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Lighting: T5HO vs. PC
- Thread starter Aquadan88
- Start date
OP
OP
Aquadan88
Aquatic Idiot
Are you positive that it's the same fixture that is on the Champion Lighting website that I supplied earlier?
The business side of the hobby comes with some trade offs. I guess this falls into that area. All that I still have out there are from entry level sales where the customer wasn't sure if their interest in the hobby justified a higher quality/ $ light.
It's one of those ethical things you are faced with when helping someone into the hobby "is no entry into the hobby (for budget reasons) better than entry keeping within a budget and knowing you'll need to replace equipment"?
So most end up in a spare parts pile or retrofitted with new bulbs and ballasts.
All and All for someone that knows they'll be in the hobby long term ie: people here IMO these types of lights are not money well spent.
It's one of those ethical things you are faced with when helping someone into the hobby "is no entry into the hobby (for budget reasons) better than entry keeping within a budget and knowing you'll need to replace equipment"?
So most end up in a spare parts pile or retrofitted with new bulbs and ballasts.
All and All for someone that knows they'll be in the hobby long term ie: people here IMO these types of lights are not money well spent.
Joel A
Started over.
Couldn't agree more... i tried to go the budget friendly route at first... and oh my what a mistake it was. My interested in the hobby made me want to do better things than just a few rocks and a couple fish in the tank... and i made many stupid purchases along the way... that ended up costing me lots of money.
My advice to anyone starting this hobby seriously, is that plan out what you want in the beginning, and stick to it... (of course it never works that way though).. and also, cheap $ 9 times out of 10 = cheap workmanship, and quality.. which will disappoint you in the long run.
OP
OP
Aquadan88
Aquatic Idiot
Ok, so possibly scrapping the Nova fixtures. Here are the facts that I'm sold on.
*Going with T5HOs is the better choise.
*4x24watt fixture is the way to go.
*Nova Fixtures= pile of crap.
*Individual Reflectors are great, but not extremely necessary.
So my next question in this montage of lighting knowledge is this:
With keeping in mind that cost is an issue (no matter how much we don't want it to be), and that I will only be keeping soft corals (and possibly a small clam), which 4x24 T5HO fixtures are decent quality?
I found this one (again on the Champion Lighting website) that seems pretty good.
24" SUN DIAL T5HO 4x24W - $166.85http://www.championlighting.com/product.php?productid=31359&cat=821&
Anyone had any experience with this fixture? Or any fixture for that matter that they might recommend to me (keeping cost in mind of course)?
*Going with T5HOs is the better choise.
*4x24watt fixture is the way to go.
*Nova Fixtures= pile of crap.
*Individual Reflectors are great, but not extremely necessary.
So my next question in this montage of lighting knowledge is this:
With keeping in mind that cost is an issue (no matter how much we don't want it to be), and that I will only be keeping soft corals (and possibly a small clam), which 4x24 T5HO fixtures are decent quality?
I found this one (again on the Champion Lighting website) that seems pretty good.
24" SUN DIAL T5HO 4x24W - $166.85http://www.championlighting.com/product.php?productid=31359&cat=821&
Anyone had any experience with this fixture? Or any fixture for that matter that they might recommend to me (keeping cost in mind of course)?
OP
OP
Aquadan88
Aquatic Idiot
I couldn't agree more with you Joel. I'm not a "beginner" to the hobby by any means. I work for a tank maintenance company, and I've been keeping freshwater fish for over 2 years, and marine/reef tanks for about a year on my own. But I'm starting to dive deeper into bettering my tanks, while trying to get more bang for my $ (like most people are). Hence posting here asking people's opinions, and getting advise on what worked for them.
No resource in this hobby can be more beneficial than others' personal experiences, and the knowledge of other hobbyists.
I have the Champion Lighting 4x24W Nova Extreme fixture. It has two white LED moonlights. The reflector is flat. Maybe there is a newer version that has the slight curvature around each bulb that the Nova Extreme Pro's have - I don't know. However, this is nothing like having individual clip-on reflectors. Reflector material is also critical - the SLR and Tek reflectors use much better reflective material than the Nova Extreme reflector.
I've had it for 6 months with no problems with the stock bulbs or ballasts. I'm just keeping softies and some LPS, with no plans for anything needing higher light. In my case, I fried my old PC fixture, needed a new light urgently and wasn't ready to shell out 3x as much for an ATI powermodule, which is what I really wanted.
I've had it for 6 months with no problems with the stock bulbs or ballasts. I'm just keeping softies and some LPS, with no plans for anything needing higher light. In my case, I fried my old PC fixture, needed a new light urgently and wasn't ready to shell out 3x as much for an ATI powermodule, which is what I really wanted.
I think all of the fixtures in the $150 range (Finnex, Nova Extreme, Sun Dial) are pretty similar in quality. At 24", the next step up is the Tek (~2x the price), and then ATI powermodule and Aquactinic TX5 (~3x the price). These higher-end fixtures come with quality bulbs, so their price includes the $80-$100 you might spend on replacing the bulbs in the lower end fixtures, on top of having quality individual reflectors and quality ballasts. You get what you pay for, so it comes down to getting the best light you can afford.
Well said,
Also consider retro, in that $150 range you can build a pretty nice set up.
Google is your friend
Well lets not give the wrong idea here.
Unless you are in a shop that has a huge mark up wholesale is nowhere near 50% for the products and brands your mentioning. Unless of course you are talking an unrealistic retail and in that case I'm sure sales are not exactly "brisk" in this economy. In most shops trying to stay close to internet pricing (which is more the norm than not these days) Margins are not remote close to that 50% mark.
I'm not trying to call you out here, only trying to make sure anyone reading doesn't get the wrong idea about the LFS they happen to go to.
Good luck with the lighting project.
OP
OP
Aquadan88
Aquatic Idiot
Most "Aquarium" dry goods (lighting, pumps, food, etc) are usually around 25-50% markup. Now, we are a very competitive store that strives to stay in competition with other "pet" businesses. In this case, you are correct, the markup on lighting is not quite so high, however, the markup on other aquarium goods is a bit high.
Every little savings counts, so if i can order wholesale, I will.
But AGAIN, getting off topic
Every little savings counts, so if i can order wholesale, I will.
But AGAIN, getting off topic
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