t5 for 90-100 gal?

[gotfish]

Sid, in the tests as far as PAR goes, Grim over at reefcentral said that the Nova was just as good only because of the active cooling. If you throw a fan at the Tek, it pulls ahead slightly. Like Luke says though, pound for pound, I'd go with the Nova pro and in fact I did. I have switched out the bulbs for UVL/geisemann after asking Grim what combo to go with and have been very happy with the fixture. I've had it for about a year now in total. 11 months on a freshwater planted and a month now on the saltwater.

One other thing though, I don't know how the new catalina reflectors are. They have switched from the style they used to use to a new IR setup so it may have upped the quality. The catalina fixtures use the same ballast as Tek does now too. Mainly because Tek downgraded to the workhorse.

 

[Bouzouki]

catilina are not good in my opinion. See one new light with mh ballast and when my frined pluged it in it burned the balast and blew a short. Loud pop and smoke. This is after he sent back the new ballast because it was flickering. I know this is MH and not T5 but I am not excited about there QC. Finally he is sending the light and balast back so they can try to fix it. I am willing to bet the there is a dead short in the fixture.

Ordered some nova extream the other day so that is what I would buy. Cheap and effective.

Sid, in the tests as far as PAR goes, Grim over at reefcentral said that the Nova was just as good only because of the active cooling. If you throw a fan at the Tek, it pulls ahead slightly. Like Luke says though, pound for pound, I'd go with the Nova pro and in fact I did. I have switched out the bulbs for UVL/geisemann after asking Grim what combo to go with and have been very happy with the fixture. I've had it for about a year now in total. 11 months on a freshwater planted and a month now on the saltwater.

One other thing though, I don't know how the new catalina reflectors are. They have switched from the style they used to use to a new IR setup so it may have upped the quality. The catalina fixtures use the same ballast as Tek does now too. Mainly because Tek downgraded to the workhorse.

 

[returnofsid]

If you read further, you'll see where Grim did some other testing, as well as someone else. They were pretty disappointed with PAR results of the Nova Pro. I do agree that the active cooling definitely helps.

If the ballast in my Tek ever goes bad, I'll change it to an Icecap!! I've actually considered doing it anyway, just to enhance PAR. I've had to fixture for 3 years now, changing bulbs once a year. I'm still very happy with the fixture. I've also never run a fan on it, though I probably should.

 

[Saltyfish]

Ok so from all this I got if I add a Fan to my Tek lighting it is better then the Nova Pro, Ok I will add a fan now mine is better and I will be able to sleep at night knowing mine is better then yours! HA HA

Now to be serious,,,,,,,

I like the Tek system and I am always willing to look at others, after all I am building a 630 gallon soon and I need to have the best of the best for that. My 55 gallon will be gone next week. I went from crappy compacts to Tek T5 24" system and I made a world of difference.

I ordered my 90 gallon and I ordered another Tek lighting system with that also. This is the reason behind it.

I have seen a few tanks around town when I went to buy stuff from fellow reefers. I was most impressed with Sid's tank when it came to the lighting and how his coral "pop" out when the light is on.

Of course this does NOT include the local fish shops. I want to have a great tank but at the same time I don't want to worry about the heat and the electric bill for MH. I can only imagine what Kevins electric bill is every month. I heard through the grape vine that to run a 500 to 750 gallon system in Spokane with MH it will cost you $250.00 to $350.00 in electric. The major cost is the lighting.

Something to think about next time you buy lighting....

 

[returnofsid]

Power consumption is the main reason I went with the T5s. At first, I was told by a lot of people that you can't grow SPS under it. I think I've proved that wrong. Now, you see a lot of people switching over to T5s with great success.

I've also been reading a lot lately about lighting. I'm beginning to agree with a couple very honored GURUS and authors, who are indicating that us reef nerds are putting WAY too much emphasis on lighting and going WAY beyond the extreme in high lighting.

Read Anthony Calfo's Coral Prop. book for more on this subject.

 

[gotfish]

I've also been reading a lot lately about lighting. I'm beginning to agree with a couple very honored GURUS and authors, who are indicating that us reef nerds are putting WAY too much emphasis on lighting and going WAY beyond the extreme in high lighting.

