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Coralife light fixtures

5K views 19 replies 6 participants last post by  aunt kymmie 
#1 ·
Hello. I am looking at a 48 inch unit local to me. What are the ups and downs of these fixtures?

Thanks, Matt
 
#7 ·
The light 'fixture' is irrelevant to plant growth (but important in other respects as I'll mention), it is the tubes in it that are important for plant growth. You can put any of the good tubes in a fixture provided they fit. The regular fixtures take T6, T8 and (I think) T10 (these refer to tube diameters). A T5 fixture will only take T5 tubes so you are limited (not all manufacturers make T5 tubes). Then there are the newer compact ones that I have not seen.

With fixtures, you want a good reliable one; I recently replaced two of mine (I think the ballast gave out on the oldest and the other just stopped working) and bought ones manufactured by All Glass Aquariums. They have good reflectors and electronic ballasts which are qwuick starting and use less energy and produce less heat, so said to last longer than standard ballast. The tubes that came with them are junk, but I replaced them with my preference and they are fine.
 
#10 ·
Know what you mean Kym, really do.:lol:;-)

First thing is full spectrum, or modifications to suit the situation. On my smaller tanks with one tube I always use Life-Glo2 which is 6700K and about the nearest to mid-day sun (which is around 6500K). Colour looks natural, plants respond (my single 25w over the 33g had very good plant growth as you previously remarked). The regular Life-Glo [without the "2"] is more intense but also about $10-$15 more, and as the Life-Glo 2 has worked well i can't see changing.

On tanks with two tubes I use one Life-Glo2 and then one Lightning Rod T6 Super Daylight 11,000K (on the 115g and 90g which are deeper, and blue penetrates water better and is the colour most required by plants to photosynthesis) and one Phillips Daylight Deluxe which is ever so slightly warmer (almost unnoticeable) on the 70g (this tank is shallower, and is being aquascaped as a SE Asian marsh so the warmer hue suits it).

Over the past few months I tried a couple of other tubes. I had a Zoo Med Tropic Sun 5500K mixed with a Lightning Rod 11000K on my 90g and it was good (plants did well, and the higher blue of the 11000K balanced the higher red of the 5500K; you can see this combination in the photos of my (now former) 90g aquarium. On the former 70g (still the one in the photos) i had a Life-Glo 2 and a Phillips. When I reset the 115g a couple of weeks ago and moved the plants and fish of the 90g into it, I settled on a Life-Glo 2 and the Lightning Rod. I intend to go this same mix on the 90g when the lfs gets more Lightning Rod tubes in. The new 70g has a Life-Glo 2 and a Phillips. Photos will be posted of the new tanks when I manage it.

The Life-Glo 2 is the more expensive (in my area stores) but having tried others I see the value. I was also lucky to pick up 9 tubes from the local Petcetera store that is closing at less than 1/3 cost, so I'm set for this tube for three years.:) The Zoo Med series is less expensive but from my experience a good tube, and comes in similar varieties to the Hagen -Glo series. I check the spectrum charts and K ratings and have tried them accordingly.
 
#11 ·
well if your fixture explodes into flames im sure that affects plant growth.. jk I use caralife fixture for mine and its done a superb job, hasn't failed yet and ive had it for over 1 year.
Nice one SC, got a good chuckle.:lol: Byron.
 
#12 ·
#13 ·
These look fine to me, they are full spectrum, rated 6700K (identical to the Life-Glo 2 I use) so I would not be surprised that your plants do well. If memory serves me (here we go again with my mind:roll:) you fertilize with Flourish so we are probably doing much the same thing in light and ferts, just different types of tubes.

You have the compact fixtures and tubes, how do you like them compared to the regular fluorescent? Do you replace every year (approximately)? I didn't see any info on the linked site or Foster&Smith about these compacts outlasting regular or HO fluorescent tubes, so I assume they lose intensity like the others.

Byron.
 
#14 ·
Byron, your memory is getting better :). I do use Flourish, and also Excel & root tabs.
Thanks for the info. I wanted to verify that the specs on these bulbs were similar to the Life-Glo. While my bulbs still "look" the same it's been one year on the bulbs so I'm sure the intensity is gone. Time for new bulbs. Dang, these bulbs aren't cheap.
These fixtures are the only ones I've had so I've no familiarity with standard flourescents.
 
#15 ·
The intensity of fluorescent tubes decreases quite rapidly, at least the regular (and I've read from the manufacturers that the T5HO also decrease, although they say not quite so much so fast; I was wondering about the compact). One of the hobbyist owners of a lfs told me he used a light meter on some full spectrum tubes just to see, and after 3 months the intensity was greatly reduced, and then it gradually decreased from there. He said he agreed with the authorities on 12-month replacement, since after that the intensity is very minimal although the light "looks" the same to us.

Karen Randall, a plant guru with the Aquatic Gardeners Assoc, once wrote that it would be good to replace the tubes every six months due to the significant depreciation in light output, but as this is very expensive every 12 months would work. She suggested staggering the tubes, replacing one every six months so the intensity overall did not diminish so much during the last six months but remained more steady throughout the 12 months. I'm considering trying this, using the cheaper tube first (after only six months one has to chuck it) and after that it would be every 12 months for both but at 6-month intervals.

Byron.
 
#17 ·
nor is changing bulbs very eco- friendly. Would leaving the light on for longer periods help? weaker light for longer? I change mine every 1.5 years, get some fail plant growth but i feel bad tossing out bulbs that are still able to light.

I agree, sending a box of tubes to the recycling seems a waste when they still "light" but the evidence is there. Years ago in FAMA there was a series of articles on planted tanks by Kevin Osborne. He advocated several things, among them that a full spectrum tube could be used for 3 years. I have found no other authority who accept this view, and as I mentioned my friend with the meter proved that the decrease in output is considerable after only three months.

Plants require a certain intensity of light in order to grow (photosynthesize) as well as a minimal duration of that intensity. More light for shorter periods or less light for longer do not work. The plants are unable to convert the sugars to energy in order to grow.

Every plant authority I have read (and that is quite a few) are adamant that as the tube ages the light output diminishes considerably. They say that leaving it on longer will not help the plants because the light is simply not strong enough to allow the plant to photosynthesize, but algae will take over. And light penetration through water is less than through air. Fortunately, the blue light that plants most require (second is red) is the better colour to penetrate water. I guess nature knew what she was doing.

Byron.
 
#18 ·
bugger... well i guess it was a good decision for me to only use low light plants. Java moss will never die! But anyway, to get back to the point of the thread, coralife gets lots of complaints, but realize that most satisfied customers don't have anything to say about their product and its the unsatisfied ones that make it known where a product fails. So, often times, online reviews from customers are not very accurate. Again, Ive never had trouble with mine and its not failed me yet.
 
#20 ·
bugger... well i guess it was a good decision for me to only use low light plants. Java moss will never die! But anyway, to get back to the point of the thread, coralife gets lots of complaints, but realize that most satisfied customers don't have anything to say about their product and its the unsatisfied ones that make it known where a product fails. So, often times, online reviews from customers are not very accurate. Again, Ive never had trouble with mine and its not failed me yet.
Back on point. Yes, it's usually the disgruntled who are giving the negative reviews. I have the coralife fixtures and I have zero complaints! :-D

PS. Thanks for the heads up on the sale!
 
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