Which T5 should I get

[Bartman1818]

I have a list below of the T5 fixtures I am interested in. Just wondering what you guys think is the best of the ones listed, which brand is known to be better/last longer, etc. I want to spend money on a good product, not some junk :lol:

My tank is 21" high, I don't want to be limited to what I can keep, I want to eventually incorporate all families of the coral, sps, soft, etc. The tank is 36" long.

These two listed at big al's
1) Current Nova Extreme High Output T5 Fixture-36"
This fixture has 4x39 watts bulb inputs. $350.00
2) Current USA Sundial 36" T5 High Output 4x39w 10K/460
Very similar item, I think it comes with bulbs?

Listed at J&L
3) Sunlight Supply 36" Tek Light T5 Fixture - 4-Bulb, 4 x 39W
Similar, but different company

4) Coralife 36" AquaLight Fixture - 2 x 96W
Only two bulbs, might be okay for my tank?, and is this HO?

5) Coralife 36" Lunar AquaLight Fixture - 2 x 96W
Has luner lights, two bulbs, is this HO?

And if you guys have something that is better than what I have listed for a 36" long tank, 21" high, let me know please! I just want some good quality stuff.

Also, can any fixture house these 10 K + bulbs? I have lots of normal output fixtures that I can slap a nice 10 K bulb into but I am sure it is not that easy. What makes it HO, just the reflector and fans?

Thank you!

[xtreme]

I think the Coralife's you are looking at are Power Compact. I would go T5HO over PC for sure. I would stay away from coralife, not the best quality. High Output T5's have specific ballasts and lamps.

[Koresample]

i am running an Aquaticlife T5HO fixture and the quality and customer service has been great. I am not sure on the price for what you are looking at, but they have an integrated digital timer that sequences the actinic, 10k and led moonlights which is very cool. I paid $279 for a 24" fixture and if you PM me i can get you the contact info for the guy i bought them from. He said he would give special deals to people on this forum that are referred. You can buy them in canada, but oly from Ontario right now. I ordered mine and got them within 4 working days. Here's a link http://aquaticlife.com/t5ho/index.html

[Shelle]

I have the sunlight supply tek light (36" 4 X 39W) and I really like it. It works well and looks nnice too!

[Myka]

I have a list below of the T5 fixtures I am interested in.

My tank is 21" high, I don't want to be limited to what I can keep, I want to eventually incorporate all families of the coral, sps, soft, etc. The tank is 36" long.

And if you guys have something that is better than what I have listed for a 36" long tank, 21" high, let me know please! I just want some good quality stuff.

Also, can any fixture house these 10 K + bulbs? I have lots of normal output fixtures that I can slap a nice 10 K bulb into but I am sure it is not that easy. What makes it HO, just the reflector and fans?

Thank you!

The two Coralife fixtures you listed are power compacts, not T5. Coralife is an entry level brand, definitely not the best. The two Current USA fixtures are better than Coralife, but still not very good. The Tek fixture is one of the best T5 fixtures you can buy, very nice, and good quality. HO is higher watts than NO. 36" T5HO will be 39w. You can buy NO 10K and up bulbs, you just won't get the same amount of intensity as you would with HO.

With your tank being 21" deep you will be limited in what you can keep in your tank if you choose to go with T5s to a certain extent. Once you get past about 14-16" T5s don't compare to metal halide for intensity. You will be able to keep all softies, probably all LPS, and some SPS. If you want to keep certain types of clams, anemones, and SPS corals then metal halide would be a better choice. If you're ok with a few limitations, then the Tek fixture you chose should do quite well for you.

[dreef]

Don't go with anything less than a Tek,i'm at 20" deep,clams and millis at the bottom. 8 x54 watts tho.

