If you follow the link and look to the right side of the page, there is a pic that you can click to view the fixture. Just in case ya can't wait to see it.
I will certainly post pics after it arrives. You know I'm a pic postin' fool. I upload (upload to living reefs) just about every pic that I take of my tank.
Hopefully, it will be here before the end of the week.
This has been killin' me. I've wanted a better light than the 130w PC, but jst wasn't sure which ones to get. Those TX5 lights that reeffreak showed me looked totally awesome. I was a disaster trying to decide which ones to order. In the end, it boiled down to about 4 different factors.
1- my level/experience in the hobby, which isn't a whole helluva lot.
2-the quality difference between the TX5 and this Solar T5 unit
3-the price
4-wattage
I really don't know squat about reefing. I did have a lot of experience taking care of tanks when I was a kid. I used to have 17 fish tanks in my parents house when I was a teenager. That was 20yrs ago. I had a 135g cichlid tank, a 135 FO SW tank, a 75g piranha tank, a couple 20g feeder tanks, and various other tanks ranging from mostly 55g down to even a 5g SW with a candycane shrimp. But, understanding the nitirfication process-- does not a good reefer make. :shock: So, I guess what I'm saying is, I still consider myself quite the novice with this reefing adventure. I think this light will do perfectly well for the next couple years, given my expectations, direction and experience.
The quality is really hard to determine until you actually have it in your hands. Not that I doubt reefreaks recommendation, but I didn't think I needed the TOP-O-Da-Line unit just yet. I'm sure this unit will be more than surprising for me. It's got the nice individual reflectors for each light, and that seams to be a major point in lighting design. If it shows up with cheap ballasts, then I guess I'll be rebuilding it next year. :mrgreen:
The price. Obviously, this unit is cheaper. But, I should explain. I did not originally intend to buy this particular unit. I wanted the 6 bulb fixture, and I also thought it might be kinda cool to have just a few moonlights. But, I did not see a fixture like that on the website. The one I actually ended up buying was suposed to be about $140 more than I wanted to spend. I was originally after the $300 unit with just 6 bulbs @ 24w each. The TX5 light was $304 and it still needed $130 worth of bulbs.
I thought I'd call them, just to see if they made custom fixtures. We talked for a few minutes and he told me that he'd sell this unit to me for LESS than I originally intended to spend on a unit with fewer features. How could I pass it up?
Then, of course the wattage. The Solar T5 units have 6 bulbs @ 24w compared to the TX5 unit with only 5 bulbs @ 24w. What can I say? 24w is 24w.:mrgreen:
It's not been an easy decision to make. I made a mistake and bought used PC off ebay the first time around. It's a fine unit and it's in great shape, but it's no reefing light. I wanted to get a nice unit this time and be happy when I turned it on. This unit should make my corals very happy. If it looks bright enough, I'm going to get some soft corals, LPS and one or two little pieces of SPS.
Am I rambling again? Sorry. :oops:
