# Tek T5 vs. Coralife Pro vs. ADA Grand Solar I



## Ghazanfar Ghori

I'm peicing together the equipment for my foray back into the stem plant world - an ADA 90cm.

I've been trying to decide what type of lighting to use on the system. 

So - here are three options I'm considering.

1) Tek Light T5 Fluorescent 3ft 4 bulb 156W
2) Coralife 36" Aqualight Pro, 1x 150W HQI + 2x 65W PCs + 2 Blue Moonlight LEDs
3) ADA Grand Solar I w/NA-Lamp MH-150W & 2- 36W PC 

The MH bulbs will probably be the ADA 150W bulbs - even if I go with the Coralife fixture.
For the PC bulbs - I'm probably going to go with the GE 9325K Aquarays.
I'm not sure what mix of bulbs I'm going to use with the Tek fixture - opinions welcome.

Obviously the ADA fixture is sweet - but it also costs a bundle. For about 60% of the cost
of the ADA fixture - I can get the Coralife fixture and use the ADA 150W bulb + GE Aquarays in it.
For a bit less than that - I can go with the Tek systems lighting. The other advantage of the 
T5s is the tank would be evenly lit.

Goal is to have the plants look the best. Greens should look green, reds should look red.


What to do...


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## epicfish

I'd go with the Coralife Aqualight w/ ADA 8800K bulbs and the 9325K PC bulbs. This will give you both good coloration due to the intensity of the MH bulbs as well as a good shimmer effect. Lighting won't be as the Tek fixture, but it'll look more even than the ADA Grand Solar I since there's 65W bulbs on either side to help supplement the MH.

Is having all ADA products important for you? If not, then again I'd go with the Coralife. I recently started putting MHs over my planted tanks and the coloration is amazing.

I believe Ed Greenberg recently switched from 10KK or 14KK to the ADA 8800K bulb for his MH setup. You might want to ask him how the coloration is with the ADA bulb, especially since it's over his prized ADA photography tank.


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## Ghazanfar Ghori

Having all ADA isnt important - I'm leaning towards the Coralife fixture myself - the shimmering effect
of MH is addictive. Makes the aquascape look more 'alive' IMO.


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## niko

Shimmer and the "open air" above the tank are the only pluses of a MH light. If this will be an open top tank then the MH are the only way to go.

The Giesemann Midday T5HO bulbs produce amazing colors - no PC bulb can duplicate that. Unfortunatelly both the Coralife and the ADA pendant use PC bulbs.

The best of both worlds would be an ADA 8KK bulb with the Giesemann T5HOs with reflectors. But you will need to do some DIY - basically making an entire new fixture.

If you decide to go with the Tek fixture definitely get the Giesemann Midday T5HOs from reefgeek.com. They are rated 6 000K and the light is absolutely stunning - lots of reds but an overall cool light look of the tank. The spectrum of the light is indeed something special - it will actually change your plants colors and growing pattern. Thicker bushier crypts and more and redder leaves on the swords. Super deep greens. I don't know about stem plants but I suspect the effect is pretty shocking too.

If you decide to go 100% DIY T5HO you will save a lot compared to buying the overpriced Tek fixture which has only 2 advantages over a DIY T5HO - it's ready to go out of the box and has a sleek looking housing. The end caps are not water resistant. The ballasts that are inside are super light so I'm guessing they are the skinny ones made specifically for T5 bulbs.

Reefgeek.com will impress you with the packaging and ultrafast service (you will get the box in 2 days tops!):
http://www.reefgeek.com/lighting/T5_Fluorescent/Sunlight_Supply/Tek_Light_Fixtures/

You can call them and ask them if they will put the bulbs of your choice in the Tek light fixture you are buying:
http://www.reefgeek.com/company/contact.php

The following place offers a choice of Giesemann bulbs to go with the Tek light but I have not dealt with them so I don't know how his service is:
http://www.coralreefecosystems.com/ltg_systems-sunsupply-2.asp

--Nikolay


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## Jason Baliban

I have the same issue. I think i am going with the aqua medic 24" 1 x 150W plus 2 x 24W T5 Black as a solution.

Im going to use the ADA MH bulbs and t5's in the 6500k range.

http://www.aqua-medic.com/oceanlight_T5_HQI_combo.shtml

http://www.championlighting.com/home.php?cat=533 has a pretty good price.

jB


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## eklikewhoa

I vote coralife pro!


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## Ghazanfar Ghori

Niko - this will be an open top tank - but your description of the Giesemann T5 is quite
convincing. 

Jason - where are you getting the Aquamedic fixture from?


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## Raul-7

If you're still set on having a complete hood system instead of retrofit, an MH-T5 combo (such as the AquaMedic Jason posted) would be much better than the Aqualight Pro. It will give you exactly what you have in mind, the T5's would provide even distribution of light all the way through the whole 3 feet of tank. Then the MH will provide that extra shimmer effect you're after. IMO, it's the best option. The only downfall I see is that the fixture only has the option of having two 150W MH lamps, which is overkill on a 3 foot planted tank.


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## Ghazanfar Ghori

The only Aquamedic 36" fixture w/ T5s that I've found Googlin has 2 x 250W. Where are you
guys seeing the specs on these?


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## Jason Baliban

I will probly get it here.

http://www.championlighting.com/product.php?productid=21412&cat=533&page=1

I believe you can get it without the stock bulbs for a little less money

IMO, the 24" is almost overkill as it is, so i am going to hang it 12"+ above the tank anyway. The lightspread will be more then enough.

jB


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## AaronT

The popular vote seems to be MH, but I have to say that I love my Tek fixture. It's very sleek looking and affordable compared to the MH if you shop around. Make sure you get one of the newer models. Tek recently upgraded their reflective material to MIRO Silver, which is 98% reflective. The old ones are still great, but the extra light can't hurt.


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## niko

Here are some funny pictures of my 2 ft. deep tank with only 160 watts of the Giesemann Midday T5HOs with reflectors. Light is on 8 hours a day.

Substrate is pool filter sand. No substrate additives.

Fertilization is from the dry fish food that I feed the few fish I have in this 180 gals. tank.

In the last 3 months I've been letting the water evaporate about 15% before I refill the tank. No water changes, just top off.

Basically complete neglect.

This crypt spread dramatically the last 2 months (actually come to think of it in the last 45 days or so). Now it's about 12 inches tall and the area it occupies is about 3/4 sq. ft:
http://picasaweb.google.com/ddasega/Misc/photo#5051499316978678706

This sword's reds look exactly as you see them on this pic. I only resized and sharpened the pic in photoshop - it came out completely natural right away, no white ballance or reds adjustments:
http://picasaweb.google.com/ddasega/Misc/photo#5051499316978678690

Giesemann's T5HO rule!

--Nikolay


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## houseofcards

How does the 24" fixture look over the 36" tank. Has anyone seen it on the ADA90?


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## Gomer

Here is my take on the FIXTURES.
ADA=looks slick and has a "rolls royce" stigma. However from a light physics point of view, they are really poor. $$$$$$$
TekLights=looks slick, really good reflectors (I only use 2 of the 4 lights as with Iunknown when he had his and he had a lot of stem plants). You don't get the shimmer but you do get massive intensity and coverage. $$$

I personally would never get an ADA fixture even if money wasn't an object. I think you are paying way way too much for the name. They look nice, but there are other nice fixtures out there. If you love the ADA MH bulb, you can use it in other MH fixtures.

If I had the money and wanted to do it over, I would consider:
http://www.specialty-lights.com/maristar-hqi-t5.html

Check out this thread. Greg (Iunknown) is running one with an ADA bulb with a lot of success.
http://socalaquascapers.com/forum/index.php?page=gregmeet


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## Raul-7

Ghazanfar Ghori said:


> The only Aquamedic 36" fixture w/ T5s that I've found Googlin has 2 x 250W. Where are you
> guys seeing the specs on these?


Here are the specifications on the whole range of MH/T5 combo's-
http://www.aqua-medic.com/oceanlight_T5_HQI_combo.shtml

And here's the link for the actual 36" 2 x150W MH + 2x39W T5 Black-
http://www.championlighting.com/product.php?productid=21414&cat=533&page=1

HTH.


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## AaronT

Check out this retrofit kit from Hellolights. http://hellolights.com/361xhqimeha2.html That's a sweet price. It's a 3 foot 1 x150 watt MH / 2 x 39 watt T5 flourescent kit. All you need is a housing and bulbs for $216.00. Shoot, this almost has me wanting one now.

I'll probably still go with T5s though. The electric bill isn't getting any smaller.


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## goalcreas

I have never used MH in my tanks so maybe my vote doesn't mean much, but I sure to love my Tek light and love the color combos you can set up with multiple bulbs that come in T5 HO. I would throw an Aquamedic Planta bulb into that mix if you go T5


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## Overfloater

Jason Baliban said:


> I will probly get it here.
> 
> http://www.championlighting.com/product.php?productid=21412&cat=533&page=1
> 
> I believe you can get it without the stock bulbs for a little less money
> 
> IMO, the 24" is almost overkill as it is, so i am going to hang it 12"+ above the tank anyway. The lightspread will be more then enough.
> 
> jB


Jason, the product description says the HQI ballast is magnetic. I have always heard magnetic ballasts are noisy, thought I have no personal experience. Is this a problem for you?


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## Jason Baliban

Overfloater said:


> Jason, the product description says the HQI ballast is magnetic. I have always heard magnetic ballasts are noisy, thought I have no personal experience. Is this a problem for you?


Thanks for the concern

I have heard that as well. In this case its not really an issue. That being said....if i wasnt on a budget, i would probly consider a little more pricey solution. I have heard from others that the quality of AM isnt top notch, but again....you get what you pay for.

jB


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## Overfloater

No doubt. I was looking into an AM fixture awhile ago but I was turned off by the magnetic ballast. The price was certainly right though.


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## niko

Talking about style... Let's not forget the Italians:
http://www.aquariumobsessed.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=AO&Category_Code=SFLX
Note the "flaps" in both sides - a nice feature to protect the light glaring in your eyes:
http://www.tmc-ltd.co.uk/images/sfiligoi-solesingle2.jpg

Giesemann makes fixtures (HQI + T5s) that look like expensive cars. The paint on these things is defitinitely auto quality.
http://bilder.afterbuy.de/images/56284/6ba861326db1406f5e6be0f83f3ddf6b1.jpg

I personally find the following desing very cool looking, but the manufacturer is a Chinese company and the quality is bad:
http://www.aquafis.de/catalog/images/hqi-95o.jpg
http://www.aquafis.de/catalog/images/HQI_2f_1.jpg

And another very cool looking German HQI+T5, made by Aquamedic, I believe :
http://www.aquafis.de/catalog/product_info.php/products_id/606?osCsid=ec15ab87

--Nikolay


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## Ghazanfar Ghori

Dang! Definitly very cool looking fixtures. I like the Giesemann the best.


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## Jason Baliban

Hey Ghazanfar,

Did you end up buying anything yet?

jB


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## Ghazanfar Ghori

Not yet - still waiting for the tank to show up.


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## Jason Baliban

I know that feeling

Whats worse, is my 120H showed up a few months ago and i still havent had the time and resources to set it up

I am still unsure of what to put over my 90cm tank. Those giesemann infinity's are amazing looking, but i cant find one for under $800. So really its the tek light or the aquamedic kit. I dont see any reason to mess with PC's anymore

jB


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## David Hui

What have you decide?


