Aquatinics also has a fan in the unit and Tek does not.
Aquatinics has a curved design placement of the bulbs and the Tek is straight even.
Both are great pieces, but you get what you pay for - both will do what you need, but the AT is more polished, better designed and uses IceCap products to drive it - including reflectors.
House
Would the aquatinics consume more electricity with one less bulb but the extra fan + ballast?
I own a 36inch tx5 and have many times considered buying the tek. Everytime i tell the person im gonna buy it from i had a aquatinics fixture they say keep it. Its ten times better then the TEK.
That includes two online vendors.