# Opinions on Coralife T5 FW Double Linear Vs. GLO (Hagen) T5 Double linear.



## Walking_Target (Jul 16, 2008)

Alrighty, long and the short of it is... I have an opportunity to buy a Coralife brand T5 Double Linear fixture, the correct size for my tank, at a good price. 

Or, i could wait and spend $40 more on the same size light by GLO (Hagen) 

Now, I have no idea if the Coralife fixture is T5-HO. It's brand spanking new, but i've heard next to nothing on them. 

The GLO is supposed to be T5-HO, but my previous experience with Hagen products leads me to belive that it may not be the case. 

Either way, i would like to get some oppinions based on quality, previous experience and price, not bias towards one manufacturer or another, if possible. 

Thanks for your time!


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## zzyzx85 (Feb 13, 2008)

Coralife fixtures are T5 NO (normal output). I have a 2 of their 24" double lamp fixtures over my tank. Nothing bad to say about them. They work well for their price. Only thing is that I find their bulbs (NO bulbs) harder to find. I find T5HO bulbs more easily than T5NO. I just ended up ordering a few extras in case they burn out.

You might want to look into Current USA fixtures as well. I think they're in between the Coralife and Hagen in price.


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## Complexity (Jan 30, 2008)

If the Coralife fixture you're talking about is an Aqualight, you can get replacement bulbs here:

http://www.thatpetplace.com/pet/group/10928/product.web

As far as the original question, it's hard to say since you don't know the full details of the two fixtures in question. I think you first need to find out exactly which fixtures they are, if they're T-5s or something else, what is the total watts for each fixture, and match all that with what you're wanting.

I have a Coralife Aqualight fixture that's done well, but I have no experience with Hagen Glo. The guy that sold me my original setup tried to push a Hagen Glo on me, but the price was outrageous and it wasn't T5s. I'm very insistent on T5s due to the heat.

So I have Coralife Aqualights on my smaller tank and a TEK 4x54w T-5 on my larger tank.

There's no better fixture. It's a matter of what you want to accomplish and your preferences. If you can offer that information, then people might be able to give you a better idea of which fixture might match up best.


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

I have several Coralife T5s, and they are NO. They're great fixtures for low light tanks. Or doubled up (they're very slim so that's easy to do) they make great mid/high light fixtures.

The Hagen Glo fixtures are T5HOs. Their reflectors are highly polished, but there's only one reflector for 1 or 2 bulbs. I've never owned one but I hear they're decent lighting for the money. I do like Hagen's 18k AquaGlo spectrum bulbs.


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## Walking_Target (Jul 16, 2008)

Thanks for the fast responses. 

My tank is a 33 gallon (36x12x18) by Hagen. 

For my lighting requirements, i'm planning on growing low to medium light plants. The most light-intensive plant i'm going to have is an Amazon Sword, some Jungle Val and perhaps a few strands of Red Temple. The lower light plants i already have are Crytocorynes Becketti and Wendtii var. Tropica, as well as what a believe to be C. Wendtii var. Brown. Also have some Hygrophila Difformis and some Bacopa Monnieri.

Anyway. By my calculations, the Coralife lighting would give me 2x21w bulbs at NO, giving me just about 1.5wpg using actual tank volume. 

The Hagen Glo would give me 2x39w over the same aquarium at HO. that would be a total of 78w over 30 gallons actual, which works out to 2.6wpg. 

I'm not currently doing CO2 injection... but i can if I need to. 

Any advice?


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## Complexity (Jan 30, 2008)

If you can inject CO2, the wpg from the Hagen would work best. It's a good amount of light to have and will work very well for the plants you have in mind. The Coralife fixture just won't put out enough wpg for your tank.

So if it were me, I'd go for the Hagen.

BTW, my tank has 2.88wpg if that's of any help for comparison. You can get an idea of what I can grow by looking at my journal. I just posted a bunch of pictures. You can get the same growth with ferts and inject CO2 using the Hagen lights.


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## evercl92 (Aug 15, 2006)

I have purchased 2 different Hagen Glo setups - 24 and 48 inch. I can say that I'm very pleased in the purchase of these. I find that The 2x54wt 48in setup is brighter and more effective than the 4x65wt CF coralife setup I had. The only real downside I've found to these, as mentioned, is that the reflectors are set for 2 bulbs, rather than individual. But they are very reflective, and I'm getting great results with a single 2x54wt Glo over my 75gal.


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

If you go with the Hagen, you'll need CO2. If you want to grow Red Temple, you'll need this level of lighting and the CO2.

Or you could skip the Red Temple, still go with the Hagen, but only run 1 bulb. Then you could do without the CO2.

The rest of the plants you listed would do fine under the Coralife T5 NO.

Those are the options I see with these 2 fixtures.


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## talontsiawd (Oct 19, 2008)

I was recommend the coralife by the lovely member above and some others. In my research, it seemed to be one of the better lights for the money. I went to my local fish store and i thought the quality would be kind iffy but it seems good, especially for the moeny. My LFS tends to stock there products heavily too which is a plus.

I would recommend it off reviews. My experience is too short to recommend it off my own experiences. However, i have friends who have paid about the same lower quality lights with less output total from the same store. Part of that is there fault but I am convicenced on these for bang for the buck. Plus, i think i could fit 3 on my 29 gallon if i wanted to with no issues, they are nice and small.


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## Complexity (Jan 30, 2008)

I have two double Coralife Aqualights on my (soon to be) 29g. I've been running just one fixture on my 20L, but got the second fixture to double the light when I switch that tank to my 29g and add ferts and injected CO2.

I agree, they're one of the best bargains around. I like the fixtures for smaller tanks. I wouldn't get it for something like a 48" wide tank (55g or larger), but for a tank that's 24" to maybe 36" or slightly larger, they're great little fixtures. Amazingly small and slim. And virtually no heat at all.


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## rpayer (Jun 9, 2008)

I've got the 48w Hagen over a 2ft tall 34 gallon tank. My plants grow too fast...


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## Walking_Target (Jul 16, 2008)

So... The Hagen fixture is out after not finding any good deals near me (would have easily cost over $200 after buying bulbs..) 

So, for the cash, i'm either going to buy the Coralife Double Linear NO T5; Costing a grand total of $100 and a few cents 

Or

A Satellite Single Linear PC. I can get one for just under $170. (and as far as I remember, the Satellite fixtures come with a Sunpaq bulb to start) Which will give me an even 3wpg.

EDIT: The PC Coralife is also an option, 36"x96W. exact same price range.


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## Complexity (Jan 30, 2008)

Personally, I'd stick to the T5s. Runs much cooler and gives out a good light.

How many wpg are you shooting for? And what size is your tank?


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## bsmith (Jan 8, 2007)

I was contemplating purchasing one of the FW double strips to add to my 2x65 coralife pc unit. They seem to be very slim and would ass 36w of t-5 brightness.

I have had a few Coralife fixtures and have been happy with them.


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## Complexity (Jan 30, 2008)

They are _extremely_ slim. Now that I have two of them on my 20L (soon to be 29g), I really like having them. Though they take up the entire top glass, I can easily stack the one in front on top of the one in the back to feed my fish. They are so cool running, I can touch them without any problems even if they've been running all day. And they don't heat up the tank even though I have them set directly on top of the glass.

I did have one bulb burn out last week which was probably the fastest I've had a bulb burn out (about a year), but it was time to replace them anyway, and they're cheap enough to not be an issue.


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