Sunlight Tek Light T5 (advice needed)

cd77

cd77

Premium Member
I'm considering purchasing a 48" Sunlight Tek Light T5 through Premium Aquatics for a 70 gallon reef. Right now I have mostly soft corals -- just purchased my first hard coral yesterday and would like to eventually have a nice mixed reef or swap out softies for SPS. The current fixture is a Coralife PC fixture.

I'm considering either the 6 bulb fixture or the 8 bulb fixture (the price difference isn't too bad for the 8 bulb) -- Since I'm using mostly softies, I figure I'll start with four bulbs then turn on more bulbs later as I need them.

Does anyone have experience with these fixtures? They look very sharp.

Also, can anyone tell me if this will allow me to place the unit above my tank without having to hang it:
http://www.premiumaquatics.com/Merc...ct_Code=SL-960210&Category_Code=mounthardware

Any advice is appreciated!

__________________
 
I bought 2 TekLights back when they were the only option and IME, the only thing they have going for them is their semi-sleek look. IMO they are the biggest piece of crap to ever masquerade as a quality fixture.

First of all, they only put out 1/2 the PAR of quality fixtures from quality companies like ATI, Aquatinics, or Fauna Marin. Secondly, Sunlight Supply might be the worst big company that sells reefing equipment.

When some of us pointed out that the reflectors on our new TekLights were rapidly tarnishing and did not clean up like other brands, their excuse of a rep insulted us here on RC and SS refused to honor their warranty. Right before he was banned, not only did SS not fire him, they threatened to sue IceCap for making their own (and superior) T5 reflectors.

I could go on, but do yourself a favor and buy quality the first time. I would suggest getting on ReefGeeks waiting list for a SunPower fixture as the cost is roughly the same and it will have twice the PAR. If you don't want to wait the Aquatinics are excellent fixtures as well.

Good luck,

James
 
Sunlight supply's customer service and company suck, but the product isn't that bad. I've had one for some time now because there wasn't much out there a few years ago. For the money, they're pretty good and they do the job. To step it up to an ATI or any of the other nice looking German fixtures, it's going to cost a lot more. Another option is the one that Hellolights sells. I don't know if it has individual reflectors, but it looks like the Teklight and I think it's cheaper.

I'd suggest a 6 bulb setup. This should be more than enough lights for your needs. Just fire up the lights slowly as you might toast the corals you currently have if they're not used to so much light.
 
jamesdawson - im sorry to hear about your bad experiences. In my opinion, all reflectors get salt pitting from saltspray no matter what. No company would warranty those, especially if you were using it without a cover. I have been using a TEK for 5 months now and for the money, it is a pretty good fixture. I did have to replace my reflectores because I was using it real low and without a cover. Also, I learned you should wipe the reflectors down every few weeks.

Again, im sorry about your experiences and I am not trying to start a fight, but I would give the TEK a little more credit. Yes, it is not the best fixture and it has it's problems, but for the money you can't beat it.
 
Interesting -- I admit the price is nice. A very important aspect for me is not having to hang the damn thing. That being said, I also don't want to have to a 'sub-par' :) light made by a company with a bad track record.

I've used the Nova Extreme in the past, and those too I found were crap for my FW planted tanks.

Can anyone suggest a decent complete 6 or even 8 bulb T5-HO fixture setup that could be supported just above the tank like a Coralife or Nova Extreme can be?

If I do end up going with the Sunlight Tek, does anyone know if the link I originally posted would allow me to place the fixture above the tank without having to hang it? Are those side mounts like the Corallife and Nova's have?

I'm pulling my hair out here..

jamesdawson -- Is SunPower the name of the company? Do you by any chance have a link?
 
fijiblue - Beautiful tank! How big is it? How are you supporting the light fixture on the top of your tank? Are those the braces that I put the link up for in my first post? I also see you've got a fan fixture mounted there, did you find it necessary for heat reduction, mind if I ask who makes it / where I could get one? I wonder if the 6 bulb would be enough for my 70G, or if I should step up to the 8?
 
fijiblue -- After seeing your tank and light setup (I posted in that thread BTW) I'm very tempted to get this setup. I've also added the fans to my F&S wishlist, thank you very much!

chem-e -- thank you for your advice. I'll definitely take it very easy on the light transition. :)
 
cd77,

The SunPower is ATI's basic fixture. ReefGeek is the sole distributor and you have to call them if you want one, they are not listed on the RG website. RG told me a while ago that the 6 bulb fixture would cost about $500. I ended up with a beautiful PowerModul instead, but would have got a SunPower had they been available on the first shipment. GrimReefer has tested both ATI fixtures and they put out DOUBLE the par of a TekLight for the same watts. Here is a thread dealing with the a PowerModuls and has my pics and others too.
http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=989789&perpage=25&pagenumber=3

In order for T5s to run their most effectively, they need to be actively (fan) cooled. TekLights are passively cooled and their performance suffers drastically as a result. Also, Tek reflectors had the worst performance of all the reflectors tested. Now imagine what happens to their already mediocre performance once they get tarnished.

