# TEK vs Coralife



## so many plants (Sep 11, 2007)

Anybody who checks the forums knows i've been trying to learn everything about lighting over the last month. Let me get everybody up to date; 160L (40g) 39"x16"x16". Heres how TEK vs Coralife comes into play. 36" TEK T5 HO 4-Lamp at 39w per bulb or 36" Freshwater Coralife Aqualight 2x96w 6700k. I know the TEK is a great system, but what system is going to cost me more in the long run? Which bulbs will last longer? 4 T5 bulbs are about the same price as 2 PC.


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## ruki (Jul 4, 2006)

You will likely get more light into the tank with the Tek light than the Coralife system. Perhaps by more than a factor of two.

I have the 20 inch wide 96 watt Coralife unit, the one where the bulb folds back against itself three times (It provides the illusion that it is 4 tubes, closely spaced together.) The linear parts of the tube are close enough together to shine significant light into each other (re-strike). The tube is at least T7 thickness, so it's quite good at blocking light from the reflector. The fixture gets quite warm even with a fan. This fixture is probably worse than the 36 inch. It doesn't send light very deep into the tank either. I run it 12 hours a day and the effect is medium-high light.

I have TekLight with four 54 watt tubes. The fixture is much cooler by touch even without a fan. It doesn't waste much light since the reflector works quite well. The effect is extremely high light so I only need to run it 8 hours a day and bulbs last two years. It doesn't heat up the room as much as compact fluorescent, so the summer air conditioning bill will be lower as well.

It's something of an apples and oranges comparison though. The coralife really doesn't provide what I wanted, even if it was cheaper. I have the coralife on top of a 15 tall tank (The same footprint of a standard 10).

Long term costs where Tek should win:
* Electricity bill will be lower. You don't need to have it on as long to get the same results. (You can also run it two tubes on or 4 tubes on.)
* Air conditioning bill will be lower. 
* T5 HO tubes last two years, power compact is noticeably dimmer after 12 months. If the tubes cost the same, T5 HO will be cheaper.
* Teklight is built like a tank. It should last longer and has replaceable ballasts in the event the unit gets zapped. I haven't tried to take apart my Aqualight. Some Coralife fixtures do not have replaceable ballasts, not certain about this unit.


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## so many plants (Sep 11, 2007)

ruki- that is great info. THANKS!!! thats helps alot because i need to know which would get light to the HC.


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## spypet (Jul 27, 2007)

back when I was deciding between Tek and Coralife,
I went with Coralife Orbits for several reasons;

- 50% lower fixture cost
also on bulbs and shipping.

- wider variety of bulb colors
I like to mix Colormax/6700k with 8800/8800k bulbs.

- reduced side glare from the fixture housing
very important if your tank is set exposed in to a room

I just want people to know that Tek is really ripping fish tank people off.
you can get equivalent T5HO fixtures used in hydroponics for far less money,
and even with comparing PCF with hydroponic T5HO at the same price point,
I still went with PCF for the last two reasons listed above.
what good is T5HO energy efficiency if your
side blinding fixture light is the wrong color.

besides, with the money you save not buying a Tek
you can get a compressed Co2 setup, which will be
far more beneficial to your plants than a fancy fixture.

BTW, according to a dealer who reconditions Current USA fixtures
for resale, they are no longer made in USA, and are now all assembled
in China, with the owners pocketing the difference instead of passing
any of the savings on to you. to add insult to injury, Current even raised 
prices back in Feb'07 because aquarium consumers have been conditioned
so well to over pay for lighting, that there was no need to lower pricing.


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## so many plants (Sep 11, 2007)

no dealer sells items for below 300% profit anymore. its something we have to accept before getting involved in any hobby these days.


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## epicfish (Sep 11, 2006)

^^

Any links to hydroponic fixtures that have individual reflectors that are "far less money" than the Tek fixtures. Sure they're cheaper, but "far less money"? Not so sure about that.

http://www.innovativelights.com/54wat5buhou.html
^ 6000K, 6500K, 11000K

http://www.specialty-lights.com/901587.html
^ 3000K

Color spectrum isn't so limited...you can still mix some 10K with 6500K bulbs to get a pleasing experience. But this is personal preference, so I won't push the issue so much.


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## PAINKILLER1009 (Jan 3, 2007)

*I second the TEK light. *
I had a 4x65w coral life on my 55g before switching to the 4x54w Tek light. The results were very noticeable from the switch. I had to be carefull not to run the light to long or alage would occur. 
The heat is less form the Tek also, and it does this with no fans so there is no noise.
I made a 3 sided light guard/hood that my TEK hangs down on. So no light spill for me 
TEK all the way. I would go ahead and get a TEK the quality is much better then corallife.

*Without light guard.* Its the thing on the right side of the tank.









*With light guard.*


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## spypet (Jul 27, 2007)

PAINKILLER1009 said:


> *I made a 3 sided light guard/hood that my TEK hangs down on. So no light spill for me.*


*

not every one or every tank can have a light guard/hood, thus TEK glare problem sucks...*


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## PAINKILLER1009 (Jan 3, 2007)

spypet said:


> not every one or every tank can have a light guard/hood, thus TEK glare problem sucks...


