Aquantics vs Sunlight Tek T5 fixture

Phanman · #1 11-13-2007, 08:13 PM

Hi guys,

I need some advice as to what lighting fixture to buy. I got a 120 gallon tank from a fellow canreefer and I only want to buy 1 lighting fixture that I dont need to upgrade down the road. Well until i get a larger fish tank, lol.

The tank is 60L 18W 26H with canopy and stand. The lighting fixture will be hidden from view due to the canopy so looks isnt a factor. As well, the canopy has 2 built in exhaust fans so heat isnt an issue either.

Im deciding on a 48'' fixture either going with Aquactinics (constellation) or the sunlight tek T5 fixture. The only difference i see between the two units is the Aquaantics is 7 bulbs and the sunlight unit is 6 bulbs. I know the ballast is slightly better in the aquactinics and it also has a built in cooling fan (which i dont need). Both are 54W...

The Aquactinics is priced at $700ish and the sunlight tek fixture is $420... is it REALLY worth it? I want to keep mainly SPS corals and fish of course.

Any advice or opinions would be GREATLY appreciated.

Sunlight Tek - http://www.jlaquatics.com/phpstore/s...ID=sl-t5tl4806

Aquactinics - http://www.aquactinics.com/pages/72-Constellation.html

John

Joe Reefer · #2 11-13-2007, 08:30 PM

Any reason as to why T5's? I would consider a MH/T5 combo fixture if your thinking of having a sps dominate tank.

Phanman · #3 11-13-2007, 09:00 PM

Just for long term replacement bulb cost, and electricity. I've been told that T5's will be fine for an sps dominated tank. Plus with 6-7 bulbs i should get enough light im hoping.

fkshiu · #4 11-13-2007, 09:16 PM

Doesn't the Aquactinics fixture use an Icecap 660 ballast? If so, that's a definite plus over the Workhorse ballasts that the Tek uses although it comes at the cost of somewhat higher electrical usage and shortened bulb life because of the overdriving.

Secondly, if the Aquactinics also uses Icecap SLR reflectors, they also have an advantage over the Tek reflectors.

Lastly, having an extra bulb could be a big difference if it's a good PAR-heavy German daylight bulb. If you are going to keep SPS mainly, then you'll want to wring every last bit of light you can get out of your fixture.

Good fans are a must for a T5HO system to be optimised as well.

whosinpower · #5 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.

Phanman · #6 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.

reptile guy · #7 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

Delphinus · #8 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.

whosinpower · #9 11-14-2007, 11:55 AM

Fans and vents on the aquatinics fixture are located on top of the fixture.

Delphinus · #10 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.