Possibly Good Deal On Light Fixture, is it worth it?

[Pazzoman]

Hey,

Today I went to petgoods in yonkers if anyone is familiar with.

My friend thier Anthony said he could get me a light fixture, that has fans, weird electron display thing with timers and etc....i don't know what it's called. Normally sold for $380 he can get it for me for $290!

I'm pretty sure it eighter has 4 or 6 bulbs, to bright (I was looken at it while on a tank). I've been thinking of having a corals in my 72 gallon bow front.

They are T5s, he told me thier more energy efficient and save on electricity (they also have metal halides too).

Is this kind of fixture worth the cost, and if so what kinds of bulbs should I get?

 

[PSU21Reef]

Hard to say without knowing the brand. Usually when it comes to light fixtures, you get what you pay for, and that's a pretty cheap price for a T5/MH combo fixture. For a tank around 75 gallons you could easily drop 1,000 bucks on a quality fixture. I'd find out the brand name before buying it.

 

[Heathd]

The weird electrical thingy you are referring to is likely an external ballast with a timer built in, which for the price, is a really nice feature.

The energy savings though is nebulous unless you are currently running MH.

 

[Pazzoman]

I don't think it's an external ballast, it's not a MH, i'm just saying he has those also...

When I have time I will go back and ask for the brand, so guessing can't really tell until the brand and number of bulbs it comes with...

 

[Heathd]

Its possible, they do make t5s with external ballast

 

[Pazzoman]

I mean doesn't and external ballast like a box like feature?...this electric pad was maybe 3-4 inches with buttons to control lighting settings...you know what i mean?

Probably best to ask the brand lol

 

[PSU21Reef]

Yeah, it's real hard to say until you know the brand. For example, JEBO makes really great priced fixtures but they usually don't last more than a year and I know they used to short out and I've heard of them catching on fire.

I'd go with a "used" quality fixture over a "new" cheap fixture anyday. Not saying the one your looking at will be a cheap fixture, I'd just make sure it wasn't before buying. I'd hate for you to have a tank full of coral and have your fixture die on you after 6 months. It happens a lot.

 

[Pazzoman]

Yeah, thanks PSU and also thanks Heath for the posts that helped me out a little, it maybe coralife....but I'll try to call them up tomorrow.

 

[Heathd]

I mean doesn't and external ballast like a box like feature?...this electric pad was maybe 3-4 inches with buttons to control lighting settings...you know what i mean?

Probably best to ask the brand lol

Then yea, those arent ballast.

 

[TMartinez]

It prob just has a built in light timer, which is nice. I have a Coralife setup and it was $230 for a 30 gallon tank. So it's prob a descent lighting system, but if you can find out the brand and model it would help immensely