Compact Fluorescent light?

yeah the nova was 165 on amazon so i dont want to change the bulbs

 

IMO the bulbs that come stock with most of the cheaper T5 fixtures do need to be replaced. You don't need to replace them right away or all at once. On the plus side the better bulbs make the tank look allot better.

Here are some of the possibilities with T5
T5 Bulb Combos w/ Pics

 

ok i liked the nova bc it has a fan and its 4 bulbs. would it only being 24" be a problem since the tank is 30"

 

I agree.. Most high end fixtures, don't even come with bulbs.. As Clonefarmer stated before, it depends of what you plan on keeping in there.. For a 29gal 2 bulb config maybe fine.. I have a 29gal that I use as a frag/QT tank and I'm running 2 BoostLED Par30 in it..

Honestly, on my refuge that's connected to my 90gal & have about 6-8 eagleeye polyps that have come off my main colony & found their way onto my refuge sand bed. That are doing great! The bulb that I'm using there? A single 6500K CF $9.00 screw in bulb on a $8.00 work fixture that I purchased at Home Depot.

So, if you were in a pinch for now. You could use 2 or 3 for very cheap money.. Just remember it MUST state 6500K.

 

The T5 fixture is still better than the compact fluorescent fixture. It has much greater penetrating power and produces more usable energy by far than the CF fixture.

 

The mounting legs on the fixture go beyond 24". Mostly all the legs can mount inward or outward depending on the config.. If you plan in hanging the fixture, even better.. Much easier to do maint work on the tank.

 

The 24" fixture would not be a problem, just place lower light needing animals at the ends. The bulbs would be good for 3 to 6 months. Get the Nova if you can.

 

Okay, let me put it this way then. My last tank was a 29 gallon. I had 2 light fixtures. One was a 2x 65w power compact from jbj. The other was a 4x24w t5 I forget who, with contoured reflectors. The tank did a hell of a lot better under the PC lighting. Everything grew much better. Looked much better, ams flourished. The t5 lighting drowned out the color with the stock bulbs and I saw a noticeable difference in the growth of my corals.

As a blanket statement t5s are better than PC's but that is conditional.

 

ok i will get the nova

 

The Nova is a nice fixture for the price, the bulbs do suck though. Again as do in most... The company stand behind their product.. I have a couple of sockets that went bad, they send me 4 of them just in case for free & they paid the shipping.. I have a 48" Extreme & my live stock have always been happy.. The fan is a little loud for my liking though.. Mine is in my home theater room and have to turn it sound a little higher when the lighting is on & then lower when the fixture turns off... Anyone else come across a fan that is not as loud?