T5 Question

I will message grim when I get home.

I never said anything about catalina not being able to keep sps. Keeping sps has more to do with water quality in my opinion anyways.

I would bet that the reflectors found in catalina stuff will not keep up with ati, aquactinics, LET or even icecap reflectors. There is a reason why cheap (money wise) fixtures are cheap. They use cheaper parts. In this hobby some things are more expensive because parts aren't mass manufactured. Therefore prices are higher. The specialty items cost more overall. When a company has really low prices its because they are using mass produced lower end stuff. Its that simple.

you think ati is charging more just to make more? They know that more people will buy their stuff if they keep the price down. Hence why the sunpower came out. They also have new skimmers that are gonna be priced with the chinese skimmers. Should be really sweet.

People sure like to argue about t-5's on this site. Why? I think Ryan and the grimreefer are the experts on this and trust their knowledge. People can go with whatever they want but don't expect every fixture and bulb to make their reef a success. I know what works for me might not for others!

All I'm saying is I have what works for me!

I don't mean to come off as arguing. Many things in this hobby are different for everyone.

You can grow SPS with power compact if you want. Heck I'm sure you could with standard T8's. I don't recommend either though. I grew SPS for about a year under PC's. Color lacked and growth was ssslllloooowwww but they grew.

What some people call good growth others call slow. What some people call slow growth others are thrilled to have any growth. It all really just depends. All of our tanks grow coral slower than the ocean. (I'm sure there are a few exceptions to this so don't go crazy on me.)

This is my thought process. 99% of the reports I read on Catalina stuff says that the bulbs suck and even when changing bulbs out you still have troubles keeping SPS past about 12". If that is the case then I would assume PAR is below 150 if not much lower. (Assuming that SPS really need 200 or above to do well.)

That tells me that PAR at the surface is maybe 400, at the most. This also shows me that the reflectors aren't that great. Even more importantly it shows that the lack of cooling is killing output too. A good reflector helps penetrate the depth of the water. 12" of water isn't all that much.

Cooling the bulbs will really help keep PAR at a maximum.

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1641235

That thread is packed full of info. I think it is a must read for anyone and everyone who has or is thinking about getting T5's. (Sorry you have to copy and paste it. I have the WYSIWYG feature turned so I can post from my phone)

I think Tek's are good fixtures but they lack in cooling and ballasts. Their reflectors are pretty good and it really helps them out.

I think ATI's are the best you can buy but they aren't for everyone. Some people won't spend the money and others really don't need that much light.

Hope this sheds some light on where I come from. Pun intended LOL

No I don't. Adam blundell does though. I want him to come read my tank if he has the time.

I run the following:

SGH360 wrote: Im planning to keep Only LPS and Softies will 4 Lights Tek Fixture suffide?

Depends on the size of the tank.

I would suggest 6 bulbs for coverage and bulb choices. 4 bulbs is very hard to get exactly what look you want.

But in the end, 4 bulbs should give enough PAR if that is what you are worried about.

SGH360 wrote: yea thats what im worried about, the tank is 20In deep 75G

I am not worried about the depth of the tank. 20 inches isn't a deep tank. I am worried about the width, front to back.

Six bulbs would probably be overkill but you would be happier in the end, IMO. You can fine tune the color combo a lot easier with 6 bulbs. Just throw in a couple actinics and you can drop the PAR a little.

Most softies and LPS really only about 150 PAR to do really well. A Tek isn't going to have an issue getting you that kind of PAR everywhere in the tank.