which do u prefer?

[cavipower1]

which of these would u prefer over a 20l with some lps and some clams? i have alot of pc lighting right now but have wanted to change to t-5s forever! wat would u pik?

 

Two of these retros in a hood so a total of 4 bulbs two actinic and two 10k. i really like these cuz they are already mounted on a rail and all u have to do is bolt the rail to ur hood, really easy mounting. plus i dont think the price is all that bad. anyone ever heard of this brand before?

CoralVue Retro Kit

 

then theres this one thats also a retro kit and i would also buy two kits making it a total of 4x24watts

Tek-2 Retro Kit

 

Or this current usa sundial t5 fixture which is 4x24watts? this one has built in timers an some other features.

Sundial T5 Fixture

 

keep in mind all of these are all around the 200-220 price range, i like the ease of buying a light fixture but maybe one of the retro kits is better in terms of lighting for my clam and my corals. Which one of these would u buy? Honestly lol!

[reefman23]

Out of those, probably the Tek 2.

 

Jesse

[cavipower1]

just cuz of the name or is there anything wrong with the other choices?

[suppressive fire]

tek is better.

there are other better choices.

[Biotoper]

For retrofit, I'd go with the ATI SLR 4x24 kit here. $270 w/ your choice of lamps. Similar to the Tek5 retrofit but the SLR reflectors are a bit better. This should give you enough light to keep anything in a 20L, and is much more worth the money (better reflectors and lamps) than similarly priced fixtures. You just need to add some fans to your canopy.

 

For fixtures, I'm not sure what the best choice is for a 4x24W under $300. Don't know anything about the Sundial. A lot of people like the new Nova Extreme Pro models, but they don't come smaller than 36" - I've heard the old Nova Extreme can be pretty loud. Finnex is another option.

[HecticDialectics]

For retrofit, I'd go with the ATI* SLR 4x24 kit here. $270 w/ your choice of lamps. Similar to the Tek5 retrofit but the SLR reflectors are a bit better. This should give you enough light to keep anything in a 20L, and is much more worth the money (better reflectors and lamps) than similarly priced fixtures. You just need to add some fans to your canopy.

 

For fixtures, I'm not sure what the best choice is for a 4x24W under $300. Don't know anything about the Sundial. A lot of people like the new Nova Extreme Pro models, but they don't come smaller than 36" - I've heard the old Nova Extreme can be pretty loud. Finnex is another option.

 

 

*IceCap actually, link to the retrofit http://www.reefgeek.com/lighting/T5_Fluore...Bulbs_by_IceCap

 

 

But yeah, I was about to post the same link. The IceCap reflectors are better than the Tek 2s by a hair. The Sundail and Coralvue are going to be substantially less intense because of their reflectors. Reflectors are a pretty big deal with T5 lighting.

 

That site can be a little confusing to someone not sure what they're looking at. The IceCap "VHO" T5s are basically overdriven T5s by the icecap ballast. The regular T5HO IceCap setups use the IceCap reflectors, but a regular-driven ballast, which is fine for most people. Also, even though it's $270, you gotta remember that it comes with your choice of whatever brand-name bulbs you want, so add $80 to "the other guys" prices that don't have bulbs.