yes...someone did a test and said there is at least a 20-25% diff in PAR with the ATI sunpower vs the TEK elite.....this is with the sunpower...so imaging if u have the PM with an extra fan, It could even produce even if a little better PAR...I have a TEK elite and i would have spent the money on a PM if it had brackets for my tank and i could not hang it. Greg at reefgeek said ATI is developing legs for the sunpower/PM fixtures, no ETA on them but once they come out, i will be selling my TEK elite for an ATI fixture.
xm is totally right. While plenty of folks grow nice stuff under TEK fixtures, the ATI's have superior cooling, top notch individual reflectors, and a better overall build. IMO, the ATI's are well worth the money but I understand that not everyone can afford one.
I've tried a lot of T5 fixtures and the ATI's are by far the nicest. There isn't a huge difference between the SP and PM, mainly one extra fan and aesthetics. What size tank do you have?
ATI is the best par for the T5 fixture. I used to have a Geismann Spectra Metal halide with 4x80w T5, now I switched to the 10 bulbs 80w ATI T5, my corals are growing very fast. The only I do not have shimmer in my tank now but in the future I will get some of blue LED T5 to make some shimmers.