[don.ald]

i am running an Aquaticlife T5HO fixture and the quality and customer service has been great. I am not sure on the price for what you are looking at, but they have an integrated digital timer that sequences the actinic, 10k and led moonlights which is very cool. I paid $279 for a 24" fixture and if you PM me i can get you the contact info for the guy i bought them from. He said he would give special deals to people on this forum that are referred. You can buy them in canada, but oly from Ontario right now. I ordered mine and got them within 4 working days. Here's a link http://aquaticlife.com/t5ho/index.html

the reefshope
http://canreef.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=51203

[mike31154]

The Hagen GLO T5HO fixtures are not bad either, although they are two lamp fixtures so if you want 4 lamps, you'll need to buy two of the fixtures. They will also have only a single reflector for two bulbs. Not sure whether any of the other fixtures you're looking at have individual reflectors.

If you plan on having a canopy over the tank, consider retrofit kits. You'll need to buy all the components separately, (end caps, ballasts, reflectors, bulbs, timers, switches) wire them up and install them in the canopy.

[daddy01]

Hi,
I have the Coralife 3^" 2-95w in an 18" deep and upgrade to the Nova Xtreme T5 HO 4_39W and gald I did. The bulbs for Coralife are $45 each and I had severe algae bloon with em.
Jim

[Myka]

The Hagen GLO T5HO fixtures are not bad either, although they are two lamp fixtures so if you want 4 lamps, you'll need to buy two of the fixtures. They will also have only a single reflector for two bulbs. Not sure whether any of the other fixtures you're looking at have individual reflectors.

Ya, I would take the Hagen Glo T5HO fixtures over the Nova Extreme. Both of those have just the single reflector for both bulbs, but the Hagen is a better product imo, and cheaper i do believe.

OP: The Tek has individual reflectors which is one of the reasons why the Tek is so much better than the others listed.

[i have crabs]

With your tank being 21" deep you will be limited in what you can keep in your tank if you choose to go with T5s to a certain extent. Once you get past about 14-16" T5s don't compare to metal halide for intensity. You will be able to keep all softies, probably all LPS, and some SPS. If you want to keep certain types of clams, anemones, and SPS corals then metal halide would be a better choice. If you're ok with a few limitations, then the Tek fixture you chose should do quite well for you.

not completly true. going with a 4 bulb t5 id probably agree, 6-8 bulb fixtures have really good par. i have a par meter and have tested lots of lights and my 8 bulb tek fixture puts out better power at 27"down that most 250w halides ive tested by quite alot.

since your tank is 36" and only 21" high id say the a 6 bulb in either the tek or compact usa would allow you to keep almost anything you want, some sps probably would need to be in the upper 12" but most would be fine id think. a 4 bulb might not cut it for sps but lps and softies would be no problem.


im quite shure the compact usa lights with 4 and 6 bulbs have individual reflectors while the 8 bulb and the glo lights have 1 large relfector. you definatly want individual reflectors, imo the glo lights are junk as far as power goes thier cheep so people buy them and will defend them to the grave. i didnt even keep the 2 bulb glo light i bought on my qt tank made me crazy everytime id look at the tank
the 8 bulb compact usa with 1 reflector tested about 40% less power than my tek light with the same bulbs just for a comparison on how much reflectors matter

[Canadian]

The Tek fixture is one of the best T5 fixtures you can buy, very nice, and good quality.

WHAT!? Hardly. I would argue the Tek fixtures fit somewhere between bottom of the barrel and mid range - hardly "one of the best". Mid range would be something like an ATI Sunpower which has active cooling with an acrylic shield in place. One of the best (upper range) would be something like maybe an Aquactinics Constellation and then ATI Powermodule, Fauna Marin Star Fire, Sfiligoi Stealth,.

Recommendations like this are why T5s get slagged more than they deserve - people recommend low end fixtures as if they are high end and then consumers end up complaining about staining of their reflectors, poor PAR output (when it actually gets measured), rapid lamp degradation, etc.

Read this thread from this page on for more information about choosing a quality T5 fixture: http://canreef.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=50915&page=3

[Treebeard]

The ATI fixtures are very sexy looking! Are they available in Canada?

[TheMikey]

Announced last night on our Saskatoon and area reef board was that The Reef Shoppe in Lloydminster would be carrying Aquaticlife T5HO fixtures! You should check them out, the owner is a stellar reef nut :)

[Canadian]

The ATI fixtures are very sexy looking! Are they available in Canada?

