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Ebay seller

JRWOHLER

JRWOHLER

Hey sorry I missed it. I have those lights for my 120. They are made by Catalina Aquarium. You can also call Jim and order them made how you would like directly. EBay is usually a bit cheaper but I liked getting them personalized. Jim Wharton I think has them too and the manager there is named Jim also. I got the 8X54 W set. I spent just a little bit more directly, but they only had the silver available on Ebay when I ordered.
He also sent out a bunch of stuff for the frag swap, which I have to get to someone eventually.
 
J

jceli728

I have also been looking at this lights for quiet some time now. I read good things about them every where, the only negative thing I've read about it is that the end caps are rubber and not water proof. You may also consider getting a icecap t5 retro kit "No Bulbs" from marine depot for $300 and ATI bulbs from AO.


JRWOHLER can you please confirm about the end caps.
 
JRWOHLER

JRWOHLER

I assume they are NOT waterproof, you would have to ask them to be honest I don't know. I will have pics up within the week. Sorry at the momment they are sitting on top of my plastic tub with corals in it.

I looked at the Tech lights and I think they are very comparable, and you get the bulbs with them, and moonlights.
The moonlights have a separate controller too. I am very happy with them.
 
J

jceli728

I also wonder about the reflectors on this unit. The catalina fixture is only 12" wide with 8 bulbs, while the IceCap T5 retro kit is around 10" wide with 4 bulbs, this is going by the reflectors size of 2.5" wide. I wonder if the output of the catalina reflectors are the same or comparable to the IceCap reflectors.
 
JRWOHLER

JRWOHLER

Well, I cannot compare retro to fixture if you know what I mean. I looked at the Tech lights and while the Tech light fixture is wider is has more of a "dead" wasted space on the sides without bulbs. I will also say that the picture he posts in Ebay is a bit deceiving it looks really short but in real life it looks wider.
 
M

monsterfishkeeper

Thanks for the response. Time isn't really an issue because he has them up all the time. Thanks for the info on the light and I would love some pics of your system. How is yours holding up and does it put out alot of heat?
 
R

REEFLECTIONS

i can't imagine that any fixture with 4 bulbs reguardless of the type of reflector could possible be brighter than an 8 bulb fixture, even if the 8 bulb had no reflector.....
 
JRWOHLER

JRWOHLER

I will get them up by the end of the week. At the momment I have a sandstorm in my tank ::), here is one pre-tank settup. But it is hard to see it still.
bucketrocks.jpg


It gets warm but not as bad as my PCs on my AP or I am sure not as bad as the MH.
He does have them up all the time, but when I was ordering he only had silver finish available.
 
J

JerseyWendy

I'm compelled to reply here. I, too, looked at those lights a while back (before I decided against them). They "appear" to be a great buy for the buck, HOWEVER (<--I capped this on purpose), the reflectors used on those lights can't possibly be either Ice Cap or Tek reflectors, otherwise the unit would be considerably wider. Look at the dimension for individual reflectors for either Tek or Icecap, and you'll see.

I am a huge advocate for T5 lighting, as I've used it since I started in this hobby, but I also firmly believe that good reflectors play a significant role in successfully lighting a reef tank. :)

Just my $0.28 cents.

---
Wendy
 
J

jceli728

I don't think that a 4 bulb fixture is brighter than an 8 bulb fixture, but I think a fixture/retro kit that has evenly spread bulbs is going to provide better lighting.  The 120g tank is 24" wide, will  it be better having an 8 bulb fixture only 12" wide with 6 inches of dead space on both sides or having an 8 bulb 20" wide with only 2" of dead space on each side?

Wendy

What t5 fixture are you using?
 
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