ATI vs. Aquatinics T-5s

[lovethereefer]

Looking for t-5 lighting for a 215 oceanic. Its 6' long 29" high. Anyone know if ATI has a 6' fixture coming out? Or should I just look for a different type of light. Yes i have been trying to figure out the lighting issue for about 6 months now and cant make up my mind on halide vs. t-5 for an SPS tank, the Zeovit tank is ready to go, its stocked with fish just waiting on me to make a decision on the lighting. Please chime in with ideas!

 

[fighton03]

Aquatinics

Aquatinics

I just bought the 72" Aquatinics T5 fixture. I received it, but DHL did their best to make sure that it did not work when it arrived. Tom at Aquatinics is sending me a new unit, but he let me use it until the new one arrives. It is NICE!!! I only have 2 of the 7 rows of bulbs in (just for the liverock) and it is BRIGHT! It is quiet, low profile and solid. A quality unit.

 

[Aqua Keepers]

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1022720

 

[sasscuba]

I bought 2 of the 36 inch Aquatinics T5 fixtures for my 6 foot long 125 gallon and love them!

 

[lovethereefer]

do you have any sps?

 

[atvdave]

my vote is Aquatinics

Here's a pic of my 72" t-5 fixture.

Works great.

 

[sasscuba]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9033095#post9033095 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by lovethereefer
do you have any sps?

Only 2 Staghorn Corals now.

 

[lovethereefer]

it is sweet looking but i will have sps only

 

[lovethereefer]

you think that it would be enough?

 

[Henry Bowman]

You should be fine with SPS and T5 lighting. Bulb selection is important as well as having good reflectors (Aquactinics). My understanding is that Aquactinics is going wholesale and will not be selling to the public. I purchased a Solar Flare from www.aquariumspecialty.com Scott is a great guy and is very willing to help. His co. is on the vendors forum.

For more info on SPS and T5's look through the T5 Q&A thread. There are a good many folks running them with SPS successfully.

 

[sjm817]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9033103#post9033103 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by atvdave
my vote is Aquatinics

Here's a pic of my 72" t-5 fixture.

Works great.

How do you feed your fish? Do you slide the fixture back?

 

[lovethereefer]

i dont see any fish lol i guess thats one way

 

[sjm817]

LOL. Good point!

 

[fighton03]

risers

risers

I actually chose the Actinics fixture so that I could start getting more SPS.

The fixture has riser brackets so you can have it lifted off the tank. I also has the capability of suspending it with threaded inlets on the top of the fixture.

 

[atvdave]

HEHE.. Yes there are fish in there.

I just slide it back when I do maintenance on the tank and feeding.

If you look close you can see 2 support strips on each end that I made so if the fixture shifts to one side when I slide it back it wont fall into the tank.

Works great.

Good luck with which ever way you decide to go.

Dave

 

[BLockamon]

I also have an Aquactinics fixture (48" 5-bulb T5) and love it. At the very least, you should be able to keep SPS down to about 24" with T5. It will probably be fine all the way to the sand (or glass, of you go bare-bottom), but you may want to do lower-light SPS (e.g., montipora, etc.) at the bottom.

 

[atvdave]

Here are some PAR readings The Grim Reefer did some time ago on T-5 bulbs.

This may help. Also grim is very knowledgeable on T-5 lighting so I'm sure he can answer most of your questions.

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=918935

 

[hahnmeister]

Watt for Watt, the ATI should squash the output of a Aquatinics. Sure the Aquatinics are nice, dont get me wrong... they are perhaps one of the top 3 makes in the US right now, but the ATIs have an edge, and they do come in 4 bulb, 6 bulb, 8 bulb, and even 10 bulb configurations (yeah, you can even get a 10x24watt setup... go figure what that is good for). The 10 bulb units are only 20" deep... not bad.

The other thing is that the Aquatinics dont come with 80watt bulbs... the ATIs do. You could get a 8x80watt powermodul, and although upfront it would cost more than the Aquatinics that uses twin banks of 3' bulbs, it would be just as bright if not brighter, and when it comes to bulb replacement time... you would only have 8 bulbs to replace... not twin banks. This could add up.

 

[BLockamon]

Yep, the ATI is brighter bulb for bulb. I don't know about watt for watt. Given the PAR, it looks like they are overdriving the bulbs, similar to the IceCap ballasts. Not sure though; anyone know for sure? If they are overdriving the bulbs, that might affect the bulb life in the long run.

 

[atvdave]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9036295#post9036295 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by BLockamon
Yep, the ATI is brighter bulb for bulb. I don't know about watt for watt. Given the PAR, it looks like they are overdriving the bulbs, similar to the IceCap ballasts. Not sure though; anyone know for sure? If they are overdriving the bulbs, that might affect the bulb life in the long run.

If your referring to the link above, the tests (that Grim Reefer did ) where all done on the same ballast.

ATI just makes a higher PAR bulb, that is why I use them.

About the fixture though, I'm not sure what type ballast it has. The Aquatinics use Workhorses ballasts.

I also have always heard that the ATI fixtures where a bit better that the Aquatinics but back when I did my shopping around the extra PAR's just wasn't worth the extra price.

It's just my opinion though, I'm a a cheap @#$%^$.

Dave