Aquatic Life T5

Anyone know how good the Aquatic Life T5 fixtures are?

 

They are relatively new on the market and have not heard of many people using them. They do have some nice and ingenuitive products out right now. Unfortunately I have no first hand experience and specs on paper are never as good as touching something and using it yourself!!

Looks like you might need to be the guinea pig on this one!!

Happy lighting!

 

im thinking of getting their T5 fixture for my 55g

 

Check with the Grim Reefer at Reef Central. He is an authority on T5's. I bought 8 bulbs that he recommended and I'm happy. As long as you've got individual reflectors you can't go far from wrong. Some manufacturers or perveyors give you the opportunity to recieve different kelvins with the fixture. This is where you might save some money. There are 4 pictures below. The first pair has the generic factory set up with 4 420mn blue actinics and 4 10K daylights and the second has the combo the Grim Reefer recommended:
From front to rear
ATI Blue Plus 450mn
GE 6500K daylight
UVL 75/25 14K
ATI Blue Plus
UVL Aquasun 10K pink
ATI Blue Plus
ATI Aquablue 12K
ATI Blue Plus
This spectrum adds a lot more blue. Just an idea. See for yourself. It's a matter of taste but when you don't know you'll just have to try by trial and error. I hope this helped.
I'm selling the factory bulbs that I used for one month for $5 each if your interested.

 

I have an Aquatic Life T5 fixture en route to me right now. I will let y'all know how it is

 

Got my Aquatic Life T5 fixture today, and here is my first impressions

To start, it is more solidly built than some fixtures I have had. It feels solid and not cheap. The legs are not wobbly at all, and each has a screw to fix it in place so that it won't slide as you move the fixture. The fixture seems very sturdy on top of the tank.

To take the splash shield off and set up the bulbs, I had to remove a little panel with a screwdriver. Again, nothing is going to slip out of place if the fixture is moved. The fans are on top of the fixture, blowing across the ballasts. I feel that this is a better method than blowing over the bulbs, as the heat is generated by the ballasts.

Each bulb does have an individual reflector. Without a PAR meter I can't say how good it is. It looks good, but really needs a meter to say.

It is easy program the timer, and one thing I like is you can override the timer and turn the bulbs on and off manually. The blue LEDs are setup in four sets of 2, and can be programmed separately. They moonlight they provide is quite nice. Not too bright, but you can see the entire tank. Unlike some fixtures I have had.

With the main lights on, the fixture lights up my 40 gallon breeder very brightly. I did not use the bulbs that came with the fixture, swapping them out for some UVL and ATI bulbs I have on hand, and I am not sure I have the mix down right yet. Will play with it some this weekend.

Overall, I am very pleased with the fixture. It is solid, easy to setup, and looks to be a better quality fixture than similar lights in the price range. I like the built in timers and single plug. This is a new tank so I don't have any corals under it yet, but I think it will do very well.

 

Congrats. Can you please take some pictures of your set up. I am starting a 40G breeder as well. I would like to see how the lights look. And please post what bulbs you are running.

 

Here is what it looks like on the tank with a Geisemann Aquablue + & Midday, ATI Blue + and KZ Fiji Purple. I don't have the worlds best camera

 

Looks good, The light is bigger than I expected. But I like the colors that your bulbs are putting out

 

Yeah. Its not as streamlined as I had thought. I will try and get better pictures up today. I changed out the Fiji for a UVL 75/25, which is another bulb that highlights reds but has a slightly different look. I like this mix much better. Like I said, will post in a bit. Have water changes and other things to do right now