Yeah thats why im staying away from the solar flare myself. I have 3-4" in back and like 6 " in front that is all sanbed. Im very nervous though because I have had 400w MH for over a decade now and afraid to change over. But also living in NY being a cityworker I have to cut down my electrical bill for the summer. Now my 1/2 hp chiller is on 10-15 min. a day summer im sure alot more
ATI vs Constellation T5
- Thread starter t5Nitro
- Start date
Hey this may be the start of a new friendship being in New York and all 
I'm about 5 minutes away from JFK. Is your tank new or are you converting? I was concerned as well coming from 250s on my last tank, but I've seen some really wicked tanks with T5s on-line.. I'm trying to go low energy too for the same reasons. In your case, you will benefit from lower wattage and less use of your chiller.. if you use one now..
I'm about 5 minutes away from JFK. Is your tank new or are you converting? I was concerned as well coming from 250s on my last tank, but I've seen some really wicked tanks with T5s on-line.. I'm trying to go low energy too for the same reasons. In your case, you will benefit from lower wattage and less use of your chiller.. if you use one now..vthondaboi
Premium Member
my light bulbs lasted since about July of 2007, four of them went out last month and had to be replaced
divewsharks
Active member
shouldn't you be replacing your overdriven bulbs at 9 months?? after that the spectrum shifts a bunch output falls off considerably (as measured by PAR meters).
divewsharks
Active member
for a 24" deep tank front/back, you would likely be wanting an 8 bulb fixture for good coverage.
vthondaboi
Premium Member
eh, as long as the corals are happy
I just acquired a par meter so will measure the par and see what it ends up when they go out
Hey guys, as much as I wanted to stick with my original purchase (Aquatinics Solarflare) for so many good reasons, I decided to go with what my gut was telling me from the beginning and exchange it for an ATI PM 48 X 10 fixture..... overall, the depth of my tank (36"), was my deciding factor to change. I got a chance to see my tank today for the first time, which is being built in brooklyn and I am really happy I decided to change.. Now I won't have to worry about corals in the front or the back getting enough light and end up spending a lot more to get things right after I've already used the original fixture.....
both...the reflectors are the best in the industry...and the active cooling increases the par a huge amount...by some measurements 40%. The fan speed is controllable DC, but they need to be around 7V for the best cooling. Worth every penny, and I'll upgrade to a larger one when I get a bigger tank.
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