As far as I know the only retailers are in the US. Progressive Reef can special order them but they simply purchase them from Reef Geek at a lowered price and then sell them to the customer.

And this is part of the problem with T5 fixture recommendations in Canada. Aside from Fauna Marin and Sfiligoi (basically the two most expensive fixtures you can purchase), none of the better fixtures are retailed in Canada. As a consequence you see people simply recommending the best thing readily available in Canada (Sunlight Supply Tek fixtures) but they're recommending low-level fixtures as if they're good quality. Unfortunately our dollar is so weak right now it's hard to justify purchasing from US retailers but if you want a good T5 fixture you basically have to either buck up for the Fauna Marin or Sfiligoi, or purchase a less expensive fixture in the US.

[Canadian]

Announced last night on our Saskatoon and area reef board was that The Reef Shoppe in Lloydminster would be carrying Aquaticlife T5HO fixtures! You should check them out, the owner is a stellar reef nut :)

Those AquaticLife fixtures don't have active cooling as far as I can tell.

[Myka]

WHAT!? Hardly. I would argue the Tek fixtures fit somewhere between bottom of the barrel and mid range - hardly "one of the best". Mid range would be something like an ATI Sunpower which has active cooling with an acrylic shield in place. One of the best (upper range) would be something like maybe an Aquactinics Constellation and then ATI Powermodule, Fauna Marin Star Fire, Sfiligoi Stealth,.

As far as PAR goes, Tek is one of the better brands (I did mean to say better, not best...oops). An Sfiligoi (or any of the others you listed) doesn't put out any higher PAR reading than a Tek. Sure you get all the fancy schamncy fans and dimmers n shizz, but that doesn't exactly make your corals grow any better.

[Phanman]

Have you looked at the aquactinics fixtures? I got mine from Golds in Calgary and love it.

[Canadian]

As far as PAR goes, Tek is one of the better brands (I did mean to say better, not best...oops). An Sfiligoi (or any of the others you listed) doesn't put out any higher PAR reading than a Tek. Sure you get all the fancy schamncy fans and dimmers n shizz, but that doesn't exactly make your corals grow any better.

Are you kidding? That is so patently false it's actually comical.

Those "other" fixtures put out 30% more PAR (and this has been confirmed by several independent readings - not based on manufacturers claims) than a Tek and this is almost directly attributable to the "fancy schamncy[sic] fans" that provide active cooling to run the lamps at optimal temperature (in addition to superior ballasts and reflectors).

Ignorance is really leading to some poor recommendations and translation of information on this site lately . . .

[Phanman]

Ive read as well that Tek fixtures do put out alot less par then the fixtures mentioned already. Active cooling does play a large role in PAR levels as well....

Check out Grims thread on RC. He's done alot of testing and confirmed by others as well.

[Canadian]

Myka,

Sorry if it comes across as if I'm lashing out at you. I've been reading a lot of really bad advice on this site over the last couple months (most of it coming from inexperienced hobbysists) and I've basically been biting my tongue because I didn't want to stir the pot. But I guess the misinformation finally got to me and I had to say something.

[Myka]

Maybe Grim Reefer and others have done more testing in the last little while (I admit I haven't read up on T5 lighting is some time now), but awhile back all the top brands (including Tek) were putting out very similar numbers. Definitely not 30% difference. I will go do some reading...maybe I'm behind the times.

For the record though, Tek have fancy schmancy fans too. ;)

[VFX]

I guess fancy schmancy fans and superior ballasts would increase bulb life as well as PAR?

.

[lastlight]

I just fired up my 12 bulb Sfiligoi Stealth for the first time. When I turned it off my wife thought it was 10pm at night! I've never owned a T5 fixture but trust me these are bright ones! There are 6 fans blowing on the label ends of the tubes and a glass shield to channel the hot air out the other end. I'd say this is going to def help keep the bulbs burning at their best if they do in fact have a target temp range.

The best part is I can look up at the bulbs and it's not even close to blinding. The light is totally blasted DOWN. Already a T5 fan.

