# what lighting system do u have? and ur review



## cleekdafish (Jun 13, 2007)

I have a satelite for now. Its ok but sometimes it will not turn on...but it doesnt happen that often. I wouldnt get another one cuz its pretty ugly


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## epicfish (Sep 11, 2006)

Is it a brand new Satellite? If so, try to get a replacement. If it's under warranty still, I'd try to get a replacement also.

Since I've started until now, I've had the following fixtures:
Finnex 2x36W PC
Finnex 3x36W PC
CurrentUSA Orbit 2x40W
Tek 4x54W T5HO
AquaTraders 36" 1x250W MH + 2x96W PCs + 4 moonlights w/ CoralVue ballast
AquaPod 24 w/ DIY 70W MH retrofit
CustomSeaLife (which is now CurrentUSA) 2x96W PC

The reason I went with the CurrentUSA Orbit over the Satellite is because of the looks and the better reflector.


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## frozenbarb (Dec 16, 2006)

is finnex any good?


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## spypet (Sep 15, 2006)

cleek, you really need to elaborate what you consider "ugly".
Tek T5-HO fixtures are beautiful because they are sleek,
but I consider them ugly because of the glare they create.
Orbits have the least glare due to the bulb being so deeply
recessed, however that same condition makes them a lot
less light reflective efficient than the shallow wider Tek's.
so we really can't help you until we hear exactly what you
hate about the Satellite, and would like in any new fixture.


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## cleekdafish (Jun 13, 2007)

Its ugly cuz it looks like a box , it has no sleek to it

they say Orbit is the best pc system out there


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## epicfish (Sep 11, 2006)

"Best" is pretty relative. If you're not factoring in cost, I think the Orbits are ranked pretty high out there.

I'd have to say Teks with their individual reflectors have to be one of the better T5 systems.


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## Rex Grigg (Dec 10, 2002)

I use nothing but AH Supply kits on my aquariums. All are mounted in wooden canopies or the enclosures that AH Supply sells.

Next aquarium I set up will also have an AH Supply light on it if it's a planted tank.


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## frozenbarb (Dec 16, 2006)

Buying the AHssupply... dont the bulbs cost around 30 bucks? so its like 90 total or so, wouldnt that be the same as a regular fixture??


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## JFouts (May 21, 2007)

I don't really know about the cost factors compared to most, but AH Supply kits are the best I have dealt with so far. I have seen quite a few setups and have experimented with a couple. The reflector setups on the AH Supply make a HUGE difference in the way the light is dispersed.

For planted tanks, I can't see me using anything else.


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## dhavoc (May 4, 2006)

havent tried the AH kits as its too warm here to use hoods on tanks, and i personally prefer the open top look. but i have a 8x54w tek and love it, so much so i just got a 4*39w for a 40breeder i am setting up in my playroom (wife bans playstation etc from our family room tv that my 2 year old uses). the reflectors just cant be beat, compared to a bunch of PC fixtures by coralife, current etc I also use. glare can be a problem if you sit right up and below the tank, but plant growth and lower heat output into the room are definite pluses in my book. teks are pricey though..... I just wish we could get those sexy fixtures the euro market has available to them.


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## spypet (Sep 15, 2006)

dhavoc said:


> I just wish we could get those sexy fixtures the euro market has available to them.


come one now... don't you know that you can not tease us here like that here without providing a link?!


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## Rex Grigg (Dec 10, 2002)

Bulbs are $19 each at AH Supply and can be had for as little as $12-14 each if you shop around.

Also the AH Supply kits get more light into the tank than any commercial fixture I have seen.


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## tazcrash69 (Sep 27, 2005)

spypet said:


> come one now... don't you know that you can not tease us here like that here without providing a link?!


OK, you want a sexy European light link:
Here's one a link from Germany translated through google.

Thanks Jens.

I have a 4 X 96 AH supply but it gets warm in the canopy of my 125. 
I had a Current USA Orbit 4 X 65 on my 55, and liked it but a bit loud on the fans. 
If AH put out T5 kits I would buy from them again in a minute.<nudge, nudge>
Otherwise I want to try cool running T5s.


