# Tek Light owners...



## vancat (Nov 5, 2004)

Hi folks-
Can I see some photos of peoples' Tek Lights in use? It's hard to see what they really look like in the stock photos. Also any pros, cons, bulb comments, hanging vs legs (bracket) comments, welcome. 

Thanks, all
penny


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## vancat (Nov 5, 2004)

Pretty please....?
[-o<


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## nfrank (Jan 29, 2005)

Mine have the legs and I am glad i made that decision. It allows me to easily move the position of the light from front to back, either for tank maintenance or alternative tank lighting. I will try to take and post a picture. 

I use the 6700 geismann bulbs and really like them. I strongly recommend the TEK model with 2 switches. I run 2 bulbs for 10 hours and all 4 for 4 or 5 hours. For me, 4 bulbs for 12 hours was too much light. I have 4-ft and 3-ft lights.


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## nfrank (Jan 29, 2005)

oops


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## vancat (Nov 5, 2004)

Thank you! The reason I ask is that I don't really dig the look of the legs on these. But then again if I had a REAL picture I might see them more clearly...all i can find are the stock photos.

Thanks in advance.I am looking at the 4 bulb 3 foot for a 58g.


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## vancat (Nov 5, 2004)

no other comments on Tek?


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## Wire Fox Terror (Apr 7, 2006)

I have a TEK light and also use the legs. You're right, they're not the most attractive but I didn't really like the look of the cable system either and this required less effort to set up. I'm also using Giesmann bulbs and went with 2 6000K and 2 10000K, a combination I wouldn't repeat (it looks unnatural to me). I'm planning on buying a 48" for my latest tank and will stick with all 6000K bulbs.

I can probably take a picture later today, if you still want to see pictures.


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## peteski312 (Feb 15, 2008)

I chose to bend emt bar and hang with chain.


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## vancat (Nov 5, 2004)

thanks peeps! 
Wire Fox, sure, please.
More comments/pictures welcome.


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## Newt (Apr 1, 2004)

I had a 4x54w TEK unit w/Midday bulbs. I used the legs which didnt fit well on my 75 and I didnt like the light bulbs even thou they made the plants pearl well. Odd color to them. I really disliked the fact it was up so high over the tank. It was well built thou.


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## Wire Fox Terror (Apr 7, 2006)

These aren't the greatest pics but hopefully they give you the idea of what the fixture looks like on legs.


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## vancat (Nov 5, 2004)

Wire Fox- Thanks! Actually they are better looking than I thought...
Question...what kind of tank is that? I have an Oceanic, I think the rim is fatter than some. will the legs be able to sit on the rim OK?

and- how adjustable are the legs?

newt- what kind of tank is the 75? Thanks for that info. 
and I would be getting all geisemann daylights.


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## Wire Fox Terror (Apr 7, 2006)

My tank is an Oceanic too so, you should be fine. The legs adjust between 5" and 8".


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## vancat (Nov 5, 2004)

WFT-
one more quest-
what size is your tank?
thank you so much.


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## Newt (Apr 1, 2004)

Reef Geeks seems to be the cheapest option I could find. You get to choose what bulbs you want from a fairly good selection.


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## Wire Fox Terror (Apr 7, 2006)

vancat said:


> WFT-
> one more quest-
> what size is your tank?
> thank you so much.


Mine is 58 gallon, 36x18x21. HTH.

I would second looking at Reef Geeks. I'm in the market for a 48" fixture and have been doing a lot of shopping. They do seem to have the best deal right now. There's also an Ebay seller called Seedsetc that is slightly more expensive but I've heard that he is negotiable on price.


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## vancat (Nov 5, 2004)

58 is what I will be lighting also.
do you use all 4 or just 3 bulbs as I've heard suggested ?


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## Wire Fox Terror (Apr 7, 2006)

I use all 4, which has not been a problem since I finally figured out how to more consistently diffuse my CO2 (It took a lot of trial and error for me).


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## vancat (Nov 5, 2004)

Thanks for all of your help!


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## vancat (Nov 5, 2004)

WFT- what did you end up using for CO2 diffusion?


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## Wire Fox Terror (Apr 7, 2006)

Well, after trying just about every single method, I seem to have the best success with diffusing into the Hagen Elite mini and have that just underneath a Koralia powerhead. It's not pretty but it does the job!


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## vancat (Nov 5, 2004)

hmmm. I was hoping it was something pretty!


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## Wire Fox Terror (Apr 7, 2006)

Ha! Unfortunately, it's hideous. I was really hoping that feeding it into my canister filter would work but that was probably the worst method I tried. I had pretty good success running my CO2 into an Aquaclear powerhead through a limewood airstone but that was less attractive than what I have going now. I'm running all glass pipes/diffusers in my ADA tank and I'm almost tempted to run the Elite mini in there instead because it does such a better job and it's so much more consistent. I'm convinced that ghetto setups are the way to go!


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## dmastin (Jun 27, 2009)

I happened to acquire a Hydor powered diffuser.
I place it behind a piece of driftwood and have been pretty satisfied.
http://www.hydor.it/prodotti/show/famprod/25/list/8


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## vancat (Nov 5, 2004)

wow so many options, huh? Works good?


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## jaidexl (Jan 20, 2007)

I'm going to get the legs so my tank isn't so dominating. The tank itself is already 5' 2" high, and my light bar makes it tower over everything in the room at 6' 4". Even though the ugly chains and two point hangers are temporary, I think it looks very tacky and doesn't flow well with the house, so I'm going to try the bracket legs for a lower profile.


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## vancat (Nov 5, 2004)

j, post a pic for us when you get your legs!
what size tank is that?


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## jaidexl (Jan 20, 2007)

I will for sure, hopefully they get here this week. 

That is a 110X, 48 x 18 x 30h.

I'm hoping the legs will also act as a light blocker, when we sit on the couch that's off to the right of the tank, the bulbs are glaring in the corner of our eye. If not, I'm going to have to fix some kind of shield to it like the HQI pendants have sometimes.


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## Wire Fox Terror (Apr 7, 2006)

jaidexl said:


> I'm hoping the legs will also act as a light blocker, when we sit on the couch that's off to the right of the tank, the bulbs are glaring in the corner of our eye. If not, I'm going to have to fix some kind of shield to it like the HQI pendants have sometimes.


My problem is the light coming out of the front. We had to find just the right angle so as not to have a huge reflection on the TV. The legs block the two bulbs in the middle a little bit but you'll probably still get some on either side. I guess that's one advantage to having a fixture that just sits right on top of the tank.


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## jaidexl (Jan 20, 2007)

Here it is with the new legs on. I had to switch the brackets around to make it fit properly, and I'm still going to have to add some washers to get a wider adjustment. They sure beat staring at the light bars, though, the tank has a much lower profile now.


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## jaidexl (Jan 20, 2007)

Wire Fox Terror, I see you had to switch your brackets around too, and the legs look alittle stretched like mine. Did you find that it was still slightly too tight of a fit this way? The way mine came assembled was too wide without enough inward adjustment, and this was the closest fit I could get which is about 1/8" or so too tight. I think I'm going to sandwich a few flat washers between the brackets to add some length and keep the legs from stretching.


Wire Fox Terror said:


>


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## vancat (Nov 5, 2004)

there we go. Is that only a 2-bulb fixture?


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## jaidexl (Jan 20, 2007)

Mine is a four bulb, but I'm going to start the tank off with only two bulbs, then turn on the third and maybe fourth if needed, I'm hoping two will suffice while the tank goes through the low tech phase. I figured it was smarter to go with the four bulb fixture in case I decide to go high tech or use it on another setup in the future, possibly even SW.

Just to clarify, my new tank pics you requested are at the end of the last page, and my last post is quoting Wire Fox's tank. Not sure if you caught that, I hate when I double post at the end of a page and bury one of my posts. :retard:


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## vancat (Nov 5, 2004)

wirefox has an Oceanic, as do I (not set up yet).
jaidexl, is yours Oceanic? They have a fatter wood rim than All Glass' plastic rim.

Is this any factor?


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## jaidexl (Jan 20, 2007)

I'm not sure, I found this tank in someone's back yard. If I remember correctly, when I ran the dimensions and found out it's a 110X, it also stated they're All-Glass dimensions, but I could be wrong. Perhaps if it is an All-Glass, it still has a thicker rim being that it's dimensions are uncommon.  Or maybe it's an Oceanic.


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## vancat (Nov 5, 2004)

is the trim (or rim) plastic or wood? Actually now I see the black trim in the corners....I don't know what that is.

wow, you found it, eh? Are you sure it holds water OK?


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## Wire Fox Terror (Apr 7, 2006)

jaidexl said:


> Wire Fox Terror, I see you had to switch your brackets around too, and the legs look alittle stretched like mine. Did you find that it was still slightly too tight of a fit this way? The way mine came assembled was too wide without enough inward adjustment, and this was the closest fit I could get which is about 1/8" or so too tight. I think I'm going to sandwich a few flat washers between the brackets to add some length and keep the legs from stretching.