[i have crabs]

I just fired up my 12 bulb Sfiligoi Stealth for the first time. When I turned it off my wife thought it was 10pm at night! I've never owned a T5 fixture but trust me these are bright ones! There are 6 fans blowing on the label ends of the tubes and a glass shield to channel the hot air out the other end. I'd say this is going to def help keep the bulbs burning at their best if they do in fact have a target temp range.

The best part is I can look up at the bulbs and it's not even close to blinding. The light is totally blasted DOWN. Already a T5 fan.

im gonna have to track you down for some par readings one day. along with some others i still havnt done yet.

[lastlight]

I'm down with that for sure.

[mike31154]

not completly true. going with a 4 bulb t5 id probably agree, 6-8 bulb fixtures have really good par. i have a par meter and have tested lots of lights and my 8 bulb tek fixture puts out better power at 27"down that most 250w halides ive tested by quite alot.

since your tank is 36" and only 21" high id say the a 6 bulb in either the tek or compact usa would allow you to keep almost anything you want, some sps probably would need to be in the upper 12" but most would be fine id think. a 4 bulb might not cut it for sps but lps and softies would be no problem.


im quite shure the compact usa lights with 4 and 6 bulbs have individual reflectors while the 8 bulb and the glo lights have 1 large relfector. you definatly want individual reflectors, imo the glo lights are junk as far as power goes thier cheep so people buy them and will defend them to the grave. i didnt even keep the 2 bulb glo light i bought on my qt tank made me crazy everytime id look at the tank
the 8 bulb compact usa with 1 reflector tested about 40% less power than my tek light with the same bulbs just for a comparison on how much reflectors matter

Yep, I'm inexperienced compared to many of the members of this board, that's why I generally offer advice only on what I've experienced so far and do my best not to regurgitate things I've read elsewhere. I have a 36" Hagen Glo T5HO fixture which I purchased when I first set up my used tank. Yes I'm cheap but it worked for me initially even if it didn't completely cover my 48" long tank. A mushroom and zoa both started growing on their own a few months after I started the tank, I did not add them, they appeared on the Live Rock on their own under the cheapo Glo. I'm currently not keeping any SPS corals, but now have a large colony of zoas and a hammer coral. I've since 'upgraded' to a 4x48" T5HO retrofit kit with individual reflectors run by two Fulham Workhorse 8 ballasts. Nothing fancy but it works for me. I still use the Glo fixture with actinics for dawn/dusk effect and am quite happy with it's performance. Did have an issue with one of the endcaps but it works fine. I would not "defend them to the grave" and I think I was quite candid in my original post in stating that the Glo fixture is "not bad". I was simply trying to provide the OP with an alternative to what he was looking at. I do not consider them as 'junk' either though. We don't all have the budget for the actively cooled high end fixtures with all the bells and whistles. Personally if I was going to go to that expense, I'd probably just fire up the used tar and coil MH goodies I have gathering dust in the basement. Not ready for SPS yet, so I'm quite content with my current set up.

[Canadian]

FWIW,

I think getting a T5 fixture without active cooling and quality individual parabolic reflectors is tantamount to using MH with flat piece of polished aluminum as a reflector. The type of lighting (T5 or MH) isn't so much important as is the quality of the reflector (and in the case of T5s of equal importance is active cooling).

If a consumer can't afford to get some of the most simple and necessary components (active cooling and good reflectors) then they would be far better served operating MH. And I'll state it again: MH is still typically the best simple option for lighting a reef tank. T5 has been proven to work superbly if appropriately implemented but doing it half-a$$ed will almost certainly lead to disappointment.

[Myka]

not completly true. going with a 4 bulb t5 id probably agree, 6-8 bulb fixtures have really good par. i have a par meter and have tested lots of lights and my 8 bulb tek fixture puts out better power at 27"down that most 250w halides ive tested by quite alot.

