New Tek 2 Reflectors

[luke33]

Anyone have an opinion on these new tek reflectors. Do they compare to the icecap's or are they still a step behind. They are selling at an ebayer's store as retro's.
Thanks,

Luke

[Bebo77]

i would like to know as well..

[luke33]

$140 for a 2x80 retro with the tek 2 reflectors. Not bad.....if there as good as they are suppose to be.

[Bebo77]

i wish the ATI were cheaper.. if they were i would have them on my tank right now...

[raskal311]

The new reflector has a better polish aluminum surface, bigger, and has more bens. When looking at it, it sparkles like a diamond.

[Bebo77]

but can it compete with the par that the ATI puts out.... according to grimreefers test.. the ATI does twice what everyone else puts out...

[luke33]

I agree, i'm guessing its as good as the icecaps now.....i may be buying these instead.......what a decision i must make! lol, thanks and i guess i'll have to wait for grim to test them. I bet it won't be to long.

[jamesdawson]

SS is a nightmare to deal with for warranty issues. There original tek reflectors are well-known for permanant staining/discoloring from salt spray/splashand under no circumstances would SS replace them under warranty.

If the Tek2 is "as good as icecaps..", I would still stick with IC as their CS is second to none.

Anyways, ReefGeek said there was a recall on the Tek2 already so, none of them had shipped yet.

James

[luke33]

James......you hate the t5 tek lights right...i think i remember reading a thread with some harsh words...thanks for your opinion, i like to hear this kinda stuff. Does anyone know about the coralvue t5's? They don't look to bad.

[jamesdawson]

Luke,

As far as quality T-5 fixtures (individual reflectors with active cooling) , choices are fairly limited right now. I don't think the Coralvues have active cooling so they aren't likely to be any better than a Teklight.

If you can afford one--I would look at the Aquarium Obsessed Fauna Marin Ultra-Solaris, the hopefully soon to be released by ReefGeek ATI Powermodul, an Aquatinics T-5 fixture, and the IceCap/Aquatinics SolarFlare.

They are all around $100-$130/bulb (once you figure in the free bulbs that AO and RG are offering right now on the FM and ATI units). If you already have an IceCap 430 and 660 ballasts and don't get the moonlights the SolarFlare is a great deal.

If you can wait 2-3 months, RG will also be bringing in the ATI SunPower (roughly the same type of setup as the FM Ultra-Solaris) for about 1/2 the price as the Powermoduls and it will become the most affordable high Par T-5 unit.

If you can't wait or can't afford a complete fixture I would reccomend getting a RG IceCap T-5 retro setup (with the Triad ballasts) and some clip-on fans to blow on the bulbs (the Azoo fans are on sale at Fosters and Smith right now). The tricky part is not overcooling the bulbs as this will drop Par.

Check out the humongous T-5 thread the the Grim Reefer has been hosting here on RC.

Good Luck ,

James

[luke33]

James, yea, i've read the thread, i'm going retro for my 125. Here's my current plan. I have 4x54w icecap retro and i'm planning on getting either the 3x60" icecap with the 660 ballast or the tek 2 4x60 retro, so either the overdriven icecap or 80x4. Not sure what i'm going to do, then i saw the coralvue retro with bulbs included, so i'm guessing i'll just go with the sure thing and get the icecap. Just weighing my options. Also, thought the FM got a crappy review from Grim?

[sjm817]

One thing is they are wider (2.75"??) which may reduce the number of bulbs you can fit in your hood. The old Aqualux reflectors had this issue (3" wide). The old TEK were just over 2".

IC SLR is just right. A T5 standoff is 2.5", so is the IC reflector. Put the standoffs edge to edge and the reflectors are edge to edge. The narrow TEKs left a gap, the wider reflectors force you to spread out the standoffs.

[jamesdawson]

Luke

Grim's first impression of the FM was not great but with further testing he concluded it was closer to the Powermodul in Par. Its the reflectors are holding it back somewhat. When he exchanged the reflectors for Aquatinics, it actually outdid the ATI by 30 Par.

If you are going 5 foot bulbs, contact IC and they will sell you pairs of their 3 foot SLRs (just overlap them for your 5 foot bulbs) for the same price as 5 foot teks. I am doing this in my garage tank and using 660 ballasts with the Azoo fans blowing from both ends for cooling. Its hella bright and my frags are growing like theres no tomorrow. RG might even be able to substitute the pairs of 3 foot IC SLRs if you clear it wth both IC and RG.

Good luck and good night,

James

[salsipuedes]

I just bought and installed 2 tek retrofits (both 2x24watt t5s) and i am very unimpressed to be honest with you guys. I was used to the quality icecap produces from my last tank... i couldnt get my fixture to ignite due to the terrible quality endcaps it came with. I went to my lfs (after a few hours of trying to get the lights to work) and bought the icecap endcaps. fired up first try. from now on i will definetly be sticking with what i know is the best. I had just heard many good things about tek... i guess it was all good about their hood fixtures, not the retros.

[luke33]

Thanks for the info, i think i will be making the IC sub when i order the 5' retro. I wonder if IC is ever going to come out with a 5' reflector, don't see why they wouldn't.

[powdertang05]

ive had nothing but problems with their product reflectors cs you name it, with the ic reflectors and the 660 i now have a total of 8 t-5s all with individual reflectors it will beat a tek anyday with just workhorse ballasts so with them overdrivin they are second to none. btw if you can wait get the ati fixtures im thinking of taking the plunge and buying one well worth it in my mind.

[84jeepjohn]

jamesdawson


Those azoo fans, do you have them on your tank? if so how do they work? It said up to 40 gallon for the 4 fan unit. I was looking for something like these to put over my 5' 100Gal but I'll have up to 6 lights on it (4 being overdriven)

anyone think these fans would work?

azoo fans (http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=14701&Ntt=azoo%20fans&Ntk=All&Ntx=mode+matchallpartial&Np=1&pc=1&N=0&Nty=1)

[jamesdawson]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9551645#post9551645 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by 84jeepjohn
jamesdawson


Those azoo fans, do you have them on your tank? if so how do they work? It said up to 40 gallon for the 4 fan unit. I was looking for something like these to put over my 5' 100Gal but I'll have up to 6 lights on it (4 being overdriven)

anyone think these fans would work?

azoo fans (http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=14701&Ntt=azoo%20fans&Ntk=All&Ntx=mode+matchallpartial&Np=1&pc=1&N=0&Nty=1)

Yes, I also have them blowing on my tank to keep heat down.

I think their rating is for cooling a tank by blowing across the surface and causing evaporative cooling. I use a 4 fan unit and a 2 fan unit on my 100G and it seems about right.

The 2 fan unit uses 6 watts and the 4 fan unit uses 12 watts. Their CFM is not very high, but they are perfect for blowing the heat off the ends of T-5s and O.K. for blowing across the surface of your tank.

At their sale price they are a fantastic deal.

James