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## spypet (Sep 15, 2006)

I have 2 Orbits now on opposite sides of the room, so I hear the fan noise in Stereo :hihi:
I'm pretty sensitive to noise, but can live with these fans because the sound is a lower pitch constant rumble of rushing air, not the mechanical higher pitch variable sound that many fans can make.
Shame nobody has made a T5-HO fixture yet with the bulbs higher up and more recessed in the housing to cut the side view glare. That design would make a killer fixture if they priced it right.
Taz, thank for the link; it's nice to know what is the latest fixture the Euro'Trash are buying these days...


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## frozenbarb (Dec 16, 2006)

Since im going to upgrade my light. I dont have a large budget of money, since im going to china on july 7.. i was thinking of buying lights over there,and using it here
im Awared that the volt rating over there is 200v and over there is 100v
but i could tell my dad to get a Step up transformer

or i could buy a fixture. but i need help my tank is a 36" and i dont know what light Feature is good, Ahsupply is good. but i cant find a way to Fit it in my 36" AGA hoodlight,
i dont have a job yet. Maybe ill check the Light over there, and then Decide


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## MARIMOBALL (Mar 18, 2007)

I Recieved my Currnt Nova Extreme last week and I love it. fixture runs cool and fan is turned on only when running all 4 bulbs for 3hrs a day. I have 2x10k 1x6500 and 1xpink grow bulb plus moon lights. fan is loud but not anoying. lights are way way brighter than AH or the Coralife PC I have on my 120gal plus they run cooler which helps when having CRS in the tank. The HC starts to pearl when all 4 bulbs are on. Forgot to mention its the 24" 4x24w fixture. Im never going back to PC. It will be Current or TEK for me from now on.


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## frozenbarb (Dec 16, 2006)

Nice review i been wantng to get a CUrrent


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## epicfish (Sep 11, 2006)

frozenbarb said:


> Nice review i been wantng to get a CUrrent


His review is for a Current Nova Extreme, which are T5s. AHSupply kits for PC setups will still be superior to Current PC fixtures.


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## Brilliant (Apr 11, 2006)

Man I am sick of hearing about Tek. The people mentioning these "individual reflectors" clearly do not have the fixture.

Tek is nice but I have heard first hand from someone who actually owns the fixture that it isnt what it is cracked up to be. The reason...people talk based on hearsay. Sure its nice, sure its T5 HO.

I have the Current USA fixtures...PC, T5 HO and HQI. The AH supply is not superior because it is not a fixture. It is a retrofit kit. Lets compare apples to apples.

Spy, I do have the Nova Extreme and it is about 6 feet off the ground. It is pretty recessed and I dont mind the minimal light spill.

When comparing these fixtures one thing is simple. Buy Current USA. If you have a shallow tank and limited budget buy PC. If you have deep tank buy T5 HO or HQI. Now Current has freshwater T5 HO fixtures I would suggest them but I have never tried them. T5 owns PC.

Make sure you register your product if anything goes wrong Current USA has fantastic support. Well worth the actinic swap.


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## MARIMOBALL (Mar 18, 2007)

I ordered the current "pink" freshwater bulbs" To replace the actinics it came with and the bulb is not too pink like the coralife PC bulb. I like Currents color but they don't label the Kelvins. A LFS has TEK on there planted display tank so I have seen them first hand. TEK's reflector is what makes it a good product just too expensive I think. I would buy TEK if I found one used.


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## Betowess (Dec 9, 2004)

Brilliant said:


> Man I am sick of hearing about Tek. The people mentioning these "individual reflectors" clearly do not have the fixture.
> 
> Tek is nice but I have heard first hand from someone who actually owns the fixture that it isnt what it is cracked up to be. The reason...people talk based on hearsay. Sure its nice, sure its T5 HO.


I have a Tek 4x54 and a Current USA Nova Extreme 4x39. Both are high oupput (HO) T5s. I like both of these T5s!

I also have some AHS 55 watt and 36 watt kit lights. They are great for the money and have the best reflector (bar none) for PC lights.

Lastly, I have a 65 watt Coralife "Aqualight" with the flip legs. Love this light for a low light 25 gallon. Those flip legs are the greatest invention in the hobby!

Tek's do have better reflectors (they are a "wrap" off of one piece, but are individual around each bulb). And the Tek does have a much higher quality/high tech programmed start ballast than the Current USA. The Tek ballast is made by Universal Lighting - "Triad". This ballast slowly starts up the bulb which greatly prolongs bulb life. 

