Fixture Feedback

2794 Views 26 Replies 3 Participants Last post by jinx©, Jan 9, 2008

jinx©

Discussion Starter · Jan 9, 2008

I'm just curious if anyone has any knowledge and/or experience with this particular lighting fixture.

http://cgi.ebay.com/New-T5ho-t5-ho-...ryZ46314QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Thanks in advance.

1 - 20 of 27 Posts

spypet

· #2 · Jan 9, 2008

5

yes, I have first hand experience with these fixtures and vendor.

1. the bulbs are labeled and sold at T5HO, yet the light given is no better than a regular T5, probably due to an inferior integrated ballast.

2. the vendor is a great guy, who responds to emails, will even swap blue bulbs for white, and the price is good, even for a regular T5 fixture.

3. the fixture does not present any hot spots while running, but the plastic legs are not rugged enough to withstand regular removal or relocation.

4. the slim bulbs are hard to remove with fingers, so you need to loop a twist tie under each bulb end in order to lift them out without breakage.

5. the Chinese Katana brand bulbs are of dubious quality, and may dim or blow out prematurely. one 24w bulb blew on me after only 3 Months.

Conclusion: if you can afford the NOVA T5HO fixture from Current, you will definitely get more HO light yield, longer life bulbs, and a better quality fixture that is worth the extra money. if you can only afford a Aqualight 2 bulb regular T5, and that amount of light is sufficient for your needs, then you may as well save a few more bucks and buy these ebaY fixtures instead.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Great starter T-5 light fixture

See Current's Nova Extreme™ T5 High Output X2 Freshwater Light Fixtures. They come with one 'pink' freshwater plant growth bulb and one 10,000K bulb. Both bulbs are HO T5's. The fixtures are narrow at 4¼ inches.
They come in lengths from 24" to 48". These are the models:
24" - 2x24w
30" - 2x24w
36" - 2x39w
48" - 2x54w

WPG Examples
24" fixture - 15 gallon = 3.2 wpg
24" fixture - 20 gallon high = 2.4 wpg
30" fixture - 20 gallon long = 2.4 wpg
30" fixture - 29 gallon = 1.7 wpg
36" fixture - 30 gallon = 2.6 wpg
36" fixture - 38 gallon = 2.1 wpg
48" fixture - 40 gallon long = 2.7 wpg
48" fixture - 55 gallon = 2.0 wpg

Here's some places that sell them:
http://www.thatpetplace.com/pet/group/1392/product.web
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/Product/Prod_Display.cfm?pcatid=16770&N=2004+113175

The prices are good for these HO T5 fixtures. I'm sure they are brighter than Coralife's NO T5 Aqualights.

The picture looks like the fixture has a single reflector instead of a reflector for each bulb like the SunlightSupply.com Tek Light™T5 HO Lighting Fixture.

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jinx©

Discussion Starter · #3 · Jan 9, 2008

Thanks for the input and speedy reply spypet.

I figured there were some drawbacks considering the price is so temptingly low.
One that I had already noted is the lack of a second power cord for the second bank switch. Do you know if if theres 2 ballasts? making it possible to wire in a second power cord perhaps?

Overall I like the looks of this fixture compared to alot of others (One of the main reasons I'm tempted to get it), but I agree on Current no doubt being a better quality fixture with a great track record.

spypet

· #4 · Jan 9, 2008

jinx© said:
One that I had already noted is the lack of a second power cord for the second bank switch. Do you know if if theres 2 ballasts? making it possible to wire in a second power cord perhaps?

probably yes, but since you are only getting regular T5 light yields
from each bulb, I doubt you'd want to bother with a second switch.

again, don't buy the Current for the quality,
buy it because you'll get >40% more Lumens!
(the difference between T5 and T5HO)
and that color enhancing pink bulb is cool too.

jinx©

Discussion Starter · #5 · Jan 9, 2008

Did you receive 24watt tubes with yours? This fixture is claiming 4x54watt tubes?

spypet

· #6 · Jan 9, 2008

obviously... but a Chinese bulb maker can print anything they want on a bulb and still get away
with it, when the bulb's used on a no name fixture without USA based quality assurance oversight.
basically, this ebaY'er imported a container full of these fixtures sold on the streets of Hong Kong,
and is selling them here. you are getting what you pay for, nothing more. in addition, even if you
bought true T5HO bulbs separately, there is no evidence the integrated ballast could HO them.
so for the last time: this is basically a cheap regular T5 fixture, misrepresented as T5HO
not by the reseller, but by the original manufacturer.

jinx©

Discussion Starter · #7 · Jan 9, 2008

I was referring to your pics...They show the tube labled as 24w...I was curious if you had received the 24w tubes when they were claimed as a 54w tube in the ad.

spypet

· #8 · Jan 9, 2008

OIC, I thought you'd realize I only purchased the 24" version,
of the same fixture. 24" fixture bulbs are 14w T5 and 24w T5HO.
so you think you are getting 54w bulbs, when in fact they are 28w.

light fixture real estate is precious,
so don't waste it on a half ass fixture,
unless you only want a very low light tank.

jinx©

Discussion Starter · #9 · Jan 9, 2008

Thanks for the firsthand advice spypet.

I stumbled across the light surfing and thought it kind of looked too good for the price, but was considering it as a possible upgrade when I bump up to a larger tank.

I already have the Nova fixture you linked btw, and will most likely just get a second one when the time comes if it seems needed.
For basically the same price, adding a second nova will give the output the eBay light claims to.

Too bad that eBay light isnt built better. It's actually an attractive fixture in the pictures.

AndrewH

· #10 · Jan 9, 2008

Actually, I have the 2 lamp version of the fixture in the link of post #1 and like it.

I put Sylvaina 6,000 K T5HO tubes in it and haven't had a problem.