Mine is still a little bit of a tight fit but I constantly move it back and forth across the tank and thankfully, it hasn't destroyed the trim. I was also worried that mounting them backwards might put too much strain on the sides of the light but I haven't had any issues. Adding washers might not be a bad idea...


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## jaidexl (Jan 20, 2007)

vancat said:


> is the trim (or rim) plastic or wood? Actually now I see the black trim in the corners....I don't know what that is.
> 
> wow, you found it, eh? Are you sure it holds water OK?


The rim is plastic, The trim is 3/4" corner trim from Home Depot, painted black.

I leak tested this baby for over a month in my garage. No way would I leave it to chance with this much volume. 

Thanks for the info, Wire Fox.


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## vancat (Nov 5, 2004)

you are waaaaay ahead of me!
:wink:


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## jaidexl (Jan 20, 2007)

Ha, if you really wanna cringe with fear, take a look at my DIY thread about refurbing this tank, which is posted at 'the other' website. I actually took the corner beads of silicone completely out and left the seams to do the work of keeping the glass together. Plenty of perfectly intelligent folks online and in my life are sure I'm loony tunes for that, but I feel like I did as good a job as possible in explaining in the DIY thread why it doesn't matter, but that's a conversation that doesn't have anything to do with Tek Lights. Anyway, that's part of the reason this thing got leak tested for so long, first few weeks to make sure I wasn't bringing home complete junk, then an extra month to make sure I'm not a complete ignoramus for doing what I did.


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## vancat (Nov 5, 2004)

well I have to commend you for being so diligent and actually testing it!
So many people here bust braces and take off rims....I am not comfortable with that, or aquariums of unknown origin...but it sounds like you did it right.

I bet you QT all your fish, too! 

(a tank full of ich is no way as bad as a living room full of water though, I must say)

I would just make sure it is perfectly level!
Good luck, nice find.


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## jaidexl (Jan 20, 2007)

I'm pretty much with you on the brace removal, there's some physics going on there involving the glass thickness and area, and the weight of the water volume, that dictates whether it'll truly be safe or not. I think most folks are like me and can't do that math to figure it out, but they try it and see. I don't think i will ever try it, but it seems to be fine on a tank of 10gl or less. I don't think I'll ever do it though, since I can have a friend build me a small rimless out of acrylic. 

The seams and corner silicone however is something I was schooled on long ago, and feel like I understand well enough to give it the green light. If I understand the science of something enough, I'll give it a go even if it seems shady, but definitely test it!

And yes I QT fish, but I'll admit I had to learn that one the hard way.


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## Dantra (May 15, 2007)

I hope this will be helpful to whomever is thinking about doing something like this. As requested the Tek Fixture op2:

I'll begin with the pipe I used to hang the Tek lights from:









This little guy was great at getting the shavings nice and smooth:









When I was done with that I put the cable through the pipe after bending it of course  Oh, I also used some old hole covers (spares that were laying around) for the end of the pipe from my leather office chair.









When both sides were done, I screwed the brackets on the back of the stand for the poles and this is the end result:









Here is a closer look at the leveler: :clap2:









This is what it looks like from the side. I decided to go with the One Point Adjustable Cable Hanging Kit. The cable is so long that you can see the extra in the tank:









This is what the setup looks like:









Here's another shot:









The tank is coming along well. I used mineralized soil capped with aquasoil Here is a shot of it but mind you its only two weeks old and I'm still trying to figure my camera out.

All is well. I had a little bit of algae, I raised the lights and that pretty much solve the algae I was getting on the rocks and glass. I've been keeping up with the water changes and dosing EI including GH Booster. All I keep thinking about is keeping a good supply of CO2 pumping into the tank. I also add a cap-full of excel with the water changes. To my surprise, the overall condition of the tank has been very good. I'm about to add 3 amano shrimps. In another week or so I'll add a pair of German Blue Rams and perhaps some tetras.









The HC was growing very slowly at first. A lot of it melted away. I guess its because it was emersed and it had to get acclimated to growing under water, but once it acclimated its starting to come back strong which I will show in an updated photo... soon. :biggrin:


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## vancat (Nov 5, 2004)

Thanks, very nice!
I guess with this set-up it is super easy to raise/lower the lights at whim and also get them out of the way when you want to.

I like your scape, too, and plan to do something similar.

What size tank, and how many and which bulbs?


