T5 lighting for my 90 gal. reef

Bagpiper Jim

Bagpiper Jim

Member
Well my 90 gallon tank has been up and running for about 6 months now and with the exception of the typical ich outbreak that took out 3 of my fish, I won't be making that newbie mistake again, the green cup coral and zoanths are doing very well. The one thing I am not very happy with is the t5/MH light I installed. I don't plan on keeping any SPS, Clams or the like and I think the T5 fixtures will be a better choice for me. I have been looking at the Nova Extreme Pro 6x54w and the Nova Extreme 8x54w with 4 lunar lights. I really like the lunar lights because I have them now but I am wondering if the 8X54w is going to be too much light? I have been doing a lot of reading and I see a lot of people have the 6X54w T5's on their 90 gallons and seem to be very happy with it. The 8x54w fixtures fall within the 3 to 5 watts per gallon generally used to find the right lighting for a tank but I know there are other things like light frequency to consider also. Anyway, I would just like to get some feed back form some of you on the subject. Thanks, Jim
 
BigAl07

BigAl07

Administrator
RS STAFF
Good morning BPJ :)

  • A) First of all no 8x54W isn't to much but is a lot of light. Keep in mind the Nova 8x54W does NOT have IDR (Individual Reflectors) so you're using energy for NOT because it's not getting into the tank as efficiently as it could.
  • B) The NEP 6x54W does have a better reflector system but still isn't as GOOD as it could be for the $$
  • C) Toss the whole Watt per Gallon (WPG) rule out the window. It's pointless once you move up from... oh nevermind.. it's pointless period....
  • D) Due toe the depth of the 90g tank (that's what I'm running as well) I think the MORE lights the better.

If you're looking for a quality light at an affordable price I like the Catalina Aquariums fixtures. You get a LOT of bang for your buck with them.

48 inch BLACK SOLAR T5 HO - 8 X 54W

48 inch BLACK SOLAR T5 HO - 6 X 54W
 
BigAl07

BigAl07

Administrator
RS STAFF
Bagpiper Jim said:
Oh that's strange because I went to the Current USA web site and they say their new fixtures do have individual reflectors. Here is what the site has.

Nova Extreme T5H0 | Current What's Next
Click to expand...


Notice HOW they worded it...

New Individual Single Lamp Reflectors
Click to expand...


If you'll look at their pic it's a SINGLE reflector molded to resemble IDR's. Very "Creative" wording (aka smoke & mirrors).

Reflector Science (not sure if that's a correct term) is a LOT more than just bending some reflective material around a bulb. These companies spend literally MILLIIONS of $$ in R&D to get the right material, shape and size to be more efficient.

NovaExtreme_2.jpg
 
J

jkburton1s

Member
dont know if id take the gamble of a company that stretches the truth to sell their product. id make the hood myself with good reflectors and know that its what i wanted.
 
SiNiStEr NaTiOn

SiNiStEr NaTiOn

Member
well bagpiper jim, I'm slowly building my reef tank. and your 90 isn't much taller, just by a few inches. I have a 75g. and I'm planning on running catalina 8x54 on it. The NEP 8x54w look nice with the lunar lights because I was looking at that one personally myself. The reflector on that one is just one piece for all 8 tubes.

Big Al had listed couple links to Black Solar and for the price of the Nova Extreme 8x54 fixture for a little bit more money you can get allot better fixture like the CA Black Solar 8x54 with IDR's.
 
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