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Tired of replacing t5 bulbs

I currently have an 8x54 ATI powermodule. It's a great fixture but I want to move to LEDs for my 4x2x2 120. Had been fish only since Sandy killed all the coral, but I want to add back in a gbta, some frogspawn, gsp and maybe a brain or two. I want to go to LEDs only. I'm tired of replacing bulbs. It's just one of those things that only takes a few mins, but the storage of bulbs drives me absolutely crazy for some weird reason.

I've spent so much time reading about LED fixtures over the last few weeks that I feel like I've gone full circle and am back to having no clue what to do. Maybe I'll just go to Feng and buy two pendants. That's the easy fast thing to do. Would love it someone just smacked me in the back of the head, or heck even the front, and said man you are just stupid if you don't buy X light.

Going back to my anti-whining mode now, well assuming I have one :)
 

redfishbluefish

Officer Emeritus
Officer Emeritus
Your budget and whether or not you want full controllability will help determine the fixture(s) best for you. If you want least expensive, full spectrum, two channel, manual control......you can't beat THIS deal.


Now you could most likely get away with just two of these fixture, but I'd go with three and crank them back a little so they're not running at 100%
 
I just looked at those again. Looks like you get 3 fixtures for that price! do you know anything about these specific ones? I figure i'll just use cheap home cheapo timers to control them.
 

redfishbluefish

Officer Emeritus
Officer Emeritus
Yes! You get three fixtures. Search ebay and you'll find quite a few that are very similar....around 87 - 90 each....with free shipping. And I know nothing specific about these fixtures......but I'd give them a shot at that price.
 

horseplay

NJRC Member
I recently purchased one of these on ebay, about $90 shipped for a frag/QT tank. There is a guy ships from Secaucus NJ and he seems to be a very good seller. I am very impressed by the build quality of these lights. Even the knobs feels solid and the fans are very quiet. I cannot attest to the ability of growing corals using these lights but I guess it should be similar to other LED's on the market.

The problem with using LED alone is the light feels very cold and the tank looks dark. If you're coming from ATI 8 bulb fixture it will be quite a change for you. The color does look fantastic and the clarify is better than T5. I think you would need 3 of them if you have the standard 120g but the center brace may get in the way a little bit. The best setup will be two of these lights + 4 bulbs retro T5 in a custom made hanging canopy.

Another issue is the blue light alone is VERY blue. Much bluer than ATI blue+. Since the intensity is manually adjusted you cannot ramp up and down therefore you will have to live with how blue it is when only the blue is on and that may or may not be a problem for you.
 
Thanks guys. I'm guessing just about anything made in china can greatly fluctuate in quality. May give these a shot at that price.
 
I also have two of the Chinese LED lights on my 75 gallon, corals grows fine no complaints yet but anyway I'm thinking to put 2 T5 to supplement the LEDS.
 
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