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## Dantra (May 15, 2007)

Thanks vancat, the raising and lowering of the fixture is a breeze. I believe it couldn't be easier. The tek unit I have is the Tek Light T5 Fluorescent Aquarium Lighting 2ft 4 bulb 96W. The bulbs I'm using can be found here two of these and for the other two I'm using these.

I see no reason to change bulbs because the plants pearl like crazy with this combination and the color is so natural. The aquarium looks like it should. Not too bright or washed out. It just looks natural. I guess what really helps out with the coloring is that all of the bulbs are full spectrum bulbs.

The tank is a ADA 60p I got from Jeff about two years ago :biggrin:


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## vancat (Nov 5, 2004)

Awesome. I hear the debates about bulbs and glad you are happy with your combo. How long is your light period? Do you use all 4 at once?

How long have you had it going? Can I ask what you use for a CO2 diffusor or reactor? 

Also, this may be a stupid question....but how many gallons is a 60p? I don't know what the p refers to.

Thanks for your patience with all my questions.


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## Dantra (May 15, 2007)

vancat said:


> Awesome. I hear the debates about bulbs and glad you are happy with your combo. How long is your light period?


My lights were on for about 10 hours daily but as mentioned above I had to cut down on the photo period because I started to get algae on the stones so I cut back on the hours from 10 hours to 6 hours, raised the lights and now everything is ok.

However, I am increasing the photoperiod an hour a week until I find a happy medium.



vancat said:


> Do you use all 4 at once?


No, I don't have them all on at once. I use the "second set" of lights as a noon burst. Basically the second set comes on at about noon for two hours, I started with one hour and increased it to two hours. Eventually my goal is to increase the noon burst for 3 hours daily from 12:00am to 3pm. That is also very flexible. The plants will ultimately tell me what they need and it also depends on how much pruning I'm willing to put up with. 



vancat said:


> How long have you had it going?


It's going on its third week.



vancat said:


> Can I ask what you use for a CO2 diffusor or reactor?


I had a choice to make, I had two ways at my disposal of getting the CO2 into the tank. The first method is the Cal Aqua inline diffuser which I purchased about two years ago from singapore.

I hope you don't mind the photos:



























I got the right size Cal Aqua inline diffuser to fit the filter.

The second method which was given to me by a personal and dear friend of mine, is the Eheim Compact+ Marine 1103 pump usually used for skimmers. Its a needle wheel pump.

This is what it looks like:














































So as of today I'm using the Cal Aqua inline diffuser only because I had it for about two years collecting dust and also because I can't seem to locate the 1/2" wye I need to get the Eheim Compact+ Marine up and running. I'm trying to plumb it to the existing hoses.



vancat said:


> Also, this may be a stupid question....but how many gallons is a 60p? I don't know what the p refers to.


Here's the information on the tank. 60p This is another place that sells the 60p Just scroll down you'll see it. :smile:



vancat said:


> Thanks for your patience with all my questions.


No problem, my pleasure. :thumbsup:


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## vancat (Nov 5, 2004)

only 18 gallons! Looks much bigger.

Hmmm....thanks for the CO2 info & pics. I think I will try Niko's Hagen mini elite filter DIY invention. Gotta go find one at Petco.

So many choices for CO2 distribution these days!

nice idea/construction/implementation on the hanging of the Tek, in any case. I think I will use something similar. I really like the cable hangers, too. Nice and clean & simple.


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## nfrank (Jan 29, 2005)

Dantra,
i liked the way you presented your pictures and the sizes. Very easy to follow. 
I am thinking about posting a series of pictures on my tanks (how they evolved since Nov of last year), and was wondering what sizes and format to present. Did you size your pictures ahead of time or did you use an APC upload feature ?
thanks,
BTW, i love my Tek lights (4 bulb 4-ft and 3-ft models), and also do the noon burst. Running 4 lights for 10 (or 12?) hrs was way too much for my tanks. I also have been using needle wheel for CO2. Very efficient. The downside is seeing the microbubbles in the tank, which i have to shut off for any pictures.
--Neil


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## vancat (Nov 5, 2004)

Thanks for all the input, everyone! I am going to try Niko's DIY reactor/diffuser. Everything points to the Tek being great and so I am going to aim towards getting one, with the cables.


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## Dantra (May 15, 2007)

nfrank, you got PM 

vancat, good luck and let us know how it works out.


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## Zapins (Jul 28, 2004)

Wow what a great idea! So simple and elegant... I think I'll try this on my 90g.


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