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August 18th, 2009
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| | Fish Helper
| Catalina Aquarium Lighting (Solar T5 HO 216w) Anyone here have any lights by Catalina Aquarium? Specifically, I'm looking at their Solar brand t5 HO 48" kit that is on sale for $189. http://www.catalinaaquarium.com/prod...oducts_id=1423
It says all the right things, and the cost is really good. Wattage looks perfect for a heavily planted 55g tropical tank. Ballast is a quality electronic ballast by Advance. They'll do it up with all freshwater lights, and even add lunar lighting to it if I want.
Sounds like a great deal.
Pete |
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August 20th, 2009
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| | Fish Helper
| To close this up, I went over to www.plantedtank.net and looked around there. The Catalina lights have a really good reputation there, and are affordable. I'll almost certainly be picking something from them. It'll probably be a 3 light instead of 4, though. One common bit of info over there is that 2-3 T5HO lamps is more than enough for almost anything.
Pete |
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August 20th, 2009
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| | Fish Mentor
| Those lights look like a good investment. Thanks for sharing the info.
Pepetj
Santo Domingo |
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August 26th, 2009
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| | Fish Addict
| I agree with pepetj about you sharing us the information about the lights  |
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August 26th, 2009
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| | Fish Helper
| Thanks. My 4x55 T5HO fixture is due to arrive around August 31, so I'll be sure to post about it.
Pete |
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August 27th, 2009
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| | Fish Addict
| Oh that's good
If you do want to post some pictures that would be great! If you can't that's okay
Good luck with your new lights!
Neji |
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August 27th, 2009
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| | Fish Helper
| I'll definitely post some pics when it arrives. Oh, and it's 4x54 - typo on my part.
That's probably way too much light for my 55g aquarium, but it has two switches and two cords, so I can run half and half if I want.
Pete |
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August 27th, 2009
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| | Fish Addict
| Quote:
Originally Posted by Psychlist1972 I'll definitely post some pics when it arrives. Oh, and it's 4x54 - typo on my part.
That's probably way too much light for my 55g aquarium, but it has two switches and two cords, so I can run half and half if I want.
Pete | Well if you ever get plants that have like a red color or pinkish color, then you will need those two lights on  Unlike green colored plants, you can run two on for 12 hrs or run 2 on for 6 hrs and then turn the one light off so then you will only have one light running for the next six hrs. Depending on what you like. But if you have a lot more light, then your plants will be able to flourish better  If you don't have a lot of light, you plants will flourish but not as fast.
Especially if you have Amazon Swords with Angels or Severums (they can't be together) and plecos, you will need to have the two lights on because Severums are HUGE plant eaters. They leave holes in my Amazon Swords along with my angels and pleco.
Good luck!
Neji |
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August 27th, 2009
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| | Fish Helper
| Good to know, Neji, thanks.
The light comes with 4 54 watt lamps, two one one switch, and two on a second. I can play around quite a bit there to find one that works.
FWIW, this is the aquarium the light will go over: Tropical tank - just finished planting
Pete |
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August 27th, 2009
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| | Fish Addict
| Oh alright. I can see on your pictures that you have taken of your tank. The lights don't seem to be very strong. Is that the light that you leave on through out the day?
Also, I do like the setup of your tank  I see some Rotala plants. The pinkish red color, those will need the strong T5 H0 lights in order to remain their color. Otherwise with the light you currently have, I don't think the plant will survive
So when will your lights be coming? later on today? Last edited by Neji; August 27th, 2009 at 02:06 AM.
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August 27th, 2009
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| | Fish Helper
| Yes, those lights are really weak and are just a stop gap. The 4x54 is coming on tuesday/wednesday. |
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August 27th, 2009
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| | Fish Addict
| Alright, so what day is it over there?? It is 1:07 AM Thursday in Peru here. Which is one hr below the Eastern Time in Toronto, Ontario. |
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August 27th, 2009
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| | Fish Helper
| It's 2:13 on Thursday morning. 6 or 7 days until the lights show up.
If you think it'll all die by then, let me know. I can temporarily relocate my 130w coralife that's sitting on the goldfish tank, presiding over doomed plants
Pete |
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August 27th, 2009
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| | Fish Addict
| I definitely recommend that you put in some stronger lights. Your plants are going to start to wither away before the lights even get to your house. I had that problem with the Rotalas I had before. Also, I recommend that you get some Plant fertilizer too  You can use it when you put in your 130W that is on your goldfish tank and then if you use Fertilizer that will keep the plants healthy. If you have Flourish use it either once or twice a week. If you use Flourish once a week it is best if you put Flourish in when you put in new water. Like when you are doing a water change or siphoning the gravel. Which is pretty much the same thing since it is sucking out the water along with the fish waste.
Anyways, good luck!
