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IslandCrow · 05/12/2010, 08:32 AM

I'll second the suggestion on Reef Geek. In addition to great service, any of the T5 setups they sell are good quality. For that matter, they only seem to sell quality equipment. You won't find much along the lines of a quality fixture that incorporates moon lights, but those can easily be added separately. For that matter, I just used some LEDs I bought in the automotive section at Walmart and used those as moon lights.

As for why T5s are so expensive, it's mainly the ballast and the reflectors (you're paying for the design in addition to the supply and manufacturing costs), plus extra steps are taken to make sure the unit is safe to extend above a saltwater tank. Are they overpriced? Yeah, probably a little, but supply and demand comes into play here.

05/12/2010, 08:32 AM	#8
IslandCrow Reef Monkey Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Rockledge, Fl Posts: 5,759	I'll second the suggestion on Reef Geek. In addition to great service, any of the T5 setups they sell are good quality. For that matter, they only seem to sell quality equipment. You won't find much along the lines of a quality fixture that incorporates moon lights, but those can easily be added separately. For that matter, I just used some LEDs I bought in the automotive section at Walmart and used those as moon lights. As for why T5s are so expensive, it's mainly the ballast and the reflectors (you're paying for the design in addition to the supply and manufacturing costs), plus extra steps are taken to make sure the unit is safe to extend above a saltwater tank. Are they overpriced? Yeah, probably a little, but supply and demand comes into play here. __________________ All opinions in the above message should be taken with 35 ppt salt. -Mike C. Current Tank Info: I have a reef screen saver on my phone, does that count?