which t-5 is better

[newby30gallon]

ACI or TEK? need a 48" t-5 setup with 8 bulbs

thanks

[James77]

ATI is, even against the tek elites.

[wesley6610]

+1 for ATI

[newby30gallon]

so whats the take on these new diming features...... worth it?

[James77]

What size tank are you throwing this on?

Dimmable....for less than a couple hundred more, i would go for it. Not neccesary at all, but less shocking to fish and coral to have a slowly ramping up and down light than on all at once. I use LED and dim, and I like the effect when its dim.

ATI is the best....I would go for the SunPower over the Powermodule. The performance is nearly the same. If you have a few buck to blow, the PM is made very well, a showpiece in itslef.

[newby30gallon]

starting a 180" build, mixed reef, sps, lps, nems, i like the halide/moonlight/t-5 setup but do not want to deal with a chiller. i was told the powermod acts more like a VHO and i am wanting to get around 6-7 watspergal.

i was looking into the ecoray and exorita led lights, but heard the growth was not proven yet. plus the guy at the LFS strongly recommends t-5's, + i would like to be able to toggle between mixed light and actinic.

any suggestions are welcome

thanks

[NyReefNoob]

ATI without a second thought if you have it too spend, ive owned a few fixtures and diy t5's had sunpower, powermodule, tek, current and so forth, nothing has been as bright as the ATI

[James77]

Originally Posted by newby30gallon

starting a 180" build, mixed reef, sps, lps, nems, i like the halide/moonlight/t-5 setup but do not want to deal with a chiller. i was told the powermod acts more like a VHO and i am wanting to get around 6-7 watspergal.

i was looking into the ecoray and exorita led lights, but heard the growth was not proven yet. plus the guy at the LFS strongly recommends t-5's, + i would like to be able to toggle between mixed light and actinic.

any suggestions are welcome

thanks

Drop the whole watts per gallon, it is meaningless when using efficient lights like T5s and LEDs. With my LEDs, I am using just over 1 watt per gallon, and I need to be careful not to scorch the coral. Comparably as bright as any T5 or halide setup i have had. With the PM on my 120, it was less than 4, and that was still too bright. There are far too many factors to use WPG as a lighting guidelince.

Powermodule( or sunpower for that matter) will act like whatever bulbs you put in. Daylight bulbs kick out tremedous PAR, the actinics are still very intense as well. LEDs are not proven by a bunch of people since they are so new, but there are plenty that have shown great coloration and growth using a variety of LEDs. If they are doing the same layout as before, the 8 bulb is 6 and 2 as far as on or off. I would imagine they can be dimmed independently as well, but I would ask someone that deals them or that owns one.

I did a DIY LED setup, I can switch on and off between white and blue, and can dim them independently. 1/3 the price of some of the high end LED fixtures, which are great by themselves.

[newby30gallon]

thanks for the feedback...... preciate it.

[NYCBOB]

i have the ati sunpower and loving it.