New 48" Nova Extreme T-5

My 48" Nova Extreme T-5 fixture arrived today. Paid $400 with $17 shipping from Foster and Smiths. It arrived in 2 days.

My first impressions are that it is well made. The mounting legs seem sturdy. It comes with 8 bulbs which will let you taylor the lighting to your tastes.
It puts out alot of light but It definitley needs a different bulb combo instead of the 4x460nm actinics and the 4x10k bulbs. It needs more actinics. I'm going to substitute a 12K actinic white for 1 of the 10k bulbs. I will aslo substitiute a 6500K for a 10K, as well as a superactinic 420nm for one of the 460's.

The 2 cooling fans could be quieter and I may switch them out.

 

That should be an awesome fixture. Keep us informed on how well it does for your tank.

 

If you are wanting more of the actinic look you should be going the other way on your K value on the lights. A 6500k light is going to give you a yellow look to the water. You need to run up into the 14k to 20k if you are looking for that deep ocean blue look. Just my $.02

 

I really like my Nova Extreme. I've had it for over a year now. Boy, it is bright! That took some getting used to. I definitely recommend wiring it through a timer, though.

 

I have one too and I really like it. It is really bright so at first it may hurt the eyes and take some time getting used to! I have my lights and fans on timers. The mounting legs could have been made better but over all my tanks livestock and corals have continuosly grown since I got this light. Enjoy.

 

Hey Guys,

Does this lighting system allow for any types of Coral, inverts and Clams? I am interested in getting this system but I want to make sure that it is able to sustain any type or organisms I put in my tank. i.e. LSP, SPS, and Clams, thanks.

 

Hey Guys,

Does this lighting system allow for any types of Coral, inverts and Clams? I am interested in getting this system but I want to make sure that it is able to sustain any type or organisms I put in my tank. i.e. LSP, SPS, and Clams, thanks.

 

You can keep anything with these lights. I've done alot of research on them.
You can also call reefgeek.com They are very helpful and will recommend bulb configuration to bring out the colors in your corals. Are you going to use the T-5's to replace your MH's? If so, you may have to place the more light demanding corals and clams a little higher up in the tank in your 90g which is a little deeper than a 75g. I would go with an 8 bulb fixture over a 6 bulb for the 90g.
If you have any other concerns on T-5's, check out my post and link on page 2 of the lighting section on this forum. The post is Helpful T-5 Info. There is a picture of a tank that has been running on T-5 lighting.
Hope this helps!

 

Hey Raven,

Thanks for the info,..my tank depth is actually 20 inches because I have a 4 inch DSB. So do I still have to move the clams and other light demanding corals higher?

 

You might be Ok. Just keep an eye on them especially if you upgrade the bulbs to the german and ATI bulbs if you go with the Nova extreme. The bulbs that come with it are ok but the german and ATI are supposed to be brighter.