t5 lighting

[fishface]

hey all,

i was wondering who about town here sells t5 lighting? seems as though some local shops have a guy that will make a fixture for ya (quite costly for no CSA approval). wondering if anyone has any other suggestions hydoponics shops?). MH runs pretty hot from what i understand and very expensive...

i'm planning on my first sw tank, it's a 25 tall but i'm trying to ballance good light and $$$. i'ld prefer not to have to upgrade again by next year!!

any suggestions would be much appreciated!

[Rikko]

T5 is still pretty rare around here. The costly fixtures are probably the Terra Grow ones (used to be Envirolite but they switched to HO fixtures and bulbs). The self-ballasted units themselves are actually a pretty good deal.. Getting the shade made up does become a little pricey.
AFAIK they are the only game who's made any inroads into BC. We have them at the Pet Gallery and I've seen them at several other pet stores and hydroponics shops. They're all from the same source. King Ed also had a couple of different units with their own reflectors, but I think those were the ones getting dump reviews online after a couple of months.
I personally didn't bother with the shade and just mounted the T5s inside a custom canopy and I love the results. If your tank is such that you *need* a light fixture to sit on top, that might be your only local option (besides the Corelife PC hoods).

[trilinearmipmap]

Ocean Aquatics has them.

[Willow]

non of these are csa approved so it's buyer beware.

[trilinearmipmap]

Just wondering which lighting choices, among the pre-built lighting hoods (ie not DIY) are CSA approved? Are the MH fixtures such as Coralife, AB, etc CSA approved?

[Rikko]

Woops, I see OA has the other fixtures as well, and those are the ones used by the TOTM on RC. Looks pretty nice.

Bear in mind that while they (the ones you've seen around) lack CSA, they are UL. AFAIK that means it's passed US safety regulations, but they haven't yet bothered to apply for Canadian approval. If you get the shade made, it's technically a custom DIY job and UL probably technically fails there too.

[Xayvian]

I'm very happy with the Tek T5 fixture I ordered from OA.

[fishface]

thanks all for your help. i ended up going for a 250w hamilton tech MH pendant. got a real good deal and couldn't refuse. paid more than what i wanted to but at least i hope i shouldn't have to upgrade too soon.

:mrgreen: