Please tell my another LFS didnt B/S me..? T-5 lighting help

[Ryan seymore]

So as some already know ive been having some troubles setting up my 55 gallon long as a reef tank.. Ive already posted a thread about my filtration and thank to the people who gave me helpful info im planning to build a sump before i add any live stock.. anyway i thought my T-5 lighting was going to be shipped to my local pet store today.. and it was.. here is the problem. i call and they said the light was going to be 56 dollars with the bulbs..
I ask for all normal info like any normal reefer would being that a T-5 fixture alone with no bulbs should even be more than that. and my local fish store is an hour from my house just so you get why this is bugging me so much.. not done yet.. i drive there and ask in person is the price 56 dollars. they say yes and i ask whats the watts per bulb how many bulbs and everything i could think of and they honestly acted like it was a problem but i couldnt bitch too much being it was a 48" T-5HO with moonlight LED's so i got all excited and they said it would be here next friday/ today! i call and its there but they tell me its 156 bucks.. I explain and everything was miscomunication from an uninformed employee.. Why is this my fault? they worked with me though and tell me come pick it up for 105 buck since the hassle i go get it and get home and i realise its only 2x54 watts with LED lunar lights.. This has me so mad its not even funny.
What should i do because i know thats not enough lighting for a reef tank right?
I appologize for the long message i hope you understand why i needed to get
this message off my chest to you guys

[Original Fin]

What's the make and model? If it's something halfway decent, you could buy a 2nd identical fixture, but if it was my money, I'd return it under the premise of that's not what you ordered. Ask if they can get you a 4 bulb fixture, what will it cost and get the make/model. Before you place that order, let us know and well give our opinions as to whether or not it's worth it.

Have you considered ordering online and cutting out all the middleman baloney?

[Ryan seymore]

Yeah ive considerd about every option but i couldnt find anything that cheap. Like i said they told me it was 55 dollars and it was 156 and they gave it to me for 105.
The brand is "Deep blue professional T-5 HO 2x54W with moonlight LED's"
from what ive read its a new company and there decent but not the best for
corals unless you get the quad lighting fixture thats VHO.
When i ordered it the lady told me pretty much dont stress it that
the fixture would be plenty anough watts to power my 55g along
with any corals and anything else id want to put in there but now
i know she was wrong. from what ive read you need minimum 3-5W per gallon
and sometimes even more for light loving corals
Do i have this correct?
Thanks for the reply in advance everyone

[Ryan seymore]

Not to mention she didnt even tell me any info about the light she said its T-5
and its one everyone else carries and its meant for corals and
It would be plenty anough watts. I wish i had just bought
The coral life from petco..

[Original Fin]

One of my LFS gets into SW a little bit. They have 8 soft reef tanks, and half of them are only lit by 2 bulb T5, the others are PC. Granted, all they carry in those tanks are mushrooms, leathers, and zoos... all brown an beige, and thats about the best youre going to get with that lighting. They don't want to invest in the right equipment to do any better than that.
so I guess technically your LFS employee was right...you can keep corals with that fixture...If you like the color brown. Unfortunately, that can happen when you walk in and say, Im on a budget, and I need a recommendation on equipment. They will sell you something...but you should be prepared to get only what you're willing to pay for.

The 56 dollar quote for reef lighting a 55 should have been a red flag. Entry level 4 bulb fixtures begin at $200. Good fixtures are closer to $600.

The hobby is expensive. Buying the cheapest possible equipment will not get you where you want to go. It's better to save and wait for quality.

[Ryan seymore]

Yeah but the problem is they didnt recomend it i went and asked if they carry high output T5 lighting because they dont have any in the store for saltwater even though they have a large selection of reef LR Fish etc.. and i told them i need it to be enough to treat a 55 gallon and be enough watts to do whatever i wanted to do and this is what they ordered. the lighting i was going to get was a quad VHO coral life 64x4 and i even asked if the lighting that they were saying would be perfect for my tank be as good as the ones i was looking for and they said yes. I understand a budget can put a project at a stand still at times but thats what i have been doing so i can do it right and my equipment would be good. ive been doing my research asking questions getting prices comparing prices and saving and this is what i get.
Its like im not meant to have this tank
Ive never even heard of the light i have a apparently its a POS

[Ryan seymore]

Odyssea 48" T5 HO Aquarium Light Hood Saltwater 216W - eBay (item 290538099618 end time Mar-02-11 19:39:40 PST)

Im thinking about ordering this light and running
the deep blue professional 54x2W
How does that sound
all answers are appreciated
Thanks

[Chasman]

A low end 48" fixture is at least $250. For $100 it has to be really cheap. I wouldn't expect much from it.

[Ryan seymore]

So explain this.. if i find a fixture thats priced $300.00 in stores and i find it for $115.00 online i shouldnt oreder it because its cheap? and i shouldnt expect much..? ill take my chances. ive done my research and most of the replies ive recieved are in my opinion negetive based only off of the price tag and is a little rediculous to say the least.
im not an ill settle for it kind of person i just do my homework before making a purchase
and it pays off i guess being i hear that these lights dont come cheap and i have a link posted in this thread thats proof.
Thanks for all the info and opinions ill let you know how things go

[Original Fin]

I had the same impression when I first started posting on these boards. I'd be kind of proud of myself for taking a little time to research some product or method, and then when I asked for a little feedback, alot of it seemed to be criticism for the sake of criticism., which is frustrating, I know.

