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Coralife aqualight on craigslist

E

esnapz

Are these lights as good as t5's? Or are t5's the best way to go?
While talking to Will over at AO he told me that that t5's were best..especially if I planned to go reef in the future.

$800 value for 250 is a steal, just don't know if its what I'm going to need. I'm not 100% on which way I'm going to go with my tank but I do know that I would like some coral. I'm a true beginner so my progression with my tank is going to be slow as I gain more experience.
 
JRWOHLER

JRWOHLER

Oh boy you just opened a can of worms ;)
Here is a basic explanation on lights.
http://www.premiumaquatics.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Category_Code=Lighting
They are one of our sponsors and we do do group buys from them.
For reef you have 4 choices Compact Flor., T5/VHO(T5 is the new technology but more choices in bulbs with VHO) check out blange3's tanks for VHO at its best,Metal Halide, or LED.
Upside..CP Flor is cheap good light output...downside hot and lousy bulb life.
Upside T5 VHO...good light output...low heat...good bulb life..low energy...downside not as much light as MH
Upside MH...extremely high light output..downside heat and energy max low bulb life
Upside LED...very high light output..no real heat..long bulb life...downside cost of fixture

I have T5 and am very happy...for most corals I should be good. But for some SPS corals you "might" need more.
 
J

jceli728

Price is cheap but if you get this unit you might also want to look at a chiller.$$$ If your not too sure which way your going to go with your tank, take a look at IceCap retro kits with 4xt5 bulbs. They will be good for you now and later on if you decide to upgrade you could still use them just for actinic supplementation and adding a MH retro kit.

I will recommend you do some reading on T5's as many people are switching over to them.
 
Hawkeye

Hawkeye

compact fluorescents are an old technology. I'm not knowing the halides - but CF's are known to have limited lifespans especially due to heat - and having the MH in the same fixture isn't going to help increase the lifespan.

That stated - it is a great deal if you are okay with MH/CF.

Personally if I really want actinics then I'd probably go MH/T5...but MH/VHO is not a bad choice either (better than MH/CF). Again strictly my opinion.

oh and this listing is in North Dakota. good luck getting it here for under $100 shipping!
 
knockout

knockout

FRAG SWAP VENDOR
jceli728 said:
Price is cheap but if you get this unit you might also want to look at a chiller.$$$ If your not too sure which way your going to go with your tank, take a look at IceCap retro kits with 4xt5 bulbs. They will be good for you now and later on if you decide to upgrade you could still use them just for actinic supplementation and adding a MH retro kit.

I will recommend you do some reading on T5's as many people are switching over to them.
Click to expand...

Actually this unit runs very cool, 3 fans on top of the unit keep it running cool and they are very very quiet, IMO you will not need a chiller JUST because you got one of this fixtures.
 
magic

magic

Officer Emeritus
Officer Emeritus
Look into a Current Outer Orbit MH/T5 combo best of both worlds. Current sells refurbished ones on E-bay.

Bob
 
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