ATI or Tek lighting

What do people prefer between the two and why? I will need a 48 inch that can cover a 100 gallon tank 48x24x20. I don't like that only maybe 2 or 3 online stores carry this.

 

I have the 8x54w tek and like it a lot but im going to be selling it to change out for metal halides since none of the lfs here carry t5 bulbs or parts it gets annoying

 

why dont you just buy online?

 

The ATI is the best available. they use top of line ballasts and reflectors. They also have the best active cooling on the market. TEK was one of the first out that was highly effective. Their reflectors and ballasts are just slightly less good than the ATI. The TEK Elite has active cooloing and is close to the power of the ATI.

 

The ATI is better. It has better reflectors and active cooling, although now the Tek Elite does have active cooling as previously mentioned.

 

Has anyone ever seen the Tek Elite? It looks grey in color. I like the color and looks of the ATI better.

 

well, im going to assume you are looking for the 8 bulb models. the price points seem to be quite different. tek elite is 580$ and the ATI is 1050$. if money is not an issue at all(whats 500$??) then go for the ati. if you dont mind the 5-10% performance decrease (i REALLY like making up statistics) go with the Tek.

 

Do you think the original Tek is good enough. I like the black original better than the grey Elite.

 

Spraypaint is cheap....

I understand aesthetics are very important, but that active cooling is worth thinking about.

 

even though I own a TEK Elite, ATI is def above it in terms of performance. There were PAR tests that put ATI having 20% more PAR over the TEK Elite's. IMO the drawbacks to ATI's are the fact that they do not have any mounting options (for those that cannot hang their fixtures), other than DIY & the cost.

The TEK Elite's are very nice, however, they had fan issues and then sent fixes out, but I am still having issues with the new fans and power supply I received. I am in contact with TEK about this to see what can be done.

I wouldn't get too hung up on color, the Elite is a dark gunmetal grey and it is fine in contrast with my black trimmed tank and black stand.