# Archaea Artic light (24" 2x24 T5HO) vs 24" power compact 2x55w



## trigun808 (May 18, 2008)

i was thinking of changing my light to the archaea light but will it be better than the light i already have? 
i need opinions!
thanks!


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## FSM (Jan 13, 2009)

T5HO is nice, but 48W of it isn't going to be more light than 110 watts of PC. If it was just one PC bulb, I'd choose the T5 instead.


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## Hoppy (Dec 24, 2005)

The Archaea T5HO lights, according to some data I have just seen, are not as effective as Catalina or Tek lights. And, if your 2 x 55 watt PC light uses the AH Supply reflector, I doubt that the Archaea light would give as much light as you now have. Why are you considering going to a different light?


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## plantbrain (Dec 15, 2003)

FSM said:


> T5HO is nice, but 48W of it isn't going to be more light than 110 watts of PC. If it was just one PC bulb, I'd choose the T5 instead.


96W of T5 lighting is more than 110W of PC lighting, we got the data to prove it, it also has better spread and you can reduce the intensity up/down much eaiser(only got 1-2 options with PC's, here you have 4).

But yes, the T5 while better than PC, will not = over 2x the light.

Still, the light(t5's) will yield excellent results on any tank growing any plant at that wattage. I like the Tek brand and it tends to have the higher out ranges of the various brands listed.

On a 20 Gal tank, 2x 24 W is about all you'd ever need.

Realize that 48W of T5 is = to 80-90W or T12 lighting.
Or about 4-4.5 W/gal, which is a heck of a lot of light.
Focus on using less light, it will make most everything easier.

Regards, 
Tom Barr


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## trigun808 (May 18, 2008)

are the ah supply relfectors good?
and if i have a fixture already like this
http://shop.aquatraders.com/PhotoGallery.asp?ProductCode=51201
could i mount two of the ah supply relfectors in it?
if so, thats what i wanna do, anyone see any fault in my plan?


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## Hoppy (Dec 24, 2005)

It takes room to mount AH Supply reflectors. They are about 4 inches wide per bulb. That fixture looks like it crams two bulbs into less than 4 inches of width.

Yes, the AHS reflectors are very good. I don't think an AHS PC light, using their reflectors, gives as much light as a T5HO light, using the typical single bulb reflectors for those light. But, for tanks that are 12-20 inches or so high, the AHS light gives plenty of light to grow all kinds of plants. You might even have to raise the light to avoid having too much light.


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