T5 fixtures all the same?

likefish · 06/06/2012, 06:23 PM

I purchased a used 120gal that included a 4 bulb "T5 HO" fixture.

After searching the forums i now understand the opinions and preferances about bulbs. What i do not understand is what makes the fixture cheap.

A fixture is
1) Reflectors (i sunderstand this gets the light to the reff more efficiently)

2) Ballasts (A "HO" ballast should power any bulb?) Will it power ATI?

3) Endcaps: are they all created equal?

4) Bulbs: it appears that ATI are the standard

I plan to dissasemble the fixture and combine the 4- bulbs into a LED/T5 DIY. The reflectors are for 2 bulbs each and I understand why this is not ideal. I am shopping reflectors now (at least 2 more for now, so that each bulb has its own reflector)

I could nt find a name on the bulbs and considering the price of the fixture ($120new) i will assume they are not ATI or any equivilant.

Any and all answers, guidance or links greatly appreciated!!!!

madean · 06/06/2012, 07:13 PM

The 4 things you asked about can vary greatly in quality and is usually what makes the difference between a high end fixture and a cheap one. ATI is probably not the standard but one of the higher end fixtures. There are a ton of fixtures out there and a ton of bulbs. So come up with a budget for what you want to spend and go from there. But there is definitely a difference between ballasts, reflectors, bulbs and end caps and some units will have a cooling system as well to keep the bulbs at an ideal operating temp to extend the life of the bulbs. So it really depends on what you want to accomplish

likefish · 06/07/2012, 05:21 AM

thanks for the reply....

the question remains...... WHAT is the differance between a high end ballast and a cheap one..... longevity? ability to do its job correctly and power the bulb?

I dont want to use an economy ballast on a good bulb if the bulb will not perform as designed. I guess its an engineering question more that a personal taste question.

Any tech types out there that know ballasts?

Thanks for educating a new guy cutting his teeth.

HV1990 · 06/07/2012, 09:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by likefish

thanks for the reply....

the question remains...... WHAT is the differance between a high end ballast and a cheap one..... longevity? ability to do its job correctly and power the bulb?

I dont want to use an economy ballast on a good bulb if the bulb will not perform as designed. I guess its an engineering question more that a personal taste question.

Any tech types out there that know ballasts?

Thanks for educating a new guy cutting his teeth.

If you were to compare fixtures you will look at three components.

First look at the reflectors. ATI and TEK use individual reflectors for each bulb where Coralife does not. (Just found that out by comparing the one i bought to a tek light).

Second you will see most higher end fixtures use active cooling .ie a fan. This will help dissipate heat and help bulb life.

The third is ballast. Most higher end ballast say they will overdrive a bulb. I am no expert per say on ballast but it is possible to tweak the output to push the bulb higher.

hope that helps however I am sure there are some experts that may chime in. good luck in your endeavors.

madean · 06/07/2012, 09:47 AM

I would also tend to believe that a good quality ballast will properly run/drive a bulb/s and last longer than cheap ballast. Not to say that a cheap ballast will not last, but IMO the chances of a good ballast lasting longer should last longer and drive the bulb better than a cheap ballast. The above poster mentioned the reflector. Reflectors can be of high grade and on each individual bulb and they can be one single piece of shiny metal and all the bulbs share it. Some reflectors are engineered and designed to reflect a lot of light back into the aquarium and others are not. This is what you pay for. Also as mentioned above active cooling can be built into the fixture. Your higher end models will more than likely have it because it is recognized that keeping the bulbs somewhat cool can help extend the life of the bulbs. I personally dont have data to back this up, but it seems to be a recognized fact amoung people from the forums I read and from manufactures of these fixtures. And from what I know of electricity, heat is not a friend of electronics or electricity.
Also a few of the higher end modules have dimmable ballast for the ability to control when and how much light is coming out of the fixture. And lastly some fixtures have one plug to turn the lights on and some have multiple plugs to turn the lights on. Which doesnt seem like a big deal but it may be to some. If you have fixture A that has 4 bulbs on one plug, as soon as you turn the light on it blasts the tank with the full amount of light the fixture produces. Fixture B might have those same 4 bulbs split up into 2 bulbs per plug. So when 1 plug is turned on, depending on what bulbs are in the fixture, light is introduced to the tank but not at 100% of the fixtures ability and then the 2 plug or set of lights can be turned on a little later. Thus reducing the shock of the light to fish and corals. There is debate about whether this makes a difference or not. I tend to think it does, logically if you think about it would you like to wake up to a little light and gradually picking up in intensity or full sunlight (fixture light) at once. Potato potauto right? And lastly there are fixtures that can be dimmed per ballast. So lets say you have the same 4 bulb fixture that has 2 bulbs per ballast. Some of these fixtures might have preset intensities and some you might be able to control 0-100% of the lights output per ballast (also called channels). The only downside is that these fixtures need to either have a built in controller or a third party controller like an apex controller. Which means the price goes up. If you already planned to have a controller than no big deal right. But if you dont want the third party controller than definately done get a fixture that needs one. Hope this helps.

