Which Of These Light Systems Would Be Best?

[heavymetalmullet]

Hi there guys and girls, i'm in the process of gathering together all the equipment I need for my reef tank i'm putting together. I have a 4ft long tank that is approx 2 ft deep, I have my powerhead for circulatiion already purchased, I have a Deltec MCE300 skimmer and I have my live sand all ready to go.

I'm now in the process of working out what light system to go for and then I can start setting the tank up. I'm looking to keep some fish and a few easy to keep soft corals. I've been looking at these two light systems on ebay and was wondering which would be the better purcahse:

My link

My link

Thanks in advance for any help you can give!

 

[nick87]

My link

My link

Thanks in advance for any help you can give!

Either of those units will be fine for soft and lps corals

Nick

 

[stephen.h89]

personally i would go for the first one as it has more bulbs and is about the same price with delivery, i really like the light units from hong kong, i think they are better than some of the uk made ones, only problem is its a long way to post it back if anything happens to it

 

[heavymetalmullet]

My link

My link

Thanks in advance for any help you can give!

Either of those units will be fine for soft and lps corals

Nick

Thanks Nick, my only concern with the 6xlamp one from Hong Kong seemed crazily cheap for the amount of bulbs, however looking at their sales history they have sold 30 odd units of them so people must be happy with using them I guess.

personally i would go for the first one as it has more bulbs and is about the same price with delivery, i really like the light units from hong kong, i think they are better than some of the uk made ones, only problem is its a long way to post it back if anything happens to it

thanks for the advice, yeah that's what I thought that they seem exceptionaly good units for such low money, the only thing putting me off was the distance if anything did go wrong. Do you have any experience of these lights from Hong Kong?

 

[nick87]

Thanks Nick, my only concern with the 6xlamp one from Hong Kong seemed crazily cheap for the amount of bulbs, however looking at their sales history they have sold 30 odd units of them so people must be happy with using them I guess.

There is always going to be a risk when order from hong kong, warranty ect.

Have a look at this one http/cgi.ebay.co.uk/T5-Lighting-Aquarium-Fish-Tank-Light-6-x-54w-120cm-/400112358558?pt=UK_Pet_Supplies_Fish&var=&hash=item9bff26fafb

 

[stephen.h89]

i have had a clamp lamp type light from hong kong and it was brilliant, i also get all my filters and heaters from there and have never had a problem, infact my 2 sponge filters (cost £2 each) are exceptionally good, i have just them 2 running in my malawi setup and water is crystal clear, they work better than my fluval u4 did, highly recomend products from hong kong, especially if u find one good supplier and use them, i think the light i recomended u use are from the person i got my sponge filters from.

also with having the 2 switches u can have the front 3 white light on during day and the rear 3 blue lights on at nite

EDIT, the light unit is not from the supplier i use but is identical to the one they sell

 

[seffieuk]

That certainly does look a good price - I suppose you pays your money and takes your chance with this sort of thing Do you go cheap and maybe get a bargain (although feedback looks good) or pay at bit more and if things go wrong you have someone to pester (although of course, that cant always be relied upon!)?

I suppose if you go with the old adage of: If it looks too good to be true, it is!! Then you shouldn't go far wrong!

 

[Harry1996]

if you have the money i would get a ati sun power unit

 

[ben1987]

it looks to me like the second one has 4 reflectors. one for each bulb, which would make it the better unit. having 6 bulbs under one reflector like the firs unit isnt very efficient.

as harrys says, if you could afford an ati unit, they are great.

 

[chr15_8]

i dont think either unit has individual reflectors.

as a few others have said the ati units are some of the best. But a 4 tune unit with 4 individual reflectors will be better than a 6 tube fitting with the one single reflector

 

[-Nemo-]

Reflectors make or break a light... ATI is great as said, as are TEK lights. I bought a tek for my new tank and they have individual reflectors, they tend to be cheaper than ATI.

 

[heavymetalmullet]

Thanks for all your help guys! Loads of info there to be looking at, I really like the unit you sent me the link to Nick. Out of interest about the individual reflectors on those units I originally asked about, I sent a question to the seller of the 4 tube unit one asking if the reflectors were individual and he replied saying they aren't but the single reflector supplied does curve in and out to get more light out of each tube. Not sure how effective that is. I'll have a look now for some of those ATI and TEK ones you other guys have mentioned.

 

[heavymetalmullet]

Thanks Nick, my only concern with the 6xlamp one from Hong Kong seemed crazily cheap for the amount of bulbs, however looking at their sales history they have sold 30 odd units of them so people must be happy with using them I guess.

There is always going to be a risk when order from hong kong, warranty ect.

Have a look at this one http/cgi.ebay.co.uk/T5-Lighting-Aquarium-Fish-Tank-Light-6-x-54w-120cm-/400112358558?pt=UK_Pet_Supplies_Fish&var=&hash=item9bff26fafb

Ok had a look at the ATI systems and they're impressive looking lights but out my price range unfortunately. This light system that you sent me the link to is really tempting me. Would the LED lights on it be used for night lighting I take it as the appear to be blue in the pictures. Also in the discription it says it comes with 2 marine coral bulbs and 4 10000k bulbs, what are the differences between these bulbs??

 

[Harry1996]

2 are blue and 4 are white i think