Sucks for you then don't it. 
I'm sure you could come up with something to block out the light, if ya tried.
My old coralife light had alot of spill also so I just took a piece of wood I used for my celing in my basement (you can see some of it in the pics I posted) cut it to set on the front of my tank and leaned it on the light problem solved.


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## epicfish (Sep 11, 2006)

spypet said:


> not every one or every tank can have a light guard/hood, thus TEK glare problem sucks...


...so please link me to some hydroponic fixtures that are way less. I'm interested for my tank.


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## spypet (Jul 27, 2007)

Epic, see: http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/lighting/47363-4x24w-t5-ho-6500k-130-shipped.html


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## Avalon (Mar 7, 2005)

I would also recommend the Tek Light. I've owned Coralife & Tek fixtures, so I too know the in's & outs. The Tek light is without a doubt the best choice when a higher light application is needed. Ruki's post pretty much sums it up. To solve the light leakage around the sides without using a light shield, a simple fix would be to attach some dark fabric around the sides.

As for 'cheap' fixtures, I find it strange there's a big red warning inside that link. Seriously, you get what you pay for. Do it right the first time and save yourself the time, hassle, and money. A little extra cost now may be well worth it. Also, the single cord version of the Tek Light is cheaper than the double cord version. You could always install your own power cord & switch later at a minimal cost. There's a thread around here somewhere that tells you how to do it.


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## ruki (Jul 4, 2006)

epicfish said:


> ^^
> 
> Any links to hydroponic fixtures that have individual reflectors that are "far less money" than the Tek fixtures. Sure they're cheaper, but "far less money"? Not so sure about that.


I do see some cheaper fixtures at Hydro places, but these usually don't have the really good reflectors that TEK has.

From my perspective, it's really difficult to find fixtures that have excellent reflectors that don't waste light by shining it from one bulb (or part of a bulb) to another. It's pretty easy for TEK to increase prices since the typical aquarium fixture is pretty much a total piece of [email protected]

Also aquariums are a total luxury item while hydro shops are for people who want to supplement their food or pot supply. :lol:


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## spypet (Jul 27, 2007)

spypet said:


> I just want people to know that Tek is really ripping fish tank people off.
> you can get equivalent T5HO fixtures used in hydroponics for far less money,
> and even with comparing PCF with hydroponic T5HO at the same price point.


it's funny how I was recently bitching about how over priced T5HO fixtures are,
only to stumble over this ebaY seller who will even replace blue bulbs for white.

http://search.ebay.com/_W0QQsassZfishneedit

granted the bulbs and ballast are probably inferior, yet it makes you wonder
what could be possible for just a little more money and still far less than a TEK.

his 2 bulb fixtures look perfect, but I fear those 4 bulb fixtures may have
the tubes end-capped too close together for the reflector to be as effective.


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## ruki (Jul 4, 2006)

Ugh! looked at the photo of those 2-tube 4-tube lights. There is no separated reflector for individual tubes. This is no better than the [email protected]@ss reflector (or lack-there-of) on the Coralife T5 strip lights. 

But, your comment in intriguing. Put this in a 3-times wider enclosure and put in decent reflectors for each tube and shouldn't cost too much more. It's like the fixture designers don't really know what they are doing :lol:


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## spypet (Jul 27, 2007)

I purchased his 2 bulb fixture for $42 shipped.
the gap between the tubes are only 1/2"
which is narrow, but enough for the money.

his 4 bulb fixture has a tube gap of 3/16"
which is far too narrow for the reflector
to do you much good.

most 4 bulb phydroponic fixtures are >9"
wide, so clearly his 7" wide fixture was
ill conceived and should be avoided.

what a shame... with just 20% more plastic
tin and aluminum, they would have really
had something for only a bit more money.

ruki, you are obviously very passionate about
your TEK quality fixtures, but you have to admit
that getting a T5-HO fixture for a lower price
than old T5 is certainly worth the risk to try,
even with substandard reflector support.


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## goalcreas (Nov 20, 2006)

I say TEK and or T5 all the way, but I would stay away from the cheaper brands.

If you are looking at retail prices for the tek, then the aqua medic makes a 36" 4 lamp fixture that retails for a little less then the TEK http://www.aquacave.com/detail.aspx?ID=975
I can't attest to the quality, but after using and having had friends that have had Aqua Medic lights and know they were happy with them I would say it might be a good choice.

as far as bulb selection, I don't think there is anything lacking in T5 bulbs.
there might be more PC bulbs available, but there are many that are Junk bulbs anyway.

I use in my TEK 1 Aquamedic Planta (pink) bulb and one Aquamedic 10,000k bulb and two GE 6500k bulbs. I run the Planta and the 10,000k bulb for the whole photoperiod and then mid day blast with the two GE 6500k bulbs for a 3 hour period.

The amount of light this fixture puts into the deep corners of the tank over PC is triple or more.
With the Planta bulb, the light color is toned down so well that it really doesn't hurt your eyes or make the room so bright that you can't stay in there for long periods without getting a migrain.