06/06/2012, 06:23 PM	#1
likefish Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: central florida Posts: 738	T5 fixtures all the same? I purchased a used 120gal that included a 4 bulb "T5 HO" fixture. After searching the forums i now understand the opinions and preferances about bulbs. What i do not understand is what makes the fixture cheap. A fixture is 1) Reflectors (i sunderstand this gets the light to the reff more efficiently) 2) Ballasts (A "HO" ballast should power any bulb?) Will it power ATI? 3) Endcaps: are they all created equal? 4) Bulbs: it appears that ATI are the standard I plan to dissasemble the fixture and combine the 4- bulbs into a LED/T5 DIY. The reflectors are for 2 bulbs each and I understand why this is not ideal. I am shopping reflectors now (at least 2 more for now, so that each bulb has its own reflector) I could nt find a name on the bulbs and considering the price of the fixture ($120new) i will assume they are not ATI or any equivilant. Any and all answers, guidance or links greatly appreciated!!!!

06/07/2012, 05:21 AM	#3
likefish Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: central florida Posts: 738	got ya thanks for the reply.... the question remains...... WHAT is the differance between a high end ballast and a cheap one..... longevity? ability to do its job correctly and power the bulb? I dont want to use an economy ballast on a good bulb if the bulb will not perform as designed. I guess its an engineering question more that a personal taste question. Any tech types out there that know ballasts? Thanks for educating a new guy cutting his teeth.

06/06/2012, 07:13 PM	#2
madean Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2009 Posts: 994	The 4 things you asked about can vary greatly in quality and is usually what makes the difference between a high end fixture and a cheap one. ATI is probably not the standard but one of the higher end fixtures. There are a ton of fixtures out there and a ton of bulbs. So come up with a budget for what you want to spend and go from there. But there is definitely a difference between ballasts, reflectors, bulbs and end caps and some units will have a cooling system as well to keep the bulbs at an ideal operating temp to extend the life of the bulbs. So it really depends on what you want to accomplish

06/07/2012, 09:47 AM	#5
madean Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2009 Posts: 994	I would also tend to believe that a good quality ballast will properly run/drive a bulb/s and last longer than cheap ballast. Not to say that a cheap ballast will not last, but IMO the chances of a good ballast lasting longer should last longer and drive the bulb better than a cheap ballast. The above poster mentioned the reflector. Reflectors can be of high grade and on each individual bulb and they can be one single piece of shiny metal and all the bulbs share it. Some reflectors are engineered and designed to reflect a lot of light back into the aquarium and others are not. This is what you pay for. Also as mentioned above active cooling can be built into the fixture. Your higher end models will more than likely have it because it is recognized that keeping the bulbs somewhat cool can help extend the life of the bulbs. I personally dont have data to back this up, but it seems to be a recognized fact amoung people from the forums I read and from manufactures of these fixtures. And from what I know of electricity, heat is not a friend of electronics or electricity. Also a few of the higher end modules have dimmable ballast for the ability to control when and how much light is coming out of the fixture. And lastly some fixtures have one plug to turn the lights on and some have multiple plugs to turn the lights on. Which doesnt seem like a big deal but it may be to some. If you have fixture A that has 4 bulbs on one plug, as soon as you turn the light on it blasts the tank with the full amount of light the fixture produces. Fixture B might have those same 4 bulbs split up into 2 bulbs per plug. So when 1 plug is turned on, depending on what bulbs are in the fixture, light is introduced to the tank but not at 100% of the fixtures ability and then the 2 plug or set of lights can be turned on a little later. Thus reducing the shock of the light to fish and corals. There is debate about whether this makes a difference or not. I tend to think it does, logically if you think about it would you like to wake up to a little light and gradually picking up in intensity or full sunlight (fixture light) at once. Potato potauto right? And lastly there are fixtures that can be dimmed per ballast. So lets say you have the same 4 bulb fixture that has 2 bulbs per ballast. Some of these fixtures might have preset intensities and some you might be able to control 0-100% of the lights output per ballast (also called channels). The only downside is that these fixtures need to either have a built in controller or a third party controller like an apex controller. Which means the price goes up. If you already planned to have a controller than no big deal right. But if you dont want the third party controller than definately done get a fixture that needs one. Hope this helps.