davidsu0630

Sorry! I got the name wrong.the light's name is SchuberWright.in chinese as
舒伯萊特.The brand name is quite well-known in Taiwan .it is known for its excellent reflactor and highly performance ballast.SchuberWright 's got t8 & t5 lights. their t8 is better.here with one yahoo taiwan auction shop site for your reference" http://tw.f4.page.bid.yahoo.com/tw/auction/d26062236"
or you may search with the key word 舒伯萊特 to get imformation .
Their t8 AD2 or AD4 won't disapoint you for sure.
As for why option 2 not suitable,because there are 2 major series for T5, HO(high output) and HE (high efficient).24w HO tube and 14wHE tube look the same.the penetration of light is in big difference .HO tube is much much lighte. The same length of tube with such big difference wott.You can easily tell the difference.Aside from the above,the ballast is different between HO and HE . once you buy this set of light that means you can't use HO tube.
Think the reason why we choose T5 light ,it's because of its good light penetration to be used in the water tank.HE 's penetration is quite low it 's not worth to pay money for it and it is meaningless at last.
my suggestion is Schuberwight T8 AD2 x 2 sets. total 80w for your tank although it is T8 light the performance is really really good.
you can go ask people in your area to get the answers. There are a lot of aquarium work shop using Schuberwright.their shops may not be big , they are professional.

davidsu0630

In addition ,SchuberWright's got one weakness .Some says its outlooking is ugly.but it is quite subjective , isn't it? If it is possible,it 's better that you go to a shop and take a closer look on the lighting set your own.and then judge it with your aesthetic sense.
And for T8 light tubes you will have variety to choose from.

Good day .

Davidsu

teacherthomas

Thanks for the info. I agree with you T8 seem a better option here in Taiwan, looking for T5 the options are limited and the price of the fixture and light a lot more.
I have the JBJ 4 X 30 watts on my 90cm tank, and it really does get hot!!

I will look at the AD2.
I like the Fishline as they can be hung (a friend has offered to make me a hanging bar for the lights), but with just 40watts hung, no real use!

2 X AD2 would be a lot better then the one AD4 as I would be able to use each on seperate timers and go from early light to midday to light.

Plus the colors of teh AD2 are better then fishline!

what do you think of the first option? Light Power. This is also T8 20 watts X 2 with a good ballast stabalizer and a good reflector. Do you know it? It is a Taiwan brand as well.

davidsu0630

I know" Light Power".It's not bad.but compared SchuberWright with Light Power,SchuberWright wins.I have tried to hold a AD2 with my hand to feel its temparature.it was not hot,not even close to warm after the AD2 being lit for several hours.I don't really understand what the secret is.it just happened.

Thomas,one more thing I would like to share with you about T5 light set just in case you turn out to choose T5 . That is what I think you should take into your consideration list.I just found it the other day."Hagen Glo T5 HO Fixture"
It might just meet your need. go to the site below to take a look.
"http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=114384&hl=hagen+glo"
Most of all,the pricing is friendly.In Taiwan as I know the sole agent is 地中海水族館.If you are interested .here with their site "http://www.medi.com.tw/"

teacherthomas

Well I have decided to stay away from T5. The cost is much higher and the tubes harder to come by.

AD4 seems great. If I can get one with two power cords (each one running two lights)
Ad2 X 2 is the next option. It can use ADA 20watt light tubes with 8500k

Yeah it is great how some lights never get hot and others do. I guess it is quality of the ballast and the fact that the light tubes are not crowded together and have more space. But I think the quality of the tubes has something to do with it as well as the design of the case alowing good airflow.

davidsu0630

I hear that SchuberWright can do special dimension to meet customers's need. yeah you can ask them (be sure to tell them you will use ADA tubes ).I know an Aqua shop keeper who only use 旭光
sun -light tubes(a common cheat tube)with AD2s in a 180cm tank.His waterplants are all beautiful .I quess it has something to do with AD2 for sure.
Thomas .I already send an e-mail to you. please check.
Good night.

teacherthomas

Well I am very late for an update so I will make it a good one. The tank is fianlly setup. That is the equipment is setup. Many pictures here so enjoy, I know I am. I really want to keep the tank empty right now as it is full of possibility and it seems any choice I make in layout will not do it justice.

