Coralife T5 fixtures

[poedag]

Hey guys, i'm setting up my new 40gal display and would like your opinions on Coralife fixtures. they seem to be the cheapest solution to my problem (a 30" wide tank) and i was thinking something like this:

http://www.innovativelights.com/esu-58021.html

my first thought was to get two of those fixtures, but upon further inspection they are normal output and my total T5 wattage would be 4x18 = 72.

the low price is attractive, but i don't want to sell myself short in the long run but getting a crappy set up now.

would i be better off going with a 4x24 watt setup that is only 24" long instead of 30"?

i'm open to any suggestions, but the main reason for looking at T5's was the decrease in power consumption while still achieving good light penetration. thanks for the input.

 

[hahnmeister]

Reflectors are key with T5s...individual parabolic reflectors are responsible for up to 60% of the bulb's output with T5s...using other types, like flat reflectors, can result in losses of up to 1/2 the output of the bulb. At a minimum, I would look into a tek unit, and for a 40, a 4x24watt would be best...but I must admit, 30" long doesnt lend itself to T5 lighting as well as halide (that coralife 30" T5 is just a longer shell for 24watt/2' bulbs). A single 250watt halide (14,000K or 20,000K DE) would be my pick.

 

[poedag]

I see where you are going with this, and the cost is around the same. would you opt for a pendant style? the reason i ask is having the ballast inside the fixture would be ideal. i have the tank in the corner of a room and on a custom stand that unfortunatly doesn't leave much roomfor anything.
what woud you reccomend? brand? style?

thanks for the tips, love the fro'

 

[poedag]

just came across something. i work in a lab and we have a grow light we purchased for a project that was never used. it is a 400w MH with a ballast included in the pendant. ( http://www.plantlightinghydroponics...=1247&osCsid=05e16698fd3f74c03d34a0cf161598c2 )

do you think i could replace the bulb with a 14k and use this one?

it would save me the money of purchasing a new fixture, but i'm not sure it would work properly. it is designed for plant growth. just curious

 

[HowardW]

What is going into this tank?? If you are not going to keep high light/PAR loving corals then the Coralife T5 strip light would work just fine.

 

[HowardW]

BTW.....here's a better price on that Coralife T5 fixture


http://www.hellolights.com/30aqt5dolist.html

 

[poedag]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7379101#post7379101 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by HowardW
What is going into this tank?? If you are not going to keep high light/PAR loving corals then the Coralife T5 strip light would work just fine.

i haven't yet, but would love to try some SPS corals in the future. if that requires a MH fixture and not T5s then i guess thats the way it has to be. i just cringe at the thought of spending another $300 after all i have put into this tank so far. you would think after three years i'd learn it just comes with the territory, but thats life. and i love my reef, so i want it to be happy:rollface:

 

[horkn]

is that corallife 30" unit actually using 30" long tubes? or are they 24" tubes centered?

the pic may or may not show the 30" variety, but since they are NO t5s, i dont know off hand what length 18watter equate to.



my point is, you amy be dealing with 24" tubes, and NO to boot. if that is the case, get the t5ho, and not the NO.

btw, welcome back Jon

 

[nemo g]

poedag, those coralife lights you are looking at are not "normal output" fixtures.

they will not compare to tek lights or other similar "high output" fixtures.

theres a reason why the tek lights, and similar lights, costs so much more. they give you so much more light.

this light is great for a nice shallow softy tank, or qt tank when you want to aclimate and seperate new livestock.

lights and skimming, learned the hard way, is the air and blood of you reef. do not skimp here.

good luck.

 

[hahnmeister]

Thanks horkn, glad to be back.

FWIW, The output you would get from a Tek (or other parabolic reflector setup) with just two bulbs of top quality (GE 6500K or Geise) would rival that of a 4-bulb unit without the individual reflectors and crappy bulbs. So the argument that the 'price is right' doesnt really work. If the smaller tek uses less tubes, less electricity, and costs about the same as the 4 bulb coralife...you can see where I am going with this...

Heres the best place for Teks I have seen...
www.seedsetc.com, an ebay seller. Best prices I have seen.

But at that, a 30" tank doesnt lend itself well to T5s. I would stick to at least 36", with 48" or longer being the ideal as far as cost for the fixture & bulbs go... 24" fixtures and bulbs cost almost as much as 3' and 4'...so go longer. For instance, a 55g vs. a 60 cube. The 55g can be lit with a 4-bulb tek light and 4 bulbs...giving it about 216 watts for about $300 startup. A 60 cube (24") would need 8 24" bulbs, about $550 in startup costs. not to mention the cost of replacing 8x $20 bulbs every time rather than just 4.

Unless its a nano with only 4 bulbs needed (like 4x24watt bulbs over a 20H), the Tek doesnt cut it compared to the halide. With 36" tanks, you break about even, and 48" is where T5s take off.

So, for that tank, I would use a Sulight supply or PFO HQI pendant setup, with a 14,000K or 20,000K bulb (EVC 20,000K comes to mind as a great bulb with lots of nice 'deep blue' look and a decent output.

I use a single 250wattHQI with a 14,000K pheonix bulb over one of my 40Bs. Works great.

 

[poedag]

thanks for all the help hahnmeister, i think i'm just going to sack up and get 250MH set up with an icecap balast and maybe the 250/400 icecap pendant, that way in the future i should be able to upgrade. (always thinking of a bigger and better tank). if there's a best place to purchase icecap products that you know of, that would be great, if not i'll shop around and see what i can come up with.

i like the idea of the electronic balast that should help cut energy down, living in santa barbara is a fairly expensive place to live and everything i can do to cut costs in the long run are a plus. thanks again-

 

[hahnmeister]

Oh, the 250 will be plenty as long as you go double ended w/ HQI ballast (rather than an icecap). Marine Depot and Premium Aquatics are my choice for those type of parts. Seriously, I would go with the PFO HQI ballast over the IC...I own both. I think that the IC underpowers some bulbs, and with DE bulbs, this can lead to premature shifting (thats what it looks like to me). A 400watter? You might never need a halide that big...I would stick with the 250 for now.

Also consider EVC e-ballasts. They run at a higher output than IC ballasts, and are cheaper.

 

[poedag]

how's this sound for a setup:

PFO HQI 250 Watt Metal Halide Mini Pendant (Double-Ended)

IceCap 250 Watt Electronic Metal Halide/ HQI Ballast
(the power consumption is a big issue)

250 Watt 14000K Metal Halide Bulb - Hamilton, Double Ended

questions: do i need to get a ballast box to hide the wires? (it will more than likely be exposed to the living room)
and is there an advantage to going with a SE fixture, or will the cost breakdown even out in the long run?

thanks!

 

[hahnmeister]

I would go with a pheonix 14,000K over the hami....

www.illuming.com

 

[SBJim]

If you're still interested in using T5's, maybe for actinic supplementation, you could go with a 24" retro and stagger the bulbs: 6" on each side of your tank would be single-bulb, while the middle 18" would have two.

Here's a good price: http://www.innovativelights.com/ret-t5-224.html