrepancy between the ones that are currently for sale:

1) $450:
http://canreef.com/vbulletin/showthr...&highlight=TEK
2) $400:
http://canreef.com/vbulletin/showthr...&highlight=TEK

versus these TEK lights:

3) $200
http://canreef.com/vbulletin/showthr...&highlight=TEK
4) $280
http://canreef.com/vbulletin/showthr...&highlight=TEK

Are (3) and (4) completely different light fixtures that are much cheaper to begin with? I cannot use them because they are 48" but I would have thought the 48" models are more expensive than the 36" ones.

From clicking on the models it looks like the big price difference was based on age of the bulbs as well as the willingness to unload the unit. The units that sold for under 300 dollars were spoken for fairly quick as they were a great deal. The other 2 higher priced units are good deal and would save you money from purchasing new, but have been on here for a bit so you may have the ability to get the price down a bit (the bulb age on one is only 3 months-like new hence additional pricing- and I did not see the age on the other one).

[PoonTang]

Originally Posted by serratus

Thanks! I'll check on here before I buy for sure now! What is the down side of cannister filters? My main problem is that it's for a space that's already built into the house so there isn't room for a sump design. There's barely enough room for cannister filters (gotta stay under 15" tall).

Like I said earlier, your filtration comes from your live rock, sand, and a skimmer.
Keep reading, and asking questions.

[serratus]

Wow guys, I'm starting to consider getting TEK lights with 6 bulbs now haha. This almost doubles what I had originally intended to spend on lights Will a 6 bulb TEK be enough to start growing some hard corals? (50 Gallon with 18" tank depth). I can't believe that everyday I look at this stuff, the budget needs to get bumped up and yet I want the aquarium even more

To think, when I first approached someone at BigAl's they said my starup cost would be $1000!!!


"Just curious where do you buy your photography equipment at a good price?"

B&H Photo or Adorama are the best places and very very trustworthy. In the photography equipment business, there are lots of "bait and switch" tactics used by non-reputable dealers. You won't find any place with a price that's more than 5-10% lower than the mentioned 2 stores. Adorama's prices are slightly cheaper than B&H photo but shipping is slightly more so basically works out to the same. Prices almost always works out to be cheaper than buying from Canadian Retailers (except a few newer items where they set the Canadian price when the Canadian dollar was roughly on par with USD). The downside is that you don't have warranty.

[Trigger Man]

It will be more then enough, Until a couple of months ago I was using the Tek 4x54 4 foot unit in my 5 foot 125ish g with plenty of sps frags and colonies and they are all growing.

Originally Posted by serratus

Wow guys, I'm starting to consider getting TEK lights with 6 bulbs now haha. This almost doubles what I had originally intended to spend on lights Will a 6 bulb TEK be enough to start growing some hard corals? (50 Gallon with 18" tank depth). I can't believe that everyday I look at this stuff, the budget needs to get bumped up and yet I want the aquarium even more

To think, when I first approached someone at BigAl's they said my starup cost would be $1000!!!


"Just curious where do you buy your photography equipment at a good price?"

B&H Photo or Adorama are the best places and very very trustworthy. In the photography equipment business, there are lots of "bait and switch" tactics used by non-reputable dealers. You won't find any place with a price that's more than 5-10% lower than the mentioned 2 stores. Adorama's prices are slightly cheaper than B&H photo but shipping is slightly more so basically works out to the same. Prices almost always works out to be cheaper than buying from Canadian Retailers (except a few newer items where they set the Canadian price when the Canadian dollar was roughly on par with USD). The downside is that you don't have warranty.