PS: It's best if you waited to get the plants in when your T5 H0 lights came in  Stronger and better lights are better for your plants you know
Neji |
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August 27th, 2009
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| @Neji
I'll do that. I already use flourish, so I'm good there. The plants in the goldfish tank aren't doing that well with the GFs, so the light there isn't going to make a huge difference.
I know I should have waited on the light, but originally it was coming sooner (Fedex home delivery changes their estimates constantly), and I really wanted to get that tank finished up and the fish moved over into a new home. :P
Pete |
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August 27th, 2009
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| | Fish Addict
| Oh I see. So then why don't you go by a different shipping company. Like the UPS instead of Fedex.
PS: Patience pays off in the long run  |
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August 27th, 2009
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| | Fish Helper
| The purchaser almost never gets to pick the shipping company.
Pete |
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August 28th, 2009
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| | Fish Addict
| Oh that isn't very good  Shouldn't it be the other way around? Since the person is buying it. They should at least be able to choose which company should deliver it. If Fedex changes the schedule again, you should probably tell them they have to stick to that time and not allow them to change the schedule  |
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September 2nd, 2009
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| | Fish Addict
| Did the aquarium lights come in yet? |
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September 2nd, 2009
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| | Fish Helper
| Just got them today.
++ Nice and bright. Good quality light
- The aluminum extrusion they use seems a bit flimsy; thinner than the one used on my Coralife. I only really noticed that, though, because I had a hard time installing the legs.
- A bit big. I can't open the glass tops on the tank to feed the fish, and the light would need to be completely removed for cleaning. I have it up on its legs and the back end touches my HOB filter, the front is about 1" back from the front of the tank. This would be no problem on a deeper tank, but a 55g is pretty narrow.
+ I asked Catalina to install hanging brackets in case I decided to hang it from the ceiling. I may do that, but not for a bit.
+ Individual reflectors for each T5 lamp.
+ Included 4 lamps (2 10k and 2 6500 plant lamps)
No big minuses, just a few nits. I'll try and take/post pics tomorrow or Friday.
Pete |
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September 2nd, 2009
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| | Fish Keeper
| CONGRATS!
Thanks for the update. As I mentioned before the tilting legs from coralife should fit these as well. That way you could just tilt the lights out of the way for water changes. I think I will set mine up hanging as well though.
Interesting you thought they were a little flimsy as I had read that it wasnt just simialr but the exact same outer housing. Not verified by myself obviously.
How is the heat?
BEfore and after side by side comparison  LOL |
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September 2nd, 2009
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| | Fish Helper
| @Nate
Thanks!
The housing I got is the new vented housing they offer. It's really two extrusions with vent material between them and plastic caps on the end. Naturally, something like that will have more flex to it. Like I said, I only really noticed it because of the difficulty I had installing one of the legs. FWIW, I think the coralife legs are a better design, and look like they'd fit.
Catalina also offers a housing that is the same as the Coralife. However, it isn't vented.
I can't use the coralife adjustable legs because I have a glass top. If I remove the glass top, I can't use the light without the $75 splash guard kit; or my own version of same.
This is the unit I got: http://www.catalinaaquarium.com/prod...oducts_id=1423
For that price, you get 4 bulbs, two name-brand quality electronic ballasts, two switches and cords, individual reflectors and a vented black housing. That's pretty hard to beat without a severe sacrifice in quality.
I didn't get their moonlights as I haven't heard great things from them. I've been extremely happy with the moonlights I've ordered from: http://shop.ebay.com/gsolom/m.html?_...1&_from=&_ipg=
I need to order a set to go with this light, but I have a set of 6 on my 55g tank with the plecos in it.
On the heat: not sure yet. I'll let you know after I have it running all day tomorrow.
Pete Last edited by Psychlist1972; September 2nd, 2009 at 11:15 PM.
Reason: added info about heat |
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September 3rd, 2009
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| | Fish Helper
| Had all 4 lamps on for 2 1/2 hours this morning, and the glass top on the tank was hot. Despite catalina saying this doesn't need a fan, I really think it does. I hate to add the noise of one, but the ambient air around that lamp was really hot. Given that the tank was already 79/80 degrees due to August temps, I was concerned about it getting any hotter.
I cut it down to 2 lamps until I decide what to do about cooling.
I don't think lamps get hot enough to damage themselves, but they will transfer heat to the tank.
Pete |
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September 4th, 2009
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| | Fish Helper
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September 6th, 2009
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| | Fish Addict
| Oh good
I hope you can deal with the small light problems. Like that it is fairly close to your HOB filter. |
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September 6th, 2009
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| | Fish Helper
| Agreed it is close to the AquaClear 110 HOB. That also makes getting into the tank a royal pain.
What I may do is hang it up a few inches higher, and run with all 4 lamps going. I should get better airflow, no issues with the filter (which is really good about not producing spray anyway) and still have solid medium lighting. I can then run with at least one of the glass tops off, which is my preference for dealing with temperature and oxygenation.
As always, thanks.
Pete |
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