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## PinchHarmonic

Ghazanfar Ghori said:


> I'm peicing together the equipment for my foray back into the stem plant world - an ADA 90cm.
> 
> I've been trying to decide what type of lighting to use on the system.
> 
> So - here are three options I'm considering.
> 
> 1) Tek Light T5 Fluorescent 3ft 4 bulb 156W
> 2) Coralife 36" Aqualight Pro, 1x 150W HQI + 2x 65W PCs + 2 Blue Moonlight LEDs
> 3) ADA Grand Solar I w/NA-Lamp MH-150W & 2- 36W PC
> 
> The MH bulbs will probably be the ADA 150W bulbs - even if I go with the Coralife fixture.
> For the PC bulbs - I'm probably going to go with the GE 9325K Aquarays.
> I'm not sure what mix of bulbs I'm going to use with the Tek fixture - opinions welcome.
> 
> Obviously the ADA fixture is sweet - but it also costs a bundle. For about 60% of the cost
> of the ADA fixture - I can get the Coralife fixture and use the ADA 150W bulb + GE Aquarays in it.
> For a bit less than that - I can go with the Tek systems lighting. The other advantage of the
> T5s is the tank would be evenly lit.
> 
> Goal is to have the plants look the best. Greens should look green, reds should look red.
> 
> What to do...


What is the difference between MH and HQI? I understand both are vapor lighting methods, but is one better than the other?

For the 3 options he posted, wat are the price difference (ballpark). I looked around for all 3 but I see incredibly varying prices for each of them, so i wanted to know how much different each 3 would cost.

Cuz if it's a difference of $50-100 i would totally just get the better one.


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## PinchHarmonic

For the coralife it mentions the LED moonlights.

Does the light fixture itself have a setting where you can just turn it on so that 12 hours it uses moonlight and the other 12 hours it uses the HQI and PC? Or is this all manual?


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## PinchHarmonic

Sorry for three posts in a row, but I came across this:

http://www.marinedepot.com/md_viewItem.asp?idproduct=CU01041

that gives you 
(1). two 96 watt (actinic) instead of the 2 65w power compact (actinic = power compact?)
(2) and 4 LED moonlights

for about the same price as the coralife. And this one comes with legs on the fixture to prop it over your aquarium as well.


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## turbomkt

Pinch,
The LED's are on their own power source. In fact, it's usually a wallwort (power converter to go from AC to DC). At the wattage you're talking about, it's easiest to leave the LED's on 24 hours.


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## xcooperx

any update on what is hapening? im also planning to buy a 90cm ADA but i dont know whats the best lightning for it, MH or T5


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## Raul-7

xcooperx said:


> any update on what is hapening? im also planning to buy a 90cm ADA but i dont know whats the best lightning for it, MH or T5


If you can afford it go with a combo of both MH/T5; it will give you more control and less issues with nutrient imbalances. Not to mention the MH provides a really nice shimmering effect that can't be replicated with any other lighting.

If not then just go with the Tek T5 4 x 39W lighting; you could use the outermost two bulbs for 10 hours and then turn on the middle bulbs for your midday effect.


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## xcooperx

where is the best place to buy the MH/t5 combo?


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## Raul-7

xcooperx said:


> where is the best place to buy the MH/t5 combo?


It depends on what fixture you have in mind. The top-of-the-line fixtures are those made by Giesemann. Next in line is the AquaMedic. I would consider using a 24" fixture if you go with a T5/MH combo, especially since you need to raise the fixture, _at least_, 12" above the tank to provide good coverage with the MH to minimize UV exposure.

Marine Depot sells the Giesemann fixture; it's not cheap but it definitely has the quality and design - hands down the 'Eheim' of lighting. The AquaMedic can be found here: http://www.coralreefecosystems.com/


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## xcooperx

wow the aquamedic is almost the same price as the ADA Solar, the different is it comes with 2x 24watt T-5. 

Tek t-5: Miday Bulb 6000k, and it will cover the whole area of the tank, but its too long and big i think.

MH combo : Same price as the ADA SOlar

ADA Solar: Beautiful Design, stylish, shimmering effect but poor lightning coverage

My budget in lightning is $480, but its much better if i can get more cheaper fixture like the tek lightning, 

Anyone has some pics of 90p that are using different kind of fixture???


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