Try not to let it bug you too much...if you don't like or agree with what someone has to say, the best thing for you sanity is to just file it away and move on. It's really easy to misread someones written intent...or read too far into it. But really, most of this "I wouldn't do that if I were you" kind of advice is coming from folks who have been there and done that, and are just trying to save you from the same headaches...which is what forums like these are all about.

FWIW, I agree with Chasman. It doesn't mean you're doing it wrong if you don't spend $600, but eventually, you'll come to the same conclusion that you'll wish you'd waited a bit longer and bought something of quality.

I spent $230 on my 4x48" T5HO fixture. It was one of my first purchases and I still have it. It's a no-name brand, Technical Engineering Development...TED-the name of the owner at my LFS. It's a little side venture he's got. He makes pumps too. It's OK stuff, and I'm pretty happy with it's value so far. The bulbs that came with it are very generic though, and I know I could have done a lot better on that part, but not for the same money...this is one of the compromises. Ballasts/drivers too. At the end of the day, it's the amount of PAR your bulbs put into the tank at depth that define how good your lighting is, and this is not standardized info you're going to find on the box.
There are all sorts of forum threads on RC (not a friendly site IMHO, esp for beginners) where folks have done scientific comparrisons between bulbs and different fixtures with expensive par meters, if you care to search for them. Most of them are extremely long and dry reads, but the work has been done, and now we know why brands like TEK and ATI are preffered by serious hobbyists. They simply do the job better than anything else.
The fixture I have seems to be solidly built, nothing's corroding yet. The reflectors are kind of cheesy...just a one piece chromed plastic doohicky. Here's the thing...now that I really know what mediocre is, I want better, and that seems to be a pretty typical progression for most people in the hobby.

[Ryan seymore]

Oh no i understand completely and im not disagreeing im taking all advice and i appreciate it alot. its just constructive critisism and its a good thing to no the do's and the dont in this hobby and to get comments from those who have already been in the same position im in and its very helpful and consderate of everyone.
I wasnt directing any negativity towards anyone so sorry if anyone took
it that way. I have a one yer only little girl so most of our money goes
for her needs and i got my tank my stand my live sand my salt and
my light threw my project into a down fall finacialy so it was frustrating
because now i have to buy a whole new fixture and the pet store wont
let me return this one and it put me in a hole to be honest.
But being i have nothing in the tank i can just let it run its cycle
be patient and save for another light to add to the one i have and build my sump
so everythings going okay.. at leat its set up and by the
time i get to add my live stock i shouldnt have any problems.
Thanks again everyone and sorry for the misunderstanding.

Ryan

[Chasman]

Ryan

I wasn't getting on your case by any means. I bought a few low end items myself and have learned from the experience. Ones personal budget is what it is. I've found to do this hobby with high expectations takes some serious money. Some of your threads talk about SPS, LPS, and Nems. You just can't do it on a tight buget. That doesn't mean you can't have a very beautiful tank of softies and nice fish. Just keep your critter purchases in line with your equipment.

[Ryan seymore]

I wasnt saying you were it was just a misunderstanding like fin was
saying in his message things that you read in threads
can be taken the wrong way and i completely agree
I was just making a point about i felt that the subject
was being based only off of the price tag and not quality
and its nice to have help from those who have probably already been
through what im going through now so thanks to all its
great helpful advice. I also understand its not cheap thats why
Im buying everything one peice at a time because i will have a reef
tank its just going to take a little longer than i first expected
due to problems ive ran into so far but my tanks already set up
I just need a protien skimmer another light and a return pump
and im good to go

[stumpchump]

I don't know if this will help you out or not. I too, was a victim of your sort of circumstance. I ordered a T-5 HO light fixture. The LFS shipped directly to my house. When I opened the box it had the two bulbs. Knowing this was not sufficient I called and raised hell & told them it was not the fixture I ordered. Well to make long story short, they won & it was a non-refundable item and I was stuck with it. I just placed my coral midway up the tank and placed them all on my LR instead of on the sand and also bought the shelves. It was the only thing I could do. They seem to be doing very well. Good Luck with your next purchase.

[Ryan seymore]

I appreaciate you input stump and im also sorry to hear you had to deal with this situation too. Its extremely frustrating.. I didnt exactly rais hell but i wanted too. I explained myself and they ended up only making me pay 105 for a so called 54x2W "reef" light.. Now im sure everyone knows what i mean but that.. How can anyone maintain a 55g reef tank on 108 watts... rediculous i know. they said its was 156 but because of the confusion they let me take it for 60 bucks and pay the rest whenever so i thought that was pretty nice of them to work something out with me because i was not happy about this at all.. but as far as communication.. the deal was still a rip off to say the least

[twisted]

the most important part of the light is the bulbs themselves. if you are looking for something decent check out the novas. my first lights came from foster and smith. i paid 211. for a 4 bulb fixture, no leds. i was sure to get good bulbs and kept quite a few corals under them. i then added a second and could keep anything. they are cheap decent lights that never let me down. i had sps,nem....im not sure if they are still that price but im sure thats close to it. good luck!