Where to begin. With the empty tank ofcourse:



Then the cork under the tank. Yup cork (the same stuff used in bulletin boards) 4~5mm thick. I tried looking for mats like the ADA mat and couldn't find it. The black pading used under floating hardwood floors was too thin, and difficult to come by, so I decided cork after the suggestion from a friend here. (Problems with this???)


Ofcourse there was a problem with the tank. There always has to be a problem, and this is mine. Bubbles in the silicon at the bottom side of the tanks. Unsightly, a little, but only when up really close and looking at the bottom side corner. The tank maker assured me this isn't a problem. Is it?


Now add the intake and return, from FLO Pipes (great prices and looks good - though a did have a problem with my intake being a little deformed on one set I bought)...




Well they do the same whirl affect the Lily Pipes do (at a lot lower price):





More of the whirl effec. I love looking at it.



Surface water movement to remove the protein build up. No more surface skimmer in the tank!! Yeah. Less equipment. shock: What a minute, I am a man, I should want more equipment in my tank!!!:



The lights I decided to go with are by Fishline, a Taiwan based company.


They are the brightest lights on the market it seems:

due to great reflectors for each tube.
It came down to a jump decision based on availability, price and the fact that it was right at the door when I walked in the fishstore, so I took it as a sign from God.
I had planned to buy T8s but considered hanging them and the t5 and fixture is lighter and just 2.50US more for the fixture then T8 so I bought T5 (added bonus T5 are 24watt tubes and T8 are 18 or 20 watt tubes).

Have legs of I don't hang them as well

Color is very different with a Blue and green, but I am not worried about that as much as quality of light and price:

teacherthomas

Though for my second light as this is only 48watts total, I will need more. I will probably buy the more expensive and better colored Schuber Wright AD2.


It is said to not even get warm to the touch, so worth a shot. Though quite expensive. But very effective:

It will be in the front and will probably be T5 to give me more flexiability in light tube choice and better prices.
And with the neutral grey color, not bad

Though it all depends upon my money situation after buying all the plants/driftwood and rocks to setup this tank!

davidsu0630

As for bubbles in silicon,you shoudn't be too worried as your tank made by 10mm glass.The tank maker might not be well-experienced or careful while making it.
The lily pipe is good I like it even more.
Schuber Wright is well-known for its T8 series. AD2 go with T5 tubes, I know nothing about their T5 series.in addition, there are quite a lot of china made low quality T5 tubes in the market,with a brand name(such as JxJ t5 tube) it is sold with high price.I never use them.

teacherthomas

Well the soil I am using is called Soil Pro Professional Grade Substrate. It is a Taiwan based company producing it, and should be on the market in the next couple of months. It is fantastic to use so far. "Soil Pro can buffer and maintain the PH at 6.8, providing a slightly acidic environment preferred by plants." is one of the quotes from the packaging.

Nice color and soft but firm texture. Soft enough it won't scratch glass, but firm enough it will hold together. Said to last well and maintain shape, not turning to powder.


Grain size is good and goes not look strange in tank, and is not uniform round balls like one brand, which looks very strange.


The slope

and the final result


Now the water test. Will it cloud the water like ADA? I hate adding water slowly and usually just dump it in by buckets. ADA I can't do that unless I want to spend a couple of days with a clouded tank and plants covered with a black/brown film of dust.
So how did it do?
Water in place

The greenish color is from the glass and the room lighting.

This picture was taken 10 seconds after I stirred the water and soil around with my hand. No cloudiness at all!! Nothing. Just clear water!! Fantastic!

Now this coming week will be the real test of the soil. Once it is planted and the plants start to grow.

Right now I am just running the tank and filter for a few day with just the soil to get things a little established in the filter and the soil to adjust and balance the PH of the water before I add plants. Some people suggest doing this with ADA as it realeases a lot of excessive nutrients at first and the PH is not stable for a few days. I will do it with this soil as well, doing 50% water changes every day for the first 3 days then begin planting.

Chosing the layout and the plants will be the hardest part now!! so many styles I love and only one tank to plant!!