These T5 lights

ddelozier

ddelozier

Well-Known Member
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RS Ambassador
consensus i've seen on those knockoff fixtures is, bulbs are junk. Be ready to replace em within 6 mo, otherwise, the fixture is "OK". I've seen people say there are fine, i've seen people swear they suck. Its a dice roll.
 
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ViperDoug

Member
Thanks for the response. I am not concerened with the bulbs as I would replace those anyway. My concern is the fixture. Honestly, if the run I am happy. The don't need to look nice or anything else as this will be for a frag tank in my basement fish room.
 
Doogle

Doogle

Well-Known Member
I went that cheap route before (fishneedit) and although the fixture works I needed to put $80 in new bulbs in it. Warranty sucks on those (at least fishneedit will send you a shipping label at no charge for 6 months and replace/fix any issues including broken bulbs) cheap eBay/aqua trader fixtures.
1. the fixture has crap reflectors.
2. the fixture is not actively cooled and your PAR will be much less and your bulbs will color shift and you will end up changing them at around 3-6 months instead of around 10-12 months. The splash shield is hurting that even more!
3. the cheap bulbs will need to be replaced right away ( trust me, growth sucks with crap bulbs and they will lose color in 2 months ) so thats another $120 for good bulbs after you just paid $60 for the crappy bulbs.
4. Ballasts are underpowered and may die unexpectedly
* moonlights will die in short order and you don't need them for a frag tank
* internal timer may die and then none of your bulbs will turn on/off
For the price your at and the cost of new bulbs your in the ballpark for a TEK fixture and ati bulbs.
Place a small fan pointed at the top rear corner of a TEK fixture ( or whatever passively cooled fixture)with label end of bulbs on the side where the cooling is and you will gain a lot of PAR and extended bulb life.
I paid a lot of money for my ATI sunpower and am happy I did. I also got a great steal on a current outer orbit with extra hqi bulbs so look around at used equipment as well, lots of ati supowers with bulbs out there on RC for around $250-300
Current is the cheapest fixture I would look at. Then Catalina,aquatic life,TEK,aquactinics and ATI (best)
 
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TylerHaworth

Active Member
You get exactly what you pay for here.

Patience is key in this hobby, and this is no different - if you don't have the cash for a proper unit now, wait until you do.

How big is your frag tank?
 
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ViperDoug

Member
Thank you for the responses. That is exactly what I needed to hear. I thought it was too good of a price but wanted to see other's opinions. Like I said, it is a frag tank so I don't want to overdo it. I almost bought the ATIs a few months ago and I am glad I did not. I know they are great, but they have too many bells and whistles that I simply don't need. I have been watching the used market lately and there are definitely some good deals out there. I will continue to do so until I fins what I need.
 
dmatt88

dmatt88

Has been struck by the ban stick
ViperDoug said:
Thank you for the responses. That is exactly what I needed to hear. I thought it was too good of a price but wanted to see other's opinions. Like I said, it is a frag tank so I don't want to overdo it. I almost bought the ATIs a few months ago and I am glad I did not. I know they are great, but they have too many bells and whistles that I simply don't need. I have been watching the used market lately and there are definitely some good deals out there. I will continue to do so until I fins what I need.
Click to expand...

Good call buddy. Craigslist is my reef friend too.

..........rarely am I speechless
 
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