Supplemental T5: 2 bulb LET, or Aquatic Life Hybrid?

[Rakie]

Just curious what you guys would pick. It seems the AquaticLife is barely more powerful than the 2 bulb LET retrofit.

Or would you just go with a 4 bulb LET setup instead?

My main light is a radion -- and before you ask, no, I don't want to replace it. If it wasn't $800 my problem would be solved with a second radion. They don't cover as much as they say. But I'm not about to drop $800 on a second radion, so cheap T5 will fill the gaps.

 

[Redleg]

Depends on if you have a hood on your tank. If so I would go with the retrofits because they are cheaper. I just ordered the Hybrid for my tank mostly for looks. Functionally there not much difference.

 

[bobby.w.hodges]

You just can’t beat the coverage and ease of t5 fixtures. I have recently added the aquatic life fixture to my radion fixtures, I absolutely love the coverage and added light. My personal opinion is that the aquatic life fixture is worth the money vs a retrofit system.

 

[Rakie]

Depends on if you have a hood on your tank. If so I would go with the retrofits because they are cheaper. I just ordered the Hybrid for my tank mostly for looks. Functionally there not much difference.

Actually PAR testing from a member here showed the 4 bulb AL fixture was only 21% more PAR than a 2 bulb LET. So there could be quite a lot of difference.

 

[Backreefing]

I used two of these , one in front and one behind a LED black box you have to get correct bulbs . here is a link and a pic .
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00AKKUBDQ?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_image

 

[MTBake]

I would go with the LET kits myself. That's the path I chose when I was running Kessils and wanted to supplement them.

 

[MTBake]

Fwiw, I mounted my 2 LET kits to painted plywood. Cut a slot out of the middle and hung the Kessils in the middle of the slot. It worked well for me. You could probably do something similar with the Radions.

 

[bobby.w.hodges]

Maybe I’m missing something, what is “LET”?

 

[MTBake]

Maybe I’m missing something, what is “LET”?

It's a brand name. They sell t5 retrofit kits on BRS, Marine Depot and I think Amazon has them as well.

 

[jda]

I tested a LET and an Aquatic Life 2 bulb and they were pretty much the same coming out of both sides. It is harder to test the AL when running both sides since the bulbs are so spread out and lots of PAR meters will struggle with this (Seneye especially), but if you test one side against the one bulb LET, it is easier. Look at that test closely and pay attention to how it was done, if the PAR meter had a cosine corrected sensor, which would help with the spread.

I would get the 4 bulb of something. Just skip the intermediate step where people see how large of a difference that 2 bulbs made and then want to go up to 4 very soon after.

 

[Big E]

Definitely go with 4 bulbs..........as supplements fixture brand isn't as important. If the T5s are the main lights with LED supplements then you need to be more aware of ballasts and brand.

 

[SDboatguy]

Both options have merit, LET gives you a little versatility as far as spacing. If you wanted to run 2 bulbs front and back or one bulb on each side of the Radion -assuming you build a canopy (floating?)...Aquatic Life is pre made, mount / hang ,plug and play

 

[MaiReef]

I used two of these , one in front and one behind a LED black box you have to get correct bulbs . here is a link and a pic .
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00AKKUBDQ?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_image

I found these, https://www.htgsupply.com/products/growbright-4-foot-1-lamp-high-output-t5

What bulbs do you use?

Tank picture?

 

[Backreefing]

I found these, https://www.htgsupply.com/products/growbright-4-foot-1-lamp-high-output-t5

What bulbs do you use?

Tank picture?

I use a blue plus on one and a 10000k on the other
I kit bashed them together with a black box LEDs it’s very bright