Where to get bulbs???

P

Pike614

New member
Hey,
Got a new T5 fixture and I need to get some new bulbs for it. I am looking for the best place to get bulbs, Fosters seems reasonable, but thought there might be a better spot. Currently have a T5 HO w/6 bulbs over a 75 gallon fish/soft corals/LR tank. Any brand better than another? Any suggestions would be appreciated!
Thanks!
 
I do think some bulbs are better than others but you pay twice as much for them to.

A good reputable place Ive gotten PC bulbs before was innovative lighting solutions http://www.innovativelights.com/
not sure if Im suppose to post the url.
They will stand behind them if somethings wrong.

Beware of some of them on ebay. I just got burned on PC bulbs from a guy on ebay cuz 1 did'nt work and 1 did.
He did'nt want to do anything about it reasonable so I gave him neg. feedback and he gave me neg feedback when I bought them now and paid right away.

My T5 fixture is from a different place on ebay and came with the bulbs plus I got extras but I'm not real keen on the actinic from there either. The purple burned nice for about a week and then faded to dim. The blues were a little better.

kass
 
Thanks for the info! I wondered if spending the extra money on these bulbs is worth it....it sure would be if the cheaper bulbs went dim in a few weeks!
 
Yes it is very well worth it to go through reefgeek!!! They are hands down the best for quality, selection, price and service.

Here is a list of a few of the best HO T5 bulbs IMO. GE daylight, UVL Super Actinic, UVL Aquasun, ATI Blue Plus, ATI aquablue special.
 
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I third reefgeek.

I fyou call and talk to a live person, they are very helpful and knowledgable of the product.

They shipped rapidly and professionally as well. I ordered my tek light from them and everything, including the 8 bulbs I ordered arrived in tact and in a timely manner.
 
I have to say I never ordered T5 bulbs from innovative but have liked my PC's from them and they are a great co. I had a bulb not work once and they sent me a new one no charge the next day.

As for the T5's I only have 10k and actinic from the place I got the fixture from.
I will say Michelles T5's (which I think came from reefgeek not sure she got it from Gooch) looked better than my T5's do.
I liked her bulbs better than mine. The problem is they make so many diff kinds which do you use? lol
I personally don't care for daylight much cuz it's what 6500k or 6700k? and seems more brownish but with the right combo can be nice.
Many yrs ago (yes I'm older than dirt lol) before we had 10k I used to run 2 daylights, 1 actinic, and 1 triton NO bulb and really liked the color.
I wish they made the triton in a T5 cuz I loved those bulbs. Very unique color.

kass
 
I do the following.

blue+
aquablue
daylight
daylight
aquablue
blue+

gives a nice white color similar to 10K

And then the dawn/dusk effect when the middle four are off.

you can change the bulb combinations around to suit your tastes.

There is a thread on here in the lighting forum started by the user "the grim reefer" all about T5's and different combos and such.. it's long, but a good read. I would paste the link here, but the search dont work for me.
 
I fourth or fifth or whatever # we're on for ReefGeek! The prices are pretty comparable to F&S, but we always had the best luck from them getting the bulbs intact. They ship them very well-packed, we never had a broken bulb from them. F&S had broken bulbs several times, sometimes took 3 tries beore we got them whole. We of course didn't have to pay anything extra when that happened, it was just more of an inconvenience.

We also really liked the aquablue but I can't remember exactly which ones we used, I'd have to ask Mike.
 
ATI lamps from ReefGeek is the way to go.

I don't want to be breathing mercury when I open a broken box of lamps from a careless shipper.
 
Sounds like ReefGeek is the way to go....they've got several 54 watt bulbs to pick from, I might just give them a call and talk about the best bulbs for my tank. Here is their selection in the 54 Watt bulbs......

ATI 54W 12000K Aquablue Special T5 HO Fluorescent $21.95
ATI 54W Blue Plus T5 HO Fluorescent $20.95
General Electric 54W 6500K Daylight T5 HO Fluorescent $12.95
Giesemann 54W 6000K Midday Sun T5 HO Fluorescent $18.95
Giesemann 54W 11000K Aquablue Plus T5 HO Fluorescent $21.95
Giesemann 54W Actinic Plus T5 HO Fluorescent $20.95
Giesemann 54W Pure Actinic 03 T5 HO Fluorescent $25.95
UV Lighting 54W 10000K AquaSun T5 HO Fluorescent $21.95
UV Lighting 54W 12000K Actinic White (50/50) T5 HO Fluorescent $21.95
UV Lighting 54W Super Actinic T5 HO Fluorescent $21.95

Are the Geisemann's the best (because they are the most expensive??)
Thanks!
 
I think that I am using ATI bulbs. That was what the guy at reefgeek recommended at the time.

I know that the daylights are GE's because they were free on some promo deal that I got when I bought the fixture.
 
any of you are invited to come by and check out my lighting set up if you so desire. You just need to send me a PM and we will set up a time and day. I am more than happy to show you the system as a whole, or any little old part you like.

just let me know

I live in Depere, so I know that is a bit of a drive for some of you.

BUt the invite is always open
 
ummm. the possibility does exist. I am opening a new restaurant that month, so I am honestly not too sure how much personal time I will have over the next couple of months. I suppose that we will have to play it by ear and see what happens.

way to try and rope me in Bryan!
 
If my new skimmer does its job maybe I will be ready to host again by then. Where is the new restaurant?
 
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