Will Aquatinics T5 support SPS/clams?

tektite

tektite

Active Member
I'm totally new to this reefing hobby, and I've finally gotten around to choosing my lights. Just looking for some input, I want to know if this light will support all the creatures I want.

My tank is 125 gal. - 17.5" wide, 18.5" deep, 71.5" long.
I would like to have LPS, SPS, clams, and anemones.

The light I was looking at is the Aquatinics T5 Constellation series - 72" long.
It is 7 bulbs wide (39W each), 14 bulbs total for approx 546W total.

The bulbs I'm looking at are from ATI:
1 x Sun Pro (6000K)
3 x Aquablue (12000K)
2 x Blue Plus (20000K, 450n)
1 x Actinic Blue (420n)

Does anyone have experience with Aquatinics? I've heard they're good.
Will this setup support what I want to keep?
Any help/input appreciated! Thanks!
 
M

Midnight

Member
you need T5 Hight output at the least for clams. IMO How much is that fixture? you might be better off buying a MH retro fit kit and then you could keep clams no problem.
 
tektite

tektite

Active Member
All the bulbs listed are HO, forgot to put that in.
The fixture is around $900. I know it's a bit pricey, but I'm not sure I want to get into MH with the heat, I live in Texas and it's already hard enough for my AC to keep up.
 
M

Midnight

Member
tektite said:
All the bulbs listed are HO, forgot to put that in.
The fixture is around $900. I know it's a bit pricey, but I'm not sure I want to get into MH with the heat, I live in Texas and it's already hard enough for my AC to keep up.
Click to expand...

Let me find the link to the one I got. Its a 6X54W and it was $411 after tax and shipping. They had a 8X54W that was a little more but it was still cheeper than $900.
 
tektite

tektite

Active Member
new reefer 03 said:
have you looked into leds? the solaris?
Click to expand...

I have looked and looked and looked at the Solaris . . . I want really good quality but $3700 is a REALLY big pricetag when I've never even had a single tiny frag yet...

This fixture is my compromise until I'm quite certain I want to keep reefing (though I'm pretty certain even with my dry tank), and until I save some money up.
 
M

Midnight

Member
Mine doesn't put out to much heat, but yeah I didn't even notice the 72" part. I think as long as you stick with T5 HO you can keep some clams, but you will have to be carful and research each clam to make sure T5 HO will be enough.
 
tektite

tektite

Active Member
I was looking at the Nova Extreme Pro also. I did some research online, and the consensus seemed to be that the Aquatinics was a little better light than the Nova. Not sure how much of a difference there is between them though.

I would really like to know if either of them are truly capable of sustaining SPS/clams though. There seems to be a differing of opinions on this from what research I've done.
 
Z

ZAPCOnj

Active Member
Take a look at these as well. Catalina Aquarium 72" T5 Lighting

I have two catalina fixtures one HQI and one custom made to house two Coral Dynamics HQI LED fixtures. They are hand made in California and are of quality Construction, design, and materials!

anyway, i thought i would toss in another option for ya!
 
W

Whacked

Member
Aquatinics is one of, if not, the best T5 fixture.
Plenty good for what you want.

LED's are getting better and I believe will eventually be 'the' fixture of choice, but a bit to pricey and I dont think the tech is quite there yet.

A retrofit kit may save you some $$ either T5, MH or a combo. will need a canopy for these tho.

MH is a option too, many like the shimmer effect they have. with MH theres no doubt you'll be able to keep what you want. with your tank you'll need 3 MH to give a good light spread.
 
M

morau89

Member
The aquactinics would be better IMO of the T5's since you are looking at keeping clams because the reflectors focus more light to the bottom. The Teks are really good too but I think the aquactinics are a little bit better. Look at the bottom of this thread on rc, there is a comparison of the tek reflector and slr reflector(which is very similar to the aquactinics reflector)Reef Central Online Community - Icecap SLR vs. Tek 2 full review I would go with aquactinics over tek. The Tek fixture doesn't have fans so the life of the bulb is decreased. It would save you alot of money to do a retrofit but like whacked said, you will need a canopy to hold the lights.
 
Frankie

Frankie

Well-Known Member
RS STAFF
new reefer 03 said:
light is the most important thing in a reef, aside from water quality. dont settle for less then the best.
if your g oing T5s i would recommend this
Aquarium Lighting for Reef Systems: Current Nova Extreme Pro Saltwater T-5 Fixtures
that is my dream light, lol.
Click to expand...
Stop giving out information you know nothing about Cole. The Constellation blows that fixture away.

I'm totally new to this reefing hobby, and I've finally gotten around to choosing my lights. Just looking for some input, I want to know if this light will support all the creatures I want.

My tank is 125 gal. - 17.5" wide, 18.5" deep, 71.5" long.
I would like to have LPS, SPS, clams, and anemones.

The light I was looking at is the Aquatinics T5 Constellation series - 72" long.
It is 7 bulbs wide (39W each), 14 bulbs total for approx 546W total.

The bulbs I'm looking at are from ATI:
1 x Sun Pro (6000K)
3 x Aquablue (12000K)
2 x Blue Plus (20000K, 450n)
1 x Actinic Blue (420n)

Does anyone have experience with Aquatinics? I've heard they're good.
Will this setup support what I want to keep?
Any help/input appreciated! Thanks!
Click to expand...
Yes you can keep those animals under that light fixture with no problem. Other then the ATI fixtures you could not get much better.
Keep in mind, even with good lighting it takes a mature stable aquarium to keep them also. Lighting is half the battle :)
 
tektite

tektite

Active Member
Thanks for all the input everyone, I appreciate you all taking the time to answer.

Frankie said:
Yes you can keep those animals under that light fixture with no problem. Other then the ATI fixtures you could not get much better.
Keep in mind, even with good lighting it takes a mature stable aquarium to keep them also. Lighting is half the battle :)
Click to expand...

Thanks, that's what I want to know. I'm taking it slow, I'll be quite sure my tank is stable before adding any animals :)
 
C

cheeks69

Wannabe Guru
RS STAFF
tektite said:
All the bulbs listed are HO, forgot to put that in.
The fixture is around $900. I know it's a bit pricey, but I'm not sure I want to get into MH with the heat, I live in Texas and it's already hard enough for my AC to keep up.
Click to expand...

This is a myth !
From what I have learned T5's will produce as much heat as MH's if your using around the same wattage.
 
BigAl07

BigAl07

Administrator
RS STAFF
Robert I don't know about that. I don't have any "hard & fast #'s" to go by but I can say that on in my Canopy that I can run 4x54w T5's (216w total) all day long with little to no increase in canopy temps (the cooling fans in the canopy don't come on at all) but I can run only the 2x150W MH's (300w total) and in less than 10 minutes the fans come on and stay on until about 20 minutes after they go off. Yes there is an 84w difference but the temp difference is much greater than that. The T5's are easily handled by bare hand without burns immediately after turning the fixture off but I would never even consider touching the MH's until they have cooled a long time. Keep in mind each T5 is only 54w where each MH is 150W. I think I've created more questions than answers :) That's not unusual for me though. :D
 
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