I'll see if I can't get some pictures of it for you.

My best guess on the 4 tube version would be that there are infact two ballast controlling the 4 tubes. There are 4 tube controlling ballast out there, but they're pretty high dollar and I highly dough they'd be in this fixture.

It's a really nice looking fixture with good construction and a sleek attractive appearance over my rimless tank.

So far I would recommend it and the e-seller (I should have a comment on his eBay feed back).

jinx©

Discussion Starter · #11 · Jan 9, 2008

Andrew, do you find it to have the output of T5HO or a regular T5 fixture as spypet describes? Or have you had a true T5HO to compare it to base your opinion.
I'm assuming spypet has firsthand experience on the output of the similar 24" version compared to a bonafide T5HO fixture.

AndrewH

· #12 · Jan 9, 2008

I have a $200 single T5HO (48") fixture and the new one (also 48") looks exactly twice as bright

.

Not to disregard spypet's claims, but the Sylvania tubes might make a difference. I haven't tried the tubes that came with the fixture (actinic and 10,000 K of unknow brand).

AndrewH

· #13 · Jan 9, 2008

Also, it's worth noting: the higher K rated tubes will output less light then the lower tubes (i.e. the 5000 K T5HO at 5,000 lumens where a 10,000 K would be 4,800 lumens)

spypet

· #14 · Jan 9, 2008

2

one more thing to consider when buying the 4 tube or 2 tube fixture version.
the 2 tube version has ample space between bulbs for the reflector to help.
however his 4 tube fixture is only 7" wide, with too little space between each
bulb for the reflector to be any good. such a 4 tube fixture needs to be
closer to 9" wide to be effective at reflecting these thin tube bulbs.

I compared the Aqualite 2x14w (2 white bulbs) with this
"FishNeedIt" Aquarium lamp 2x24w (2 white bulbs), and
they both give off the same amount of light.

as you can see, there is a 8/16"(2x) vs 3/16"(4x) gap between bulbs,
so the 4 tube bulb sacrifices inefficient re-strike for a narrower chassis,
thus proving the manufacturer didn't design it to deliver best light,
what dictated this design was clean lines and good looks, that's all.

jinx, if you want to buy these fixtures, then go for it.
just don't say later when you regret your purchase,
that you didn't know any better...

See less See more

jinx©

Discussion Starter · #15 · Jan 9, 2008

Thanks for the input Andrew.

I'm not trying to dispute spypets opinion either, but it does have me curious now if maybe theres a difference in the tubes or maybe even the 24" vs. the 48" etc.

Is there any possibility anyone could measure the actual output wattage on one of these?

(Edit since you both were responding when I was...lol) spypet. you have both a 2tube and 4tube version from this vendor?

AndrewH

· #16 · Jan 9, 2008

The NO T5 should have almost exactly half (48", 28W, 2600-2800 lumens) of the output as a T5HO (48", 54W, 5000 lumen) for the same length. At half the output, you'd really be able to see the difference.

spypet

· #17 · Jan 9, 2008

jinx© said:
Is there any possibility anyone could measure the actual output wattage on one of these?

no there isn't, and since the ballast circuit labeling is so vague, there is no
way to deduce this, other than to compare it's light to a known commodity.
which I've already done for you...

once more thing to consider. if you notice the Nova Extreme has a fan
while this Chinese junk does not. that alone should tell you the Nova is
delivering a lot more wattage, needing heat dissipation, than the Chinese,
not because the Nova is poorly made, rather that the Chinese fixture is
delivering far less wattage than it's marketing would lead you to believe.

jinx©

Discussion Starter · #18 · Jan 9, 2008

A meter probed to the endcaps wont work?

AndrewH

· #19 · Jan 9, 2008

spypet said:
one more thing to consider when buying the 4 tube or 2 tube fixture version.
the 2 tube version has ample space between bulbs for the reflector to help.
however his 4 tube fixture is only 7" wide, with too little space between each
bulb for the reflector to be any good. such a 4 tube fixture needs to be
closer to 9" wide to be effective at reflecting these thing tube bulbs.

I compared the Aqualite 2x14w (2 white bulbs) with this
"FishNeedIt" Aquarium lamp 2x24w (2 white bulbs), and
they both give off the same amount of light.

as you can see, there is a 8/16"(2x) vs 3/16"(4x) gap between bulbs,
so the 4 tube bulb sacrifices inefficient re-strike for a narrower chassis,
thus proving the manufacturer didn't design it to deliver best light,
what dictated this design was clean lines and good looks, that's all.

jinx, if you want to buy these fixtures, then go for it.
just don't say later when you regret your purchase,
that you didn't know any better...

You make a great point, the 2 tube version does seem to have better space for the light to escape than the 4 tube version (though I've only seen the 4 tube 48" version on the eBay pics, but assume it's exacly like the 24" version spypet posted).

Does the e-seller have a return policy?

I guess it comes down to, do you want to tank a chance on the eBay fixture or go with the tride and true Nova (which I will definitely agree they are a much better designed fixture as far as efficiency goes)?

AndrewH

· #20 · Jan 9, 2008

jinx© said:
A meter probed to the endcaps wont work?

Well, the ballast using 216w total won't necessarily output 216 watts to the tubes. There's a ballast (efficiency) factor which comes into play.

Also, the ballast acts as a transformer "toning" down the line voltage so to speak for the tubes, so unless you know what you're looking for on the output side of the ballast you'll get some funny numbers if you're looking for input side readings.

Can it be done, I think so if you know what you're doing, but the more important measurement I would think would be the light leaves of both fixtures.

Get a light meter and hold it 1 foot below each fixture to see what the reading is and compare. That should tell you everything would need to know IMHO.

1 - 20 of 27 Posts

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