Fiji is right, fixtures should be protected by a shield. When I put a shield on my TekLight to protect what was left of the reflector performance, the lack of active cooling meant the already too hot bulbs started to blacken for having all that heat locked in.

Now I am not going to deny that TLs put light into a tank and on shallow tanks like Fiji's they might be adequete. But should you ever upgrade to a deeper tank the TL will become inadequete. Lastly, should your Sunlight Supply fixture have any problems, you can count on SS not delivering good customer service or warranty support and this fact is well documented here on RC.

The other fixture anyone on a budget should consider is the Aquatinics TX5 as it actually costs less than a TekLight and delivers close to double the PAR. This fixture is by far the best deal out there and both it and its manufacturer are far superior to TLs/SS.
http://www.aquariumspecialty.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=28_111_112&products_id=586

It also has brackets available and they also cost less than the ones for the TL
http://www.aquariumspecialty.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=28_111_114&products_id=574
Again, choose wisely.

James:mixed:
 
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Thanks, James!

I would like to avoid passive cooling if possible -- my tank already reaches 82 degrees as-is, so I very well may take your advice. Your light fixture is beautiful! I don't see the PowerModul fixture at reefgeek -- do they no longer carry it, or am I missing something? I also can't seem to find a place to sign-up for their waiting list. Do you know of another retailer that carries this fixture?

Also, mind if I ask what the powermodul cost when you purchased it?
 
They are just trickling in so you have to call RG and get on a wait list. They don't have them on their website because the demand is already greater than the supply.

James
 
Gotcha, Thank you -- and everyone -- I'll keep my eye on the other T5 related threads as well while I practice something like "honey, if we don't buy a thousand dollar light, the nemos might not make it..." :)
 
How would you say the ATI sunpower compares to the aquactinics TX5?

I can't seem to find any info on the sunpower. Seems like everyday i change my mind on what light to get. retro, ati, aquactinics, tek all my my head hurt.
 
SunPower has 6 bulbs and makes more PAR than the 5 bulb TX5, of course it costs more also and you have to wait to get it.

For people who want more PAR and don't want to wait for an ATI fixture the 7 bulb Aquatinics Constellation makes about the same PAR as the ATI units.

http://www.aquariumspecialty.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=28_111_112&products_id=1606

Of course if you want the most PAR, just get the Aquatinics/IceCap Solar Flare as it is overdriven and will outperform even the ATIs.

http://www.aquariumspecialty.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=28_111_112&products_id=1088

James
 
Just wanted to say thank you all again -- I ended up purchasing the Aquactinics T5 Constellation 7 bulb 48" fixture along with 2xATI Blue+, 2xATI 12K Aqua Blue, 2xATI Pro Color, and 2xTVL Super Blue -- I'll be testing various bulb combinations until I get the combination I'm happy with. I'll try to post before and after pictures as well :)
 
cd77, is the Aquatinics a lighthood that sits on top of your tank like you wanted?

BTW, acclimate very slowly or your corals will bleach out or melt. Once acclimated, they will love the lighting.
 
Yep, after some research, it is exactly what I wanted and in the right price range. I considered the Tek and Orbit fixtures too as well as a few others slightly more expensive options. I didn't really want to step into MH's quite yet (not with this tank anyhow) but wanted more options for down the road, the goal being a mixed reef.

I'll definitely take it easy with the new lighting. I've already moved all of my softies that were previously high up to the lower third of my tank -- I'll probably start with two bulbs, then slowly (over the course of many weeks) add additional bulbs each set beginning with a 1-2 hour period adding an additional hour each day. I may find I won't need/want all 7 bulbs until I have life in the tank that really requires it.

I purchased through premiumaquatics.com btw -- I did so because they had other items I wanted and are very close (they're in Indianapolis) I've got the bulbs and other gear already, just waiting on the fixture! Very exciting! :)

The only regret I have is not getting the beautiful shimmer that MH's produce and having to buy lunar lights separately. I am looking forward to posting the before and after pics though -- a 7 bulb T5-HO fixture versus a standard 48" PC Coralife is going to be quite dramatic I think.

Aside from coral acclimation, my only big concern is the potential for algae blooms -- I'm still dealing with diatoms though they appear to be getting a little better.

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10970008#post10970008 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Reef Sponger
cd77, is the Aquatinics a lighthood that sits on top of your tank like you wanted?

BTW, acclimate very slowly or your corals will bleach out or melt. Once acclimated, they will love the lighting.
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