Please, need help! T-5 users..oppinions wanted

Ladipyg

Ladipyg

New member
I am looking to buy a 8 bulb T-5 fixture, 48" for the 120 I'm setting up. It's the last item I need to get moving on this....Thanks Carl K for the lights for sump trade. ;) it's perfect. Is the Sunlight Tek as good as it looks or would I be better off going with the Giessman? It will be a mixed tank...SPS higher up and LPS and zoas taking up the rest of the tank. I know I should go with individual reflectors. I saw Pusanpa's tank with T5's and the color was really good. This is just a standard 120, 48"x24"x25". Since it's only 25" deep, I think the T-5's will work fine. I'm tired of all the heat and temp problems associated with the MH fixtures.
Thanks in advance for your help...
 
if you already have a top for it nina i can help you build a 10bulb retro if you want. im sure your husband can put it together, his an electrician!
 
I have a 7 bulb Aquactinics Constellation on my 120 and I love it. Runs very cool and I dont have a problem keeping any kind of coral in my tank.
 
I just bought a 48" X 4 T5 set up with individual reflectors & water proof cap & ballast from on here for $100.
I have not received it yet though, but I guess I will be selling it & switching to 36" X 8 instead.
 
The Tek is an ok unit. It will give you enough PAR for most SPS but its inefficient. Go with a 6-bulb ATI powermodule or Sfiligoi Stealth instead. This will save you almost $50 every time you change the bulbs, plus the energy savings. Also, since you mention you want a mix of SPS/LPS, you might consider an 8x39w or 6x39w powermodule instead. IME its tough to keep LPS directly under good T5 lighting as they can bleach. I have the Sfiligoi 12x54w over my 238g (60x36x26), and I'm very happy its not covering every inch since I have to keep LPS under overhangs or in places where they get indirect light.

I don't have experience with the Aquatinics, but from what I hear they are a good choice - in between the ATI and the Tek as far as quality and PAR.
 
I love my tek light. I have no problems keeping anything under it. It is a 4 bulb fixture over an 11" tall tank and I can keep all of my LPS wherever as well as SPS on the sand. I have also played around with the Aquatinics fixtures and I thought they were nice. I considered getting the 5 bulb fixture but the extra cost was just not worth it. If you do get the tek lights, I would recommend getting the plastic shield. I think it's only like 10 bucks and I've found that the reflectors are very hard to get salt spray off of.
 
Gig...trotter...thanks for the link...I was able to gather a good amount of info from the thread. I want to thank you for being so kind as to help me with this dilemma. This is the one time I want to get everything right from the start...I've been gathering all the parts I need and I'll probably take pictures of the switch over process. I have thought about it and I want to slide the old tank away from the wall and put the 120 in behind it. Get it plumbed and filled with fresh water for a week or so to make sure there are no leaks, then I'll take 1/2 the water out and add salt. When I do water changes on the old tank, I'll just dump the old tank water into the new tank and take the frest water out of the 120. I'll add the sand, and some base rock and when everything matches in a month or so, I'll just move the rest of the stuff over. I keep my sandbed pretty stirred up, so I should be able to move it over to the new tank without causing an ammonia spike. I'll only take about 1/2 the sand, the rest I'll be leaving cause I'll be turning the 65 gallon bowfront into a planted seahorse and pipe fish tank. I am going to do an Aquatinics search and see what they look like. Thanks to all who answered my query...you were a big help!
 
ATI powermodule, it puts out more par than the TEK and Aquactinics fixture, from what i have read about it. Then again you have to wait a while for it to be made and delivered.
 
I have a 8bulb tek 5 48" sitting around not doing anything if you want to borrow it for awhile and try it out. All the different geisman(sp) bulbs also.
 
+ 1 on mcliffy. I'd go with the ATI powermodule or Sfiligoi Stealth. I have two stealths over my 10 foot tank. The amount of output is simply staggering.
 
madadi put my light configuration together. He's da man around here, for T5 advice. Grimreefer is great for advice in the forums too.
 
I couldn't find the link for the Sharky sale...I tried searching.

klviper....I am truly touched that you would make such a kind offer to someone you don't know. I am thinking of the Aquatinics Solar Flare but I still have to do a search for the Ati powermodule and the Sfiligoi Stealth (say that 5 times fast) I never fail to be amazed at the number of people who are willing to help fellow reefers here..Thanks
 
Nina, I never had anything but success with the Tek T5 fixture. If I was you, I would look into a Tek retro kit where you could do either an 6 or 8 bulb kit with the waterproof end-caps.

With what you're looking to keep, you will be fine with this set up with no worries at all. If you have any ?'s, PM me.
 
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