4bulb or 6bulb T5HO HELP!
- Thread starter Mandrew
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Mandrew
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That's what I was thinking about. Now I just gotta find a fixture that won't break my budget. I was gonna use 2 Mars Aqua LEDs and call it a day and I already asked the lady for a lighting budget increase of $100 and she was reluctant lol..
Bpb
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Definitely do the 6 bulb and just look around. I got my 8 bulb 48" sunpower from a local reef forum with bulbs form$400. Only a few months old. An ATI fixture doesn't have to cost $1500 unless you want a brand new led powermodule hybrid.
nervousmonkey
LPS Lover, SPS Enabler
This is where ATI posts the factory seconds that are dented or whatever... They sell fast, so once you know what you want, go ahead and buy it.
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/the-old-factory-seconds-thread.213824/
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Mandrew
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Defo go 6 and see what is about second hand, don't forget to look for Pacific sun units, I run an 8 tube hybrid pac sun, love it, as do the corals (mixed reef).
These fixtures seem a bit pricy
najer
Valuable Member
Was just another option to look for pre used.
webbl19
Active Member
Not sure if they have a 6 bulb or not, but I just recently picked up the odyssea 48" 4 bulb for my 55g, it has a built in timer which is nice and comes with moonlights on it's own separate timer also. I switched out the lights to 2 blues, 1 actinic, and 1 coral wave. All wave point. I will switch to ATI's probably when the time comes for replacement.
RushReefer2112
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I've read so much recently about avoiding the use of non reef dedicated fixtures. Mainly because I was looking into adding t5 as a supplement. I was going to use a general ho fixture but read so much about how they underdrive the bulb which decreases bulb life and doesn't give the correct par, which for sps is important. Just thought I'd throw in my two cents on the subject. I've had a 48" 6 bulb aquatic life fixture before and it worked well for 4-5 years then bit the dust and wouldn't turn on at all. I looked at it all around then decided to chunk it.
If you're going to be doing sps then you should go for a 6 bulb fixture if your tank is 18"+ deep.
I've also had a 48" wavepoint 6 bulb fixture that worked good for about 5 years also. It didn't have the timer or anything and was pretty cheap used at an lfs.
In conclusion, I'd say if you plan on getting a controller in the future, or already have one, go for that type (one that doesn't have the built in timer, just basic on/off).
Definitely shoot for one that has individual reflectors. They're very important for delivering high par evenly.
If you're going to be doing sps then you should go for a 6 bulb fixture if your tank is 18"+ deep.
I've also had a 48" wavepoint 6 bulb fixture that worked good for about 5 years also. It didn't have the timer or anything and was pretty cheap used at an lfs.
In conclusion, I'd say if you plan on getting a controller in the future, or already have one, go for that type (one that doesn't have the built in timer, just basic on/off).
Definitely shoot for one that has individual reflectors. They're very important for delivering high par evenly.
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Mandrew
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And update, I've been talking a lot with the lfs owner that uses all types of fixtures. He said the 48" 4 bulb off brand fixture at 18" deep reads 170 par and his Ati 48" 4 bulb fixture at the same depth reads 200 par. So the discussion of spending $300, bulbs included in price, instead of $510 plus bulbs is all over 30 par. Hmm...
Bpb
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There's more to it than par. The active cooling of the ATI fixture will increase the life and output of the ballasts and bulbs over time. But...I mean this with the utmost respect and zero sarcasm, seriously, you've already made up your mind it sounds like, just get what the store owner fella suggests if that's what you're leaning toward
I would wait and build up your budget a bit more if that is possible and aim at some of the better brand fixtures, especially for SPS.
I've used some of the cheaper fixtures for T5's and they do the job but bulbs going out, lower par, no program-ability and poor light spread will come back to bite you later. Unless you can really get a steal on these products, I always end up spending more at the end of the day because I decided to go cheap initially.
If your going SPS, I agree with the others, 6 bulbs is what you want. For SPS tanks, you want to go big first because you can always raise the lights to reduce par. It's hard to add more bulbs if your short par on a prefabricated fixture.
