Not Understanding Lighting T5s Or Pcs

[yannifish]

Originally Posted by ThaNgBom
the wattage you get depends on the length of your tank... of you have a hood.. the cheaper rout is to go retrofit.. they are "bare bone" units to say.. they come with the ballast, endcaps & standoffs, wire and plug.. you put it together.. and buy bulbs and your good to go...
YzGyz
Normally don't they come with bulbs?

 

[thangbom]

retrofit-kits no not come w/ bulbs.. they are just the bare bone hardware .. no bulbs.. just go to a good online reefing store and they should have a good selection of stuff to look through...
YzGyz

 

[lecithin]

before we get too far w/Current USA bashing there are a lot of users on this forums w/successful reefs using the pro's and even a few with the newer sun dial. I'm sure they'll come by soon. If you take one of the nova extremes with one reflector (the 2 and 4 bulb versions) then you're limiting yourself some there (with the 2 bulb you're def limited) but the newer pros and sundial give you some more pop.

 

[thangbom]

sry about the bashing but imo through research and personally seen them.. they are not worth the $$$ .. you get soo much more with a quality fixture or name brand.. as far as im concerned.. more reputable namebrand are worth there $$$.. ( even asm and euro reef... im not a fan of them but they are the standard in simmers... ) there is nothing wrong with getting what you can afford ( i know.. im a college student.. took me 8 months before i saved enough for my reflectors and endcaps.. all ice-caps btw , they are the best penitrating reflectors for t5ho ) and yes.. many people can and have had success w/ "cheaper" stuff but you have to consider other things.. like if there tank is only 12'' tall.. you might not even need reflectors w/ overdriven t5ho's... or that they are running 8 bulbs over a 55 gal as appose to 6 that of a "good" unit ...
but all in all... you get a LOT more w/ the better unit than with a chepo brand...
YzGyz

 

[reefmaster08]

T5 HO Rock.

 

[lecithin]

def some of those no names are terrible but the new Current Nova Pros and Sundials have a lot more bang for the $ then the real no names. Are they going to outdue a tek5 at 500$, no, but its 2x the price because it is so good.

 

[thangbom]

like i said.. you get what you pay for but that dose not mean that the cheap stuff don't work... maybe not ass good as the good stuff bbut they can work..
i again just want to push the importance of good reflectors... overdriven t5ho's w/ good reflectors are comparable to 250 watt MH...
YzGYz

 

[new-guy]

what if i bought a coralife 2 x 96 retro fit?

 

[thangbom]

those sound like PC's... in that case.. your buying outdated stuff that will cost more w/less in return ( par wise) for almost the same price of t5ho..
YzGyz

 

[fanker]

if the tank is 48" than u can just get a tek 4x54w a 6x is way to much.... way way way to much. if its 36" the tek 4x39w of the 6x39w will work