You're comparing grapes to raisins. 8 bulbs x how many watts? 54w? That is 432 w (quick math I hope that's right haha). You can't compare 432w of T5 to 250w of halide! That's not a fair comparison. PLUS, you have to use the same Kelvin bulbs in order for it to be accurate. According to Steve (Stir Crazy) actinic bulbs put out a false high PAR reading as well, so if you have actinics in your 8 bulb fixture you're not getting an accurate reading.

In order to compare T5 to MH you need to make sure all the variables are equal...this is where a lot of people fail, and come up with misleading numbers which they now think is the be all end all.

[mike31154]

FWIW,

I think getting a T5 fixture without active cooling and quality individual parabolic reflectors is tantamount to using MH with flat piece of polished aluminum as a reflector. The type of lighting (T5 or MH) isn't so much important as is the quality of the reflector (and in the case of T5s of equal importance is active cooling).

If a consumer can't afford to get some of the most simple and necessary components (active cooling and good reflectors) then they would be far better served operating MH. And I'll state it again: MH is still typically the best simple option for lighting a reef tank. T5 has been proven to work superbly if appropriately implemented but doing it half-a$$ed will almost certainly lead to disappointment.

Well, I spent all my scheckels on a VorTech pump for flow and am hoping to get another. The livestock I have is doing just fine under my half-a$$ed T5 setup so I'll just have to live with it for now.

[Canadian]

You're comparing grapes to raisins. 8 bulbs x how many watts? 54w? That is 432 w (quick math I hope that's right haha). You can't compare 432w of T5 to 250w of halide! That's not a fair comparison. PLUS, you have to use the same Kelvin bulbs in order for it to be accurate. According to Steve (Stir Crazy) actinic bulbs put out a false high PAR reading as well, so if you have actinics in your 8 bulb fixture you're not getting an accurate reading.

In order to compare T5 to MH you need to make sure all the variables are equal...this is where a lot of people fail, and come up with misleading numbers which they now think is the be all end all.

If you're going to calculate the T5 as if it's going on a 4 foot tank (54W) then you also need to be reasonable about the application of the MH - no one is going to try to realistically light a 4 foot tank with a single 250W MH. So consider that the above example is likely 2 x 250W MH in a real-world application (although that's purely speculation on my part as I wasn't the one making the claim - but it's certainly a reasonable consideration).

Secondly, very few people actually recommend running T5HO actinic lamps. A typical application would include lamps measured some where around 450nm but generally not pure "actinic" 420nm. And as an example even a 250W AB 10,000K on an M80 ballast has its largest peak at 420nm (actinic) so I suppose it's producing false high PAR readings?

[Canadian]

Well, I spent all my scheckels on a VorTech pump for flow and am hoping to get another. The livestock I have is doing just fine under my half-a$$ed T5 setup so I'll just have to live with it for now.

Don't take the half-a$$ed quote as being derogatory. I'm just trying to impress upon people that you can't compare a low end T5 set up to a properly cooled and reflected T5 set up and expect to get comparable results.

[mike31154]

You are correct of course. Fair enough, I think the OP will make the right decision and perhaps I'm getting a little carried away. No offense taken, and the OP is considering SPS, so he should get the best he can.

[Bartman1818]

After two days worth of research, posting, checking stores, looking at market value, pricing, etc etc.

I have decided to go with the current usa 6x39 watt nova extreme pro fixture.

It has more than enough wattage for my tank, economical, individual reflectors, dual switch, splash guard, comes with bulbs, tank mounts, cooling fans built in, etc. for 450 canadian dollars. That is the best I think I will do.

Thanks folks, didn't mean to start a heated thread :p

[i have crabs]

If you're going to calculate the T5 as if it's going on a 4 foot tank (54W) then you also need to be reasonable about the application of the MH - no one is going to try to realistically light a 4 foot tank with a single 250W MH. So consider that the above example is likely 2 x 250W MH in a real-world application (although that's purely speculation on my part as I wasn't the one making the claim - but it's certainly a reasonable consideration).

