AH Supply 96W Power Compact vs 2 x 39W t5 HO?

kj5kb

kj5kb

KEEPER OF CATS, FISH AND CATFISHES
Mar 1, 2007
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Spring Hill Kansas SW of Kansas City
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I have a 125G tank with 2 36" long 2xt8 fixtures. In the short term, I plan to replace the heavy old rusty magnetic ballasts with 4xt8 electronic ones (that I already have) and wire them for ODNO to get a bit more light.

Long term...Coupla thoughts...

AH supply 96W T6 Power Compact kit.
$60 per kit + $29 per lamp.
Will fit in the existing lamp housing

Or...

There are several 2x39W T5HO kits out there:
$100-150 per kit + 2 lamps @ ~$15 each
Not sure if I can fit it in the existing housing.


I think this is a hands-down win for the AH supply kit...?
 
A little info missing…..

Is this a four foot 125 gallon tank?
Is it a FOWLR or FO tank….or a reef tank?

I’m questioning why three foot bulbs??? I only know of 125’s coming in four foot or six foot lengths.


Now my opinion on lighting….PC’s are an abomination to lighting….with the exception of the tank being FOWLR or FO (although I still wouldn’t use them). If you have any interest in corals, go T5’s over PC’s. And, if it is a four foot tank, you want as many 4 foot lights that you can fit….6 to 8 bulbs. Also, ideally with individual reflectors.

Now if it is a FOWLR or FO….T12’s, T8’s, T5’s or any kind of lighting would work. I would personally go with off-the-shelf LED screw in spot lights from SAM’s Club. They are 11 watts each at about $20 each. I’d put maybe four of these over the tank (assuming a 4 foot tank)….only 44 watts total with a ton of light.
 
LOL.. touchy huh? I was simply pointing out not all large tanks are 4'+.. you can get pre-made tanks 100G+ that are 36". ;)

redfishblewfish said:
I’m questioning why three foot bulbs??? I only know of 125’s coming in four foot or six foot lengths.
Click to expand...
 
redfishblewfish said:
Is this a four foot 125 gallon tank?
Is it a FOWLR or FO tank….or a reef tank?
I’m questioning why three foot bulbs??? I only know of 125’s coming in four foot or six foot lengths.


Now my opinion on lighting….PC’s are an abomination to lighting….with the exception of the tank being FOWLR or FO (although I still wouldn’t use them). If you have any interest in corals, go T5’s over PC’s. And, if it is a four foot tank, you want as many 4 foot lights that you can fit….6 to 8 bulbs. Also, ideally with individual reflectors.

Now if it is a FOWLR or FO….T12’s, T8’s, T5’s or any kind of lighting would work. I would personally go with off-the-shelf LED screw in spot lights from SAM’s Club. They are 11 watts each at about $20 each. I’d put maybe four of these over the tank (assuming a 4 foot tank)….only 44 watts total with a ton of light.
Click to expand...


Thanks for the reply.

Yes, it's a 6' 125G tank, planning to be a low-maintenance, lightly stocked FOWLR. Previous lighting is two pairs of 36" T12, two lamps over each half of tank. Would be nice to have a small durable coral or anemone if possible.

My interim plan to make these ODNO, would give me 120W of T8 at ODNO (~ 150-180W) levels. I already have all the parts to do this as well as actinic and 6500K lamps

I'm curious why you think PCs are an abomination(?)

I have ~ $300 TOTAL invested so far and really hate to spend another $300+ for T5's when the ahsupply PC kits are so reasonable AND will fit in my housings.


Anyone have the specs/brand/model for the Sam's LED spots? Color temp, lumens/MSCP/etc?
 
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PCs use way too much power compared to the light output you get from them... but that really only matters for a reef tank. For FOWLR, PCs are fine, although so are T12s which are cheaper and use less power than PCs. There is no need to buy T5s if your not doing corals.
 
Now knowing it’s a FOWLR, lighting is not as critical. You basically only need enough light to illuminate the tank so that you can see the fish…it’s a personal thing as to the light level you want.

I don’t care for PC’s because the bulbs are very costly and the spectrum degrades very quickly. But this is only important for a reef tank that requires quality light. Because you have a FOWLR, PC’s are just fine….again, not my first choice, but they’ll work. When the spectrum falls off within 2 –3 months the human eye won’t be able to detect it and everything will be just fine.
 
Here's my thinking...

A 96W PC lamp is ~$29, while 2 39W T5HOs are ~$30...no contest. PC's are twice as much...but for ~ twice the light.

Yes, there is some restrike loss with a U-shape PC lamp. In the absence of exact scientific data, I'd much rather have 1 96W PC with an ahsupply reflectors vs a 2 T5HOs with basic or clipon reflectors (which is what I will get with a $150 kit)
 
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