The Tek light is very well built, but I really like the light weight of my Nova Extreme. The Nova's moonlights are not near bright enough IMO and one of the banks keeps shorting out intermittently. I've never had a short happen on my Tek, so I do think the Tek's have much better build quality and components. But they are pretty heavy and you have to use an Allen key to take one end off to slide off a splash shield to change a bulb. Not a big deal, but it is a little trouble. 

Last big plus (option) on the Tek light is the built in capacity to use the terrific Grip lock hanger system (ultra thin stainless steel wire - very minimalist/gallery type look). The griplock system will raise/lower a heavy light with total ease - and in a heartbeat too! roud: IMO, this well thought out design is why many rave about the Tek. But they are kind of spendy and don't have moonlights.:thumbsdow


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## Brilliant (Apr 11, 2006)

Yes I understand you. Please dont get me wrong I know Tek is a nice quality fixture. I wouldnt mind using one on my 65g but then it wouldnt match all my other Orbit type fixtures. I just priced and the same #bulb Tek retrofit kit alone is nearly the same price as my Current USA Nova Extreme fixture.

As far as the moonlighting goes I think your right but I do have to admit they did fade away right along with my interest in them. The moonlighting on my Sunpod is still going strong.

At the end of the day the Tek is costing you way more and I dont think plants will notice the "individual reflectors". Regardless of technology in ballast the bulbs need to be replaced. This is a long shot but the advanced nature of the ballast would seem to prevent the bulb burning out not lasting longer.

Perhaps someone can be kind enough to post a picture of these Tek reflectors?


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## Anthony (Jan 11, 2005)

You can get a hanging system for the Orbit fixture.
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/Product/Prod_Display.cfm?pcatid=13971&N=2004+113347


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## sayn3ver (Sep 1, 2006)

T5 is much more efficent in terms of lighting efficiency because the bullbs are quite small in diamter...almost creating a "point" light thus constructing a reflector is much easier and can direct more light down into the tank than the pretzel like CF bulb.

T5 without individual parabolic reflectors really has no advantage over compact florescent(IE. The Nova extreme fixtures).

Brilliant-I agree, the tek fixtures aren't the best out there. There are quite a few better fixtures out there. There are many retrofit kits that out perform them too. Its has poor reflector design and reflector material in addition with passive cooling ie no fans.

I have used the Coralife Single 65w (55w) CF fixture over my 20g. I feel for the 56 dollars i spent on it was a decent buy. So far i have not been dissappointed as is probably the most light i'd want on a tank this size.

I just ordered a tek fixture for my low tech 90g. I bought it knowing its flaws because it is a decent fixture for the price(329 shipped from reefgeek for the 4x54w with bulbs of my choice)...and its for basically a moss tank.
The thing is, watt for watt, it will put more light into the tank than a CF fixture..and its worth noting that with the cost of electricity on larger tanks. For really large tanks...best is still probably MH (although some of the nicer t5 fixtures are starting to become contenders with MH).

I still feel t5 with parabolic reflectors is worth the extra money over CF any day(except maybe tanks smaller than 3ft).


Anyone runing an LED fixture on a planted tank?


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## Brilliant (Apr 11, 2006)

I would run LED but its about $2k.

My opinions on T5HO vs CF are based on my transition from 2x130w CF to 2x54w T5HO in my 90g. Regardless of Nova's inferior reflectors the fixture killed the CF based Orbit on this deeper tank. I could be running more 54w bulbs but I dont feel the need to. Like I said the CF are great for shallow tanks like 20L where T5HO would be overkill. BTW I am running T5NO on my 20L.


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## Betowess (Dec 9, 2004)

Brilliant, have you ever seen an AH Supply in person next to a Coralife PC with a flat mirror reflector?
The difference (if I was to guess with my eyesight) has got to be at least 35% percent. Its the parobolic reflector making that difference.


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## epicfish (Sep 11, 2006)

sayn3ver said:


> Brilliant-I agree, the tek fixtures aren't the best out there. There are quite a few better fixtures out there. There are many retrofit kits that out perform them too. Its has poor reflector design and reflector material in addition with passive cooling ie no fans.


Just curious, but you said "quite a few" retrofit kits and/or other fixtures would beat the Teks...I know IceCap reflectors are ~20% more efficient than the Tek1 reflectors and are marginally better than the Tek2 reflectors (given some stipulations, of course)...but I don't know of many fixtures/reflectors that are better than Teks.


