The photo above shows all the components included in the 2x54W Bright Kit.  Note that the protective film was left on the reflectors to reduce flash.

The T5 Linear Kits offered by A H Supply were developed to offer a wider range of lighting options for 4 foot long tanks.  Since the 55W T5 Compacts are essentially 2 foot long units, you need to use two of them end-to-end in one row to cover a 4 foot length. That means that to preserve even lighting along the length of a 4’ tank, the compacts need to be installed in multiples of 110 watts.  54W linears essentially cut that multiple in half and allow you to more finely tune your lighting setup.

For instance, 55W compacts work great for putting medium light on a 55 gallon freshwater planted tank (one row of 2x55W) or high light on a 75 gallon freshwater planted tank (two rows of 2x55W). However, if you want a high light 55g freshwater setup or a medium light 75g freshwater setup, using some or all linears is probably a better option.  Whereas 220 watt of compacts on the 55g could be too much, 164 watts (two 55W compacts plus one 54W linear) or 162 watts (three 54W linears) are more likely to provide the high light level you’re looking for.  And that same 162-164 watts might be better than 220 watts on your 75g tank if you’re looking for a medium light level that is easier to maintain.

This obvious (and, we think, biggest) advantage of 54W linears is lost when lighting systems only offer them in multiples of 2, as they almost always do. If the options are 108W or 216W, then you still have the problems mentioned above for setting up a high light 55g or a medium light 75g. That’s why A H Supply offers a 1x54W Kit as well as a 2x54W kit. The 1x54W Kit can be used alone to pump up existing lighting setups, or combined with the 2x54W Kit or Kits to build a system with any number of 54W lights you want.  Say a 5x54W setup for a high light freshwater 90 gallon tank or for a medium light 4’ 120g freshwater tank.

Quality Components

For any aquarium lighting system, the reflector is of paramount importance. Light striking the water surface at more than 55 degrees from vertical is reflected back up off the surface.  That means that light from only 110° of the 360° tube will enter the water directly.  The light from the other 250 degrees (almost 70% of the total) only gets in the water if it is reflected downward at a fairly steep angle.  That’s why our T5 linear reflectors are made of the same state-of-the-art reflector material customers have long appreciated in our compact kits, and somewhat larger overall than most. They measure 43.75”L x 1.12”H x 2.50”W.

The sockets that will connect your ballast wires to the bulb pins offer a high degree of moisture resistance.  Note in the photo above that the silicone boot not only protects the bulb pin to socket connection but also protects the ballast wires to socket connections. We’ve noticed that the moisture resistant sockets commonly offered with T5 kits do a great job of protecting the bulb pin to socket connections, but then they must be mounted to brackets that leave the ballast wire to socket connections unprotected.  Go figure.

Another advantage of these sockets is that they do not extend far over the glass portion of the bulb.  This allowed us to make our reflector 1.25” longer than the reflectors that must be used with the bulkier “moisture-resistant” sockets, so more of the glass tube is under the reflector.

And the ballasts included with the 54W kits are moisture resistant as well.  They are potted, indoor/outdoor type ballasts so safe to use around an aquarium.  Seems like a no-brainer to us, but this, too, actually distinguishes our kit from some others.

Click here to see some installation ideas for the 54W linear kits.