I wouldn't doubt this whatsoever. What some people say is necessary for lighting isn't at all necessary. Maybe to have a coral growing like crazy every month and have color that pops out of your tank it's necessary, but to successfully grow a coral, I agree with what you're saying. Euro's have been using t5's for years with success. Unless you have a pretty deep tank, I don't think there is any reason to go with MH's. That's just me though.

 

[Saltyfish]

Even with a deep tank you can use live sand and rock to raise the coral to the proper height you need them to be for great growth.

My 630 gallon tank is 31.5" deep but by the time I get the pvc pipes and the egg create set up it is already 2" off the bottom. Then I will start stacking the rock. My plan is to have a 3" to 4" deep sand bed to help cover the pipes and create below the rocks.

Now there is a huge debate if I need MH or T5 lighting. I want T5 just to save the money on the electric bill but I have been told that I will get better results with MH. I might do SPS but I will make sure they are in the top 12" of the tank. By doing this I should have no problems having anything in my tank and using T5.

 

[Saltyfish]

Oh yeah I forgot to say I keep my lights on at least 12 hours a day.

All Aquarium lighting is set by timers 10am to 10pm even on my fresh water. My neighbors say they think I am home all the time even when I am away because of the light timers.

 

[gotfish]

Even with a deep tank you can use live sand and rock to raise the coral to the proper height you need them to be for great growth.

That is true, but that's not exactly what I meant either. I can have a tank 40" deep and as long as I don't have anything in the bottom 20", everything will be fine. Ooorrrr, I could just throw an Mh over the top.

 

[luke33]

Ok so from all this I got if I add a Fan to my Tek lighting it is better then the Nova Pro, Ok I will add a fan now mine is better and I will be able to sleep at night knowing mine is better then yours! HA HA

.

Pretty much the only thing holding the tek back! lol. I've seen quite a few people drill a few holes in the tek fixture's and call it a day. Are the reflectors as nice as the powermodule's and ic's, aquacintics....no, but they work for sps just fine

Like mentioned earlier, just strong light doesn't make your corals thrive. I think water flow and parameter consistency is more important.

 

[tylert]

hows this light?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&item=270346177540

 

[luke33]

I think that is a sunblaze by sunlight supply who make the tek's. The sunblaze reflectors are nice, pretty much the same as the tek's. I hear the fixture isn't water resistant at all and its strickly for horticulture although if you hang it high enough you should be fine.

 

[gotfish]

It is a sunblaze and I've seen some people use them over freshwater planted tanks with good results. Luke is correct, but hanging it higher up will lower the penetration. Just something to think about.

 

[Bouzouki]

Yeah if you were going to hang it I would just buy a halide...

It is a sunblaze and I've seen some people use them over freshwater planted tanks with good results. Luke is correct, but hanging it higher up will lower the penetration. Just something to think about.

 

[tylert]

I have a Ice Cap 660 ballast so if I get a nova pro and change the ballast that would make it better then the tek and most fixtures right?

 

[Saltyfish]

I have a Ice Cap 660 ballast so if I get a nova pro and change the ballast that would make it better then the tek and most fixtures right?

No it means you have a Nova Pro with a Ice Cap 660 ballast

 

[gotfish]

I have a Ice Cap 660 ballast so if I get a nova pro and change the ballast that would make it better then the tek and most fixtures right?

I'd have to say yes myself. Overdriving a good set of bulbs with the Nova pro would indeed make it better then the Tek since they are just about comparable as far as PAR levels already. It would probably be comparable to having a Tek with a fan on it.

 

[Bouzouki]

I say just buy a t5 light and put it over it. If the fish and corals start to protest then upgrade the ballast.

 

[tylert]

So I ended up getting an aquatinics TX5 and am waiting for it to arrive. The thing is it is only 9.5" wide and my tank is 18"wide. I don't think it will be too bad cause I'm not going to light the backside of my rocks which is 2-3" and I'm going to have about 3-4" of sand in front of the tank so that really only leaves 13 - 11" of tank that I'm going to have corals on. You think it will be ok? Just wanted to get some other opinions.

 

[Saltyfish]

I like how the reflector is curved to cut down on space yet give you lots of light. If you got the one without a fan on it you might want to add it in. Looks like you can pretty easy since the ends have the air holes already drilled.

Let us know how it works out for you.

I am happy with the Tek lighting I got for my 90 but dang that is bright. My wife said build a canopy around it so it does not spray the room with all that light. During the day it is not so bad but at night when the sun goes down we have to turn it off 4 bulbs and only run with 2 bulbs.