Secondly, very few people actually recommend running T5HO actinic lamps. A typical application would include lamps measured some where around 450nm but generally not pure "actinic" 420nm. And as an example even a 250W AB 10,000K on an M80 ballast has its largest peak at 420nm (actinic) so I suppose it's producing false high PAR readings?

ive tested a few different setups, the 4 foot tanks i tested were under 2 250w's for comparison, the tek i have tested equall to a 400w even, the 400w was a tar ballast and not so nice reflector though, personally i hate how every t5 thread goes this way every time, im just stating facts that ive tested with my own par meter for my own knowledge, if anyone wants to listen great if not fine too my corals are doing great in a 27" deep tank with the light way higher than it needs to be so in my opinion tek lights work great, i havnt yet tested any higher end 48" t5 lights that would make a fair comparison so im still a bit skeptical on how much better the light output is on them, personally i think its mostly name and features like cooling and dimming that make the over double the price

[Canadian]

After two days worth of research, posting, checking stores, looking at market value, pricing, etc etc.

I have decided to go with the current usa 6x39 watt nova extreme pro fixture.

It has more than enough wattage for my tank, economical, individual reflectors, dual switch, splash guard, comes with bulbs, tank mounts, cooling fans built in, etc. for 450 canadian dollars. That is the best I think I will do.

Thanks folks, didn't mean to start a heated thread :p

Sounds like a great decision - you've ensured your fixture has the most important components and found a reasonable compromise with respect to pricing and "quality".

[Canadian]

ive tested a few different setups, the 4 foot tanks i tested were under 2 250w's for comparison, the tek i have tested equall to a 400w even, the 400w was a tar ballast and not so nice reflector though, personally i hate how every t5 thread goes this way every time, im just stating facts that ive tested with my own par meter for my own knowledge, if anyone wants to listen great if not fine too my corals are doing great in a 27" deep tank with the light way higher than it needs to be so in my opinion tek lights work great, i havnt yet tested any higher end 48" t5 lights that would make a fair comparison so im still a bit skeptical on how much better the light output is on them, personally i think its mostly name and features like cooling and dimming that make the over double the price

I'm not sure why this was directed at me as I was defending your comparison of 8x54W to a 250W while deducing that the tested 250W set up was actually 2 x 250W while Myka erroneously assumed the comparison was to a single 250W.

With respect to the "double the price" comment I agree. I don't believe that the prices charged for the higher end fixtures are necessarily justified as being purely a consequence of quality or features. In most cases fixtures fetch those prices based on brand IMO. But it's also true that there are few "half the price" fixtures that incorporate active cooling, splash guards, quality individual parabolic reflectors, and good ballasts/components.

[lastlight]

For some visual appeal is its own performance stat I suppose. The higher end fixtures have the much nicer extruded aluminum shells which I think are well worth the extra money. If you're going to put it in a canopy go retrofit in my opinion.

[banditpowdercoat]

With respect to the "double the price" comment I agree. I don't believe that the prices charged for the higher end fixtures are necessarily justified as being purely a consequence of quality or features. In most cases fixtures fetch those prices based on brand IMO. But it's also true that there are few "half the price" fixtures that incorporate active cooling, splash guards, quality individual parabolic reflectors, and good ballasts/components.


It is one thing that I am allready sic of in this hobby. The gross overpricing of equiptment once you put "Aquarium grade" on it. Me, being an electrician, Know the costs of alot of things. And I hate it that the same item is cheaper if its for Commercial installations, rather than Industrial. but in reality, its the same darn thing....

Cost DOES NOT allways mean quality

[i have crabs]

no, not aimed at anyone, personally i like the good stuff and have often payed more for a similar product just cause its cooler(to someone i guess) i like to have a nice looking fixture even if its hidden in a canopy,, like my $600 reddragon return pump im quite shure is just a pump with a fluvalfx5 impeller and i nice housing ohwell its cooler shure ill pay $500 more than a mag pump. not quite shure what part of my brain turns off when i look at aquarium equipment

[Canadian]

For some visual appeal is its own performance stat I suppose. The higher end fixtures have the much nicer extruded aluminum shells which I think are well worth the extra money. If you're going to put it in a canopy go retrofit in my opinion.

