3 ft Tek T5 vs Coralife Aqualight -

[malawinovice]

Any one have first hand experience with these two lights?

I have the 24" Aqualight CF 65*2 with lunar lights unit on my 20 gallon high and the softies are doing nicely, brains okay.

In process of upgrading to 40 breeder and considering the
36" Aqualight or a 4 bulb T5 unit.

Any one make the switch and what did you notice?

My tanks back up to an open stairwell, so I need covered tanks, no MH options.

thanks

[luke33]

Coralife t5's are not high output and they don't have individual reflectors. The tek's will be much much better performers and you'll get much more light and par from them as well. The growth won't even be comparable between the two. And in a 40g breeder you could keep anything you want

[malawinovice]

Sorry,

I meant the Aqualight with 96*2 CF.

thanks

[luke33]

You'll be much better with the t5's as well. They penetrate much better and don't waste as much light. They also have much better par. The bulb's last up to 2yrs, you'll have many different colors to choose from, you'll love them.

[CruzinKim]

I had the Coralife Aqualight before. There is no comparison at all with the Teklights T5HO. 2x54w Teklight is even brighter than 2x96w PCs because of the individual reflectors. I think the claim is those individual reflectors direct 300% more light back than no reflectors, but not really sure what the percentage is. 4x54w will be crazy amount of more light than 2x96w PCs. BTW, I had 4x65w Coralife Aqualights in the past.

[malawinovice]

I have heard that in the 4 foot lights, T5 are better than CF.

But I am looking at the 3 foot model
96*2 Compact Flours vs 4 * 39 Tek T5

thanks

[garygb]

36" Tek w/four 39-watt bulbs on a 40 breeder should supply all the light you need for anything you want to keep. If you are keeping animals in a tank only 16 inches deep, t-5 ho will be sufficient for even highly light demanding species. The Kelvin temp will make a difference with PAR, so all daylight bulbs 6-10,000K will give you the highest PAR.

What type of animals do you plan to keep in the 40 gallon?

[trmiv]

Still the same deal, the Tek T5 is way better than the powercompact setup. You also might look at the Aquactinics TX5, which is what I used on my 40 breeder and now my 65.

[CruzinKim]

I wonder if logic is correct, if 4x54w (216w) T5HO > 4x65w (260w) PCs, then 4x39w (156w) T5HO > 2x96w (192w) PCs?

If you can fit it, I would go with 6x39w Teklight fixture and not limit yourself. Since 4x39w is on one plug and 2x39w is on another plug, start off with 4x39w first to see if the amount of light will do it for you. My guess is it will be more than enough. Then if you ever add-on SPS and clams, use all 6x39w and you won't need to upgrade to a new fixture as you have it there already.

[DarG]

4 HO T5's should be plenty of light and it would be a no brainer for me as well going with the TEK over any CF lighting.

Have you looked into the new Nova Extreme pro's? I bet they would be a great choice for a tank like a 40 breeder. Even though the new formed reflector design is still probably not as good as true individuals, there should be tons of light from that fixture all the way to the sandbed (or BB) with the tank only being 16" deep. Plus the fan cooling is effective and the PAR doesnt drop out with the acrylic splash shield in place.

Im not suggesting that the Nova Pro is a better fixture than the TEK. There is no data (and probably wont be, not meaningful anyway) comparing output levels of both fixtures. Just that I think it would be very effective on that tank and the price is apparently still very appealing on these new Nova's. The 3 foot fixture is a 6 lamp unit. They come with bulbs, not the best but they would handle anything you want to keep in the tank and you could just upgrade when the time comes to replace bulbs. Maybe worth looking into. There are some members who have bought them but are still waiting on their arrival. Should be shipping very shortly from what I'm reading.

There is also the Aquactinics TX5 but apparently the price increase is big.

[luke33]

You could keep sps and clams with just a 4x39, and the aquacintics is just waaaay to expensive now. Over 400+ for a 24 or a 36" fixture compared to the tek you can buy for around 225-250, no comparison imo.

[trmiv]

Wow I didn't realize the Aquactinics price increased that much! It's $442.95 on diy reef right now! I only paid $322 for mine 5 months ago.

[malawinovice]

I am going to keep mushrooms. zoas, palys, leathers. brains, and some candy cane LPS.

I dont want to get into any corals that would require intense maintance/feeding schedules.


pair of clowns, royal gamma, sixline and watchman goby.

thanks

[malawinovice]

I am going to keep mushrooms. zoas, palys, leathers. brains, and some candy cane LPS.

I dont want to get into any corals that would require intense maintance/feeding schedules.


pair of clowns, royal gamma, sixline and watchman goby.

found ebay merchant $288 shipped, any deal with them?
dirtdog2003

http://cgi.ebay.com/Tek-Light-T5-Hig...QQcmdZViewItem

thanks

[CruzinKim]

I think that's the lowest price that any authorized SLS dealer can sell them for. Free s/h/i is a plus. But what about bulbs, will they sell you the ATi or UVL bulbs inexpensively with your lighthood?

[luke33]

Check out aquacave http://www.aquacave.com/detail.aspx?ID=689

There an RC sponsor and you get free shipping and a $20 off coupon on over 200bux. If you get the coupon codes from there sponsor forum you'll get it shipped to your door for 267bux. YOU WON"T find a better deal.

[malawinovice]

sweet deal, I will try to find a used one with bracket for less.

thank you all

[malawinovice]

AquaCave has UVL T5 but only in the 48" length

recs on T5 mix 4 bulb 36" lenght and supplier?

[luke33]

ati blue +, ati aquablue, ge65k, ati blue +, great growth and color, www.diyreef.com