What do you all think about this light?

Discussion in 'T5 Aquarium Lighting' started by jkolz, Dec 13, 2009.

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  1. jkolz

    jkolz Plankton

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  3. anpgp

    anpgp Dragon Wrasse

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    Personally I would never buy an off brand light fixture. Like anything in this hobby you get what you pay for and lights are no exception. Go with a trusted brand name on lights. Check out petmountain.com, they have really good deals on lights.
     
  4. iLLwiLL

    iLLwiLL Sailfin Tang

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    I would pass on it. The price looks good, but it only has a single reflector and crappy bulbs (and all 10K's??), no-name ballasts, no moon lights, etc. After you got this you wound want too pick up at least 4 quality actinics which would run you another $80 + shipping. If you have a canopy, I would look for a 6 lamp 60" retro setup with SLR's and quality bulbs.

    ~Will.
     
  5. jkolz

    jkolz Plankton

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    Awesome, thanks for the advise. I checked out that store and I did find another unith that I'm considering. What do you think about the Nova Extreme Pro? The problem I'm having is that I want to have a 60" bulb at least and I'm not finding many of these fixtures don't go that big. So I've thought about making my own and using Ice Cap retro kits. My question w/ those is how hard is it to get the spacing and wiring right and how many lights can I have per ballast?

    Oh, here is a link for the nova extreme pro:
    Current USA Nova Extreme Pro T5HO Aquarium Light Fixtures
     
  6. iLLwiLL

    iLLwiLL Sailfin Tang

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    Getting a retro into a canopy is a lot easier than it sounds. To mount, you just put a bulb between 2 end caps (to get the right spacing) and carefully screw the mounting plates into the top of your canopy . . . then remove the bulb and repeat the process till your done. Wiring is really easy too as long as you get a diagram with your kit it should be all color coded.

    How many lights per ballast really depends on the ballast. You cant have more lamps wattage-wise than the ballast is rated for and you need to keep the total lamp-length under what the ballast can handle.

    ~Will.
     
  7. dreiling

    dreiling Fire Shrimp

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    i agree retro and canopy is the way to go.
    check out hamilton lighting, that is what i use
     
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  9. Screwtape

    Screwtape Tonozukai Fairy Wrasse

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  10. APC

    APC Gigas Clam

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    I had a lot of trouble with a 48" nove extreme fixture. I had three different ones have issues over the course of 6 months...two bulbs would keep blowing out. Dr.'s foster and smith were really good about replacing the fixture no questions asked...however, after 3 strikes I gave up on nova. I ended up replacing it with a TEK T5 setup from Aquarium Supplies - Aquarium Supplies for your Tropical Fish, Saltwater Fish, Reef Aquarium, Marine Fish, Saltwater Aquarium. It was more expensive, but the quality is a night and day difference. Plus better bulbs, better relectors, and it runs cooler overall.