Respek! Aesthetics fit into that category that's hard to quantify but definitely commands higher prices. I've told you before in previous conversations that I think the white Sfiligoi Stealth fixtures are easily the sexiest fixtures on the market right now. And at one point in time I had actually paid for one but quickly found out that the smaller Mini Stealth fixtures don't employ active cooling and had to cancel the order.

[lastlight]

Much easier to quantify once your wife throws the spank-down on the appearance of every other fixture out there lol. She's not the designer type but I've worn off on her over the years. I was truly in love the day she told me I wasn't allowed to retrofit. She liked the Giesemann Spectra as well.

[lorenz0]

aww T5 threads make my day. But the info is right, active cooling does play a big role with t5's. Tek lights are still good and most people have a issue dishing out the cash for the higher end fixture. myself i am planning on replacing my tek with either a Aquactinics Constellation or a ATI powermodule in the near future. But don't hate on the tek's, they aren't all that bad. Like i have stated before there are people out there with amazing tanks with current usa t5 fixtures with amazing results.

[Myka]

If you're going to calculate the T5 as if it's going on a 4 foot tank (54W) then you also need to be reasonable about the application of the MH - no one is going to try to realistically light a 4 foot tank with a single 250W MH. So consider that the above example is likely 2 x 250W MH in a real-world application (although that's purely speculation on my part as I wasn't the one making the claim - but it's certainly a reasonable consideration).

Secondly, very few people actually recommend running T5HO actinic lamps. A typical application would include lamps measured some where around 450nm but generally not pure "actinic" 420nm. And as an example even a 250W AB 10,000K on an M80 ballast has its largest peak at 420nm (actinic) so I suppose it's producing false high PAR readings?

Actually, LOTS of people run 420 nm bulbs...but the tendency is leaning away from it, yes.

You're still not comparing fairly. A 54w T5 is more intense than a 39w T5 no matter how long it (obviously) is. Just like having a 400w MH is more intense than a 250w. This is taking the same Kelvin bulbs into consideration though...for arguments' sake here. If you want to take the coverage of the bulbs, then you have to break down that 48" T5, and cover a 24x24" area with 4x54w T5 bulbs (breaking them in half to be 24x24"). Now, compare 4x54w T5 bulbs to a 250w MH. OR you have to compare 2x250w MH to 8x54w T5 to get the same coverage per 24x24" space as typical T5 spacing is 3". Comparing 4x54w T5 to 2x250w MH is hardly a fair comparison.

OR, you could try comparing it that way, but you would have a very complicated mathematical equation to figure out how many watts per square inch and PAR over the total useful area, and you would have to determine what PAR is considered usable, and wow that would be quite a chore.

Plus...it REALLY depends on what T5 and MH bulbs you choose, but even moreso for MH. You can get more PAR out of a 175w Iwasaki SE bulb run on an electronic ballast than half the 250w SE bulbs run off an electronic ballast. The amount of wattage actually used... Oh, and then you have reflectors to talk about too...

My point?? It is very difficult to give an ACCURATE judgement between MH and T5 by the average hobbyist. That's better left to the professionals. It's just better to realize that there are applications where T5s will be better than MH and there are applications where MH will be better than T5.

[TheMikey]

I agree with Myka. There's really no need to waste a bulb by buying actnic. I've noticed that the 22K Bulbs from Aquascience are almost as blue (if not just as blue) as the stock ones that cam with my fixture. By putting those in, you're recieving a great amount of PAR while maintaining the same look as actinic.

[Koresample]

The aquaticlife 'actinic' bulbs actually have a peak at 420nm and 460 nm. The 420 allows for better fish coloration and fluoresence in your corals, while the 460 peak simulates spectrum at depth. At the end of the day, all that really matters is that your corals grow, have great coloration and you get lots of coralline algae growth. Maybe i am over simplifying here, but that is the overall goal. If you check out the RC site, you will see some extensive reviews on T5 stuff there. If you go to the aquaticlife, they have full test results from an independent lab that actually measures the par and spectrum of all their bulbs.

[Canadian]

Actually, LOTS of people run 420 nm bulbs...but the tendency is leaning away from it, yes.

