Icecap SLR vs. Tek 2 full review

[hahnmeister]

Well, I finally had a couple Tek2 reflectors sent to me today. Its a great departure from the older designs... they actually remond me more of the old Aqualux lighting gullwing reflectors.

In the next few days, I will be conducting a full grid comparison between the two, with PAR readings at every 1" grid point on a 12"x48" grid (just one reflector) at 6", 12", and 18" away (these three distances shlould indicate trends in focal points well enough for most).

Or, actually, I was thinking that the side to side component wasnt so important really, as these reflectors dont have a side-to-side component really, so comparing T5 reflectors could simply be done by comparing readings front to back along a centerline of the bulb that bisects the bulb's length. Then I could compare the reflectors at more distances, and greater width.

In the meantime, here are some technical notes and photos that may be of interest...

First of all, these buggers are wide... 3" wide IF you overlap their groove's, 3.125" if you dont.

They are also shallower. I would expect this to allow more light to escape to the sides at first glance, but we will see. The tek2 is on the right in this photo, Icecap SLR on the left.

The Tek2s are also shorter than Icecap SLRs. The SLR's come in at 43-5/16" long. The '4 foot' Tek2's are 42.5" long.

Stay tuned for more later on...

 

[GSMguy]

this should be interesting.

 

[sjm817]

Bummer about the 3" width. Same problem as the Aqualux. You may not be able to fit as many bulbs in your hood.

 

[jamesdawson]

Anyone contemplating buying SS should take a look at this thread.

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1112424

James

 

[xtra-salty]

I have a pair of 24" reflectors sitting here. I was going to test them out but decided not to for the time being. I can also vouch for the customer service as well .....

 

[JagerEinheit]

jamesdawson, sorry to hear you had issues, and while SS certainly did have a flameout here on RC, it sure does suck when a company doesn't handle itself well I deal with them from a business side so its a bit different as far as CS, but i certainly understand your ire.

Hahn, you have piqued my interest seeing that I have a teklight, and knowing which is best sure would help my customers, as well as anyone who is using T5 and retrofit kits.

ive got the older style reflectors and while they are nice, im debating a retrofit of the unit to IC , but since i can get SS reflectors cheaper if they are reasonable as far as testing goes ill be happy to know .

 

[dc_909]

Couldn't you just bend the Tek reflector to make them "deeper" and not as wide?

 

[GSMguy]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9879642#post9879642 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by dc_909
Couldn't you just bend the Tek reflector to make them "deeper" and not as wide?

no they are designed by a computer you cant trim or bend them without serously changing the output

 

[Zoos]

Well i just bought a tek retro with the new tek 2s, so hopefully they're nice.

 

[hahnmeister]

Sorry, had a couple delays in the setup phase... should be done tomorrow.

 

[the_anti_honda]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9865809#post9865809 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by jamesdawson
Anyone contemplating buying SS should take a look at this thread.

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1112424

James

Good thing you should never have to warranty a reflector ever. This is a gas to me that people complain about warranty from SLS on Lumen Max reflectors also. What your reflector just up and broke? Let me guess it stopped reflecting? How do you break a reflector? Who needs warranty for these kinds of items? I had a ballast that went out on me from SLS and they replaced it no questions other then what should be asked where asked. People trip me out with their logic.

 

[GSMguy]

what would happen that i would possible need a warranty on my pendants.?? the ballasts would concern me but the sls ballasts are overpriced anyway.

 

[charlesjordanjr]

I am anxious to see how it goes.
-Chuck

 

[jamesdawson]

Well anti-honda,

Its a well established fact that the Miro 7 material that SLS chose to use on its reflectors becomes permanently stained when the inevitable salt spray/splash gets on them and it doesn't clean off. Therefore your expensive equipment is now forever compromised.

If you bought a TekLight like I did, putting a splash shield on to protect the reflectors then compromises the already inadequate cooling that this non-actively cooled fixture has. With a shield on it, the bulbs start to blacken on the ends.

I think that design and material selection as well as customer service and warranty support are important in this hobby.

James

 

[hahnmeister]

Hey, dont forget that fan mod that I did that addresses both the cooling and staining problems that a Tek has. At that... the 6x39 unit I have will be the last SLS product I buy.

 

[jamesdawson]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9883245#post9883245 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by hahnmeister
Hey, dont forget that fan mod that I did that addresses both the cooling and staining problems that a Tek has. At that... the 6x39 unit I have will be the last SLS product I buy.

Hahn you hit it right on the head.

Why not buy quality (engineering/materials/CS/Warranty etc.) the first time?

There are plenty of companies out there that deserve our business, IME--SLS is not one of them.

James

 

[charlesjordanjr]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9883245#post9883245 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by hahnmeister
Hey, dont forget that fan mod that I did that addresses both the cooling and staining problems that a Tek has. At that... the 6x39 unit I have will be the last SLS product I buy.

Do you have a link to that mod? I took the shield off of mine because I wanted the extra par. Does the acrylic shield not affect the par if it is on? Thanks!
-Chuck

 

[hahnmeister]

No, the sheild acts as a duct so you can channel air across the bulbs between the reflectors and the acrylic with a cross-flow fan.

Geez... I posted it in the T5 Q&A thread a while back...

maybe I should make a seperate thread just for the mod.

 

[the_anti_honda]

Double post

 

[the_anti_honda]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9884048#post9884048 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by jamesdawson
Hahn you hit it right on the head.

Why not buy quality (engineering/materials/CS/Warranty etc.) the first time?

There are plenty of companies out there that deserve our business, IME--SLS is not one of them.

James

Exactly! He who buys cheap buys twice. Should have chosen your product more carefully at that time. Actually I don't believe there was another product available at the time thus leaving you with the best quality product available to the public. So you bought the only thing you could. Blame the other manufactures for not shipping items to the US a bit quicker not SLS for making something nobody else could. Trial and error my friend.

This is like blaming Toyota for you throwing a rod bearing for you not putting oil in your car. You took the splash guard off didn't you? They have it there for a reason right? You modified it and you ruined the item. In no way shape or form is that SLS's responsibility to warranty your reflector none the less give you the time of day.