I've used some of the cheaper fixtures for T5's and they do the job but bulbs going out, lower par, no program-ability and poor light spread will come back to bite you later. Unless you can really get a steal on these products, I always end up spending more at the end of the day because I decided to go cheap initially.
If your going SPS, I agree with the others, 6 bulbs is what you want. For SPS tanks, you want to go big first because you can always raise the lights to reduce par. It's hard to add more bulbs if your short par on a prefabricated fixture.
jeremy
Well-Known Member
You can get different par readings with different bulb combos.
I had an 8 bulb ATI and had over 300 par on sand and with a current fixture less than 200 on sand, it was an 8 bulb also but the reflector was poorly designed and you couldn't adjust the fan speed.
You will eventually end up buying a different fixture in a year or 2 when you have to replace bulbs every 6 months compared to 12 to 14 with an actively cooled fixture. You are gonna spend more in the long run
webbl19
Active Member
I don't have but this one bonsai sps stick so far, it seems to be fine under my Odyssea Quad T5 I listed above, it's entrusting and growing. That's the goal right?
It's like anything else, buy a pair of Nikes or a pair of Starters from walmart, which one gets wore out first?
My feeling with this hobby is you get what you pay for, but you will also survive with the cheaper options . Might not last as long, might not work as good, but it works good enough and if I can get 2 cheap fixtures for the price of 1 good one I don't see the issue. That's double the life of what a high cost light will give me at equal cost. Even if the 2 only gives me 1/2 more life it's still worth it in my wallet cause I'm still breaking even with price, but getting more life.
It cracks me up how many people buy these $500-1k lights all the time and run them at 25%-50% intensity. You aren't even getting all of what you paid for really. Seems silly to buy a overpowered light just to say you have one. Speaking mostly of LED boxes, but still the same concept.
I haven't seen any tanks where sps is at the bottom or even 18" down, which is where this par example comes from.
But I'm no pro and it's only my opinion and observations of my tank, I have a mix of all kinds of coral, zoas, palys, gonipora, Kenya tree, Duncan's, Torch, devils hand, montipora shelf and some entrusting montipora, bonsai sps and not one of them is stretching for light. Have a green long tentacle anemone that exploded once I installed the T5 unit.
I go the cheap route on most stuff and diy what I can. Haven't regretted any decision yet.
As of right now with a $110 unit with $60 worth of bulbs. So I'm down $170.
It's like anything else, buy a pair of Nikes or a pair of Starters from walmart, which one gets wore out first?
My feeling with this hobby is you get what you pay for, but you will also survive with the cheaper options . Might not last as long, might not work as good, but it works good enough and if I can get 2 cheap fixtures for the price of 1 good one I don't see the issue. That's double the life of what a high cost light will give me at equal cost. Even if the 2 only gives me 1/2 more life it's still worth it in my wallet cause I'm still breaking even with price, but getting more life.
It cracks me up how many people buy these $500-1k lights all the time and run them at 25%-50% intensity. You aren't even getting all of what you paid for really. Seems silly to buy a overpowered light just to say you have one. Speaking mostly of LED boxes, but still the same concept.
I haven't seen any tanks where sps is at the bottom or even 18" down, which is where this par example comes from.
But I'm no pro and it's only my opinion and observations of my tank, I have a mix of all kinds of coral, zoas, palys, gonipora, Kenya tree, Duncan's, Torch, devils hand, montipora shelf and some entrusting montipora, bonsai sps and not one of them is stretching for light. Have a green long tentacle anemone that exploded once I installed the T5 unit.
I go the cheap route on most stuff and diy what I can. Haven't regretted any decision yet.
As of right now with a $110 unit with $60 worth of bulbs. So I'm down $170.
Saltysav96
Active Member
I am running a 6 bulb fixture with 4 ati bulbs and 2 euroquatic e5 led bulbs as my blues. Check them out. http://www.aquariumspecialty.com/euroquatics-blue-pop-e5-retrofit-t5-led-lamps
They are led bulbs that plug directly into the t5 socket.
They are led bulbs that plug directly into the t5 socket.