You're still not comparing fairly. A 54w T5 is more intense than a 39w T5 no matter how long it (obviously) is. Just like having a 400w MH is more intense than a 250w. This is taking the same Kelvin bulbs into consideration though...for arguments' sake here. If you want to take the coverage of the bulbs, then you have to break down that 48" T5, and cover a 24x24" area with 4x54w T5 bulbs (breaking them in half to be 24x24"). Now, compare 4x54w T5 bulbs to a 250w MH. OR you have to compare 2x250w MH to 8x54w T5 to get the same coverage per 24x24" space as typical T5 spacing is 3". Comparing 4x54w T5 to 2x250w MH is hardly a fair comparison.

OR, you could try comparing it that way, but you would have a very complicated mathematical equation to figure out how many watts per square inch and PAR over the total useful area, and you would have to determine what PAR is considered usable, and wow that would be quite a chore.

Plus...it REALLY depends on what T5 and MH bulbs you choose, but even moreso for MH. You can get more PAR out of a 175w Iwasaki SE bulb run on an electronic ballast than half the 250w SE bulbs run off an electronic ballast. The amount of wattage actually used... Oh, and then you have reflectors to talk about too...

My point?? It is very difficult to give an ACCURATE judgement between MH and T5 by the average hobbyist. That's better left to the professionals. It's just better to realize that there are applications where T5s will be better than MH and there are applications where MH will be better than T5.


HUH?

Real world application time here:

We're talking about measured PAR over an aquarium when using typical installation methodologies with T5 and MH.

54W T5HO lamps are 4' long. When lighting a 4' tank with T5s most people choose 54W T5HO. The benefit of the T5s being that you can cram many of them beside each other with individual reflectors. This is not something you can readily do with MH. So, with the MH over a 4' tank the best option for coverage is to use 2 bulbs with a nice big reflector like a Lumenarc to provide optimal coverage and intensity.

All this comparison of with respect to square inches of coverage is ridiculous. We're talking about the real world application of the technologies and the fact that they were actually measured in a typical application.

The comparison of 8x54W to 2x250W MH made previously was simply showing that in a real world application the T5 example produced better PAR numbers under those circumstances (which were pretty typical installations and applications). Myka, you were the one who suggested that the watt for watt comparison was unfair but you made some errors in your calculations. Now you're looking for another ridiculous way to compare things - have fun with that.

The bottom line is that a well designed T5 fixture produces comparable PAR values to typical MH applications and ultimately the decision is up to the consumer to weigh the pros and cons of each technology given their desired application. The MH camp on this forum has been making some ridiculous comparisons and unsubstantiated nonsense about how T5s produce less PAR and about how some how actinics produce false PAR readings (I call BS).

[raisemyrent]

YEs, I should.

OK guys, round 2. this time, the tank is 18" deep.

GO!

[lorenz0]

imo all depends on how much you want to spend. cheapest T5 fixture i would buy is the TEK (which is what i run). But if your willing to spend more, ATI sunpower is a great fixture and basically the poor man's ATI powermodule. great thing about this fixture is it runs the same refectors and ballasts that the power module runs. Its cheaper due to less active cooling fan's. Personally this is what i want to upgrade to. If you really want to spend money, go with the power module or the constellation (sp). really it comes down to how much money you want to put into the fixture and i wish i went all out instead of buying the TEK but still is a good fixture for what you pay for.

[Samw]

I ordered an Aquactinics TX5. The reason was that it has 5 bulbs in a very narrow fixture. I needed a fixture to be less than 10" narrow and this was the only fixture that I could find in that size with 5 bulbs. Most other narrow fixtures only have 4 bulbs.

I haven't received the fixture yet but from the pictures that I've seen, the nice thing about the Aquatinics fixture for me is that the outer reflectors are placed in a slight arc which I think focuses the light where it is needed: near the center of the tank. In other words, I don't need the sand in front of my tank to be lit so the outer reflectors are arc'ed slightly inwards. That's perfect for my application where the corals are in the center of the tank.