I am actually thinking of replacing one of the GE bulbs with another Planta because I love the color of the tank with the Pink in it.

Don't get me wrong, PC has it's place in the hobby and won't go away. There are tanks that do great with PC and ones that PC is best choice for, but I think that is more for smaller tanks.
For a larger tank that you don't want any limits on, get the T5 and be 100% satisfied.

Of course, you can grow everything with T5 and that includes Algae of all kinds, so there might be a period where you need to play with photoperiod, height above the tank and stuff like that until you find the right set up for you.

Also, the cheaper hydroponic fixtures sometimes lack the control to stagger your lights.
Some come with two on/off switches which is good since you can run two or 4 lamps when you want, but the hydroponic fixtures usually come with only one power cord which means that staggering lights is manual. I have seen a thread where a guy bought the Tek hydro fixture not knowing about this, but since he saved about $100 (his words) he was fine with it and since he knew electronics well enough, he just added the extra cord and that was that.

The reason this is a BIG deal is that with all 4 lamps running the whole photoperiod with the T5, you might find you can onl run them for 5 to 6 hours tops to control algae. Staggering the lamps lets you run them for the 8 - 9 hours and also will add life to your bulbs. Some would turn on one set of lights say at 10am and have the other two come on at 1pm. Then instead of turning off the 2nd set at 4pm, they will let them run until 7pm but turn the 1st set off at 4pm. So all your lamps only run for 6 hours instead of the whole 9 hours giving them 33% more life and keeping all 4 bulbs even in life and you can replace them all at the same time without worry of some being more used or getting rid of some bulbs before their time.

Hope this helps some, also if you dicide to go PC, get refurbs here www.tricitytropicals.com

The inventory is not up to date so you will have to call. Also note that they will put in plant bulbs for $5 per bulb where when you buy them elsewhere (unless they are FW fixtures) you will get them with blue bulbs and have to swap them out anyhow)


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## ruki (Jul 4, 2006)

spypet said:


> ruki, you are obviously very passionate about
> your TEK quality fixtures, but you have to admit
> that getting a T5-HO fixture for a lower price
> than old T5 is certainly worth the risk to try,
> even with substandard reflector support.


With me electricity bill, substandard reflectors are a really bad idea. I have over a dozen fixtures running. 

I have a single 48 inch TEK and am going to order one or maybe two 24 inch TEKs for stand-alone display-style tanks. These are great fixtures, but they don't fit well in much of my fishroom.

I have a dense 4-shelf rack with small tanks. The Coralife strip lights fit perfectly, but I could do better with half the tubes if these had good reflectors. These tanks just need medium light, so I don't even want HO, but efficient NO in the interests of saving electricity.

I'm not interested in taking a risk. It's obvious if the reflector is crappy. What I really want is a compact highly efficient strip light with a good reflector.


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## Dantra (May 15, 2007)

Hey ruki, you may want to consider CADLIGHTS. I called them a few weeks ago and they had more combinations of fixtures in stock that isn’t listed on their website. I haven’t purchased any light fixture yet but I’m considering TEK or CADLIGHTS.

They have both standard T5’s and HO. I’m remodeling so my plans of getting my aquarium up and running was pushed back yet again :sigh:. If any of you purchase the CADLIGHTS can you let us know how they perform?


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## spypet (Jul 27, 2007)

Dantra, I think your $100 CADLight 4x makes the same mistake my $60 ebaY source does;
http://www.cadlights.com/product_info.php?products_id=68
at ~7" wide, the T5|T5HO bulbs are too close together for the reflector to do much good.
and for less money ebaY source is giving me T5HO, while CADLight only gives you plain T5.


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## Dantra (May 15, 2007)

Like I said, I don't have any experience with CADLIGHTS, however they do make T5HO units in other sizes other than what's listed. When I called them I was told that they make a 24" 6 bulb T5HO light fixture and others I don't remember. Here are some NO and HO units.



ruki said:


> I have a dense 4-shelf rack with small tanks. The Coralife strip lights fit perfectly, but I could do better with half the tubes if these had good reflectors. These tanks just need medium light, so I don't even want HO, but efficient NO in the interests of saving electricity.


spypet, I was referring that place to ruki who was talking about NO light fixture. (ruki, I don't have any experience with any of the light fixtures) I couldn't tell you how they preform. Unless you personally use any one them, then speculation is all we have.


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## ruki (Jul 4, 2006)

re: CADLIGHTS
They don't have an independent reflector for each tube that prevents one tube from shining light into another tube.


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## spypet (Jul 27, 2007)

on several threads I wrote about the cost savings risk of buying a no name Chinese T5HO fixture from *fishneedit* on ebaY, and I now regret wasting my time and money with this fixture. while the vendor himself is very accommodating, the fixtures he sells are substandard. they are cosmetically nice, do not overhead, but clearly they do not deliver HO level light, nor do the included bulbs last more than a few Months! while his auctions are attractively priced, I would definitely advise others to avoid this fixture product line for any future purchases.

http://search.ebay.com/_W0QQsassZfishneedit


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