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## Brilliant (Apr 11, 2006)

Betowess said:


> Brilliant, have you ever seen an AH Supply in person next to a Coralife PC with a flat mirror reflector?
> The difference (if I was to guess with my eyesight) has got to be at least 35% percent. Its the parobolic reflector making that difference.


Nope. I can tell you one thing. I am so impressed with the reviews of AH Supply reflectors I was going to modify my Orbit with them. My comment about AH Supply wasnt a tally in the negative column I just feel this is not to be compared to complete product.

If we go into custom made lighting it would be hard to find something out of the box that will compare. You can't buy anything out of the box better then you or I can custom build. Similar to the computer and many other products.


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## epicfish (Sep 11, 2006)

If you're planning to retro the Orbit with AHSupply reflectors, talk to Left C. I think they've done it already.


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## spypet (Sep 15, 2006)

epicfish said:


> If you're planning to retro the Orbit with AHSupply reflectors, talk to Left C.


please provide a link to the thread it was discussed with LeftC.
I'd be curious to see if it's worth doing with my two 24" Orbits.


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## epicfish (Sep 11, 2006)

No link to the thread. I believe Left C mentioned it in passing without a detailed account of it. PM them for more info.


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## supaflyz (Apr 4, 2006)

I use to have the 4x65 coralife set up which I sold along with the tank. I currently have the tek 4x54 fixture. It has less wattage but provide more light. Both of them have nice design so none of them look better than the other. However the tek is more energy efficient than the coralife. I regret buying the coralife when I knew I could buy the tek set up on ebay for the same price! Luckily I got the set up I have now from a optometrist for just $150 with the bulbs cant beat that! But if you want the best growth I would go for metal halide. Does have some fall backs so choose wisely.


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## MarkMc (Apr 27, 2007)

2 Coralife 175 watt MH pendant lights over a 55g. They are over 1 foot above the tank and I have glass covers over the tank to slow down evaporation so I'm losing a lot of light because to that. I had a homemade florescent before that 2 48" overdriven 2 48" triton bulbs on staggered timers with a triton reflector on top on the bulbs (open hood design).


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## Blacksunshine (Oct 11, 2006)

Brilliant said:


> I have the Current USA fixtures...PC, T5 HO and HQI. The AH supply is not superior because it is not a fixture. It is a retrofit kit. Lets compare apples to apples.


i belive the title of this thread is "What light SYSTEM do you use" That does include AH supply lighting SYSTEMS. just because they are not in a cheesy housing does not remove them from being a VERY viable option for people who are even just slightly mechanically inclined. And on top of it all cost vs performance they are alot better then most boxed options on the market. 


As for me personally
My 6 gal has a 2x 13w AH supply system with 7100/8000K bulbs.
My 10 gal is crap
my 20 has a 2x65W Coralife aqualight. 
My 75 has a 220w helios as well as a 55W for when I want low lighting.


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## Brilliant (Apr 11, 2006)

Blacksunshine said:


> i belive the title of this thread is "What light SYSTEM do you use" That does include AH supply lighting SYSTEMS. just because they are not in a cheesy housing does not remove them from being a VERY viable option for people who are even just slightly mechanically inclined. And on top of it all cost vs performance they are alot better then most boxed options on the market.


You know...your right. My Orbit style fixtures are very cheesy looking. In fact I'll be waiting for the nice pictures of the AH Supply fixtures to prove this. Being I never saw pics of Tek I wont hold my breath on this one. Gimme a break dude and read my last comment about AH Supply. 

Sigh...the Orbit fixtures are very sleek and one of the best looking fixtures on the market. 

Maybe I will report back after I try the MIRO reflectors in my Orbit.


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## Blacksunshine (Oct 11, 2006)

Break given. I was just pointing out that you can't rule out AH simply because they don't come in a housing. 
As for the AH supply enclosures heres your requested pic.









Ironically they offer alot more air flow and expandablity then most fixtures on the market. 
But prefferance of looks are totally subjective.


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## Brilliant (Apr 11, 2006)

I never ruled them out, I explained my comment further about custom built. Thats a nice housing and I saw it the other night when browsing their site. Id rather retrofit the cheesy Orbit fixture with MIRO.


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