Nova Extreme Pro or AquaticLife

greenxb

greenxb

New Member
I have decided not to buy a HQI for my 30 gal for many reasons. Now, I want to get a T5 but i do not know what to get and this is my question. Which one is better in performance ext... Many people that have bought the Nova end up replaising some bulbs withing 2 weeks, it has 2 power cords, no timer ***. On the other hand AquaticLife, one cord, electronic timer, the only thing that it has about 60 Watts less that the Nova *** . This will be the last piece of my puzzle, to finally complete my aquarium and I really do not want to buy something bad. Is like when some one goes to buy a car, if u do no know anything about a car, well you guys get the point. Any advice, comments, please HELP>>>
 
luvmyreef

luvmyreef

Active Member
Well I have the nova extreme t-5 and yes within 2 days of purchasing, I had to replace a 10000K bulb, and just 2 weeks ago, I had to replace an actinic. I think mine is junk...
 
fraggle rock

fraggle rock

Member
Ive been happy with my Nova 48" extreme 8 lamp, I did replace the current lamps with Blue wave HO 4 12K and 4 420nM things look happy, put I dont have any true photometrics on the light in my tank
As far as thier look compared to the HQI you can purchase different K lamps the Nova comes with 10K, but since its T5 remember that"shimmer" effect of MH is not there
Ive seen the Aquatic in use and would say its comparable. Timer is a nice feature
Remebere ist ton about watts its about PAR, so look at the reflectors, a NOVA pro is individual reflector, an extreme is a communtiy reflector and Im not sure abnout the Aqualtic fixture. Indivdual reflector will help bumb the PAR up
 
stanlalee

stanlalee

Active Member
dont get a 6 bulb extreme pro for a 12" front to back 30g. get a 4 bulb sundial or extreme SLR. use the money saved on upgraded bulbs (or a 4 bulb TEK or ATI fixture for that matter). 6 bulb is really overkill for a standard size 30g.
 
stanlalee

stanlalee

Active Member
Originally Posted by florida joe
http:///forum/post/3137325
I belive it stands for Parabolic Aluminized Reflector
PAR in the aquarium world= Photosynthetically Active Radiation. Basically the standard measure we use in the 400-700nm light wavelength range to measure lighting intensity. With a PAR meter you generally want at least around 150-200 reaching the bottom and hopefully at least 400 up top below the water surface though high intensity systems will put much more than that up high (500-800+). theres also PUR (Photosynthetically Usable Radiation) which I've only seen measure of in articles (I guess equipment to measure it is either expensive or not readily available). Just because a light has more PAR (INTENSITY in the 400-700nm range) doesn't mean it has more USABLE light in that range (PUR) but few if any people do PUR measurements so we never really know the whole story just by PAR readings. This is the MAIN reason 20k halides do much better with growth than people think. they have high intensity in the usuable (to many corals) blue range but lack high overall PAR.
as for Aquatic Life fixtures these JUST started showing up this year so I doubt if anyone can recommend them or have much personal experience with them. the sundials and extreme slr's are much more common and proven to be at least adequate with good bulbs but they are still entry level T5 fixtures.
 
fraggle rock

fraggle rock

Member
While Joe is right Parabolic Aluminum Reflector is one meaning, which is for incandest lamps ( mainly thatrical but some residential/commercial ues)
In the aquarium world( also in the plant/hydroponics) PAR is Photysyntheically Active Radiation
Which is basically the spectral range of light used for photosynthesis in plant and coral life.
I high PAR value will give better growth and if the right spectrum of light in the 400nM to 460nM range great color for your Corals
 
greenxb

greenxb

New Member
I know my thank is only 30 gal but, I want to have all kinds of corrals (clams, SPS ext. There is not a single 30'' T5 Fixture that goes over 130W
. I don't know, what do you guys recommend?
 
stanlalee

stanlalee

Active Member
well they do make a 30" sundial fixture but it uses 24" bulbs (24wx4). This will be plenty. 4 t5 across the tank is 4 t5 across the tank (bulb count is important not the wattage, a 54wx4 is no more intense than a 24wx4 in any one spot directly under the bulb its just longer hence lights a longer aquarium). Beyond that you'd have to hang a 24" fixture. I'm not sure what you have against halides, I use 150wx2 over my 36" 30g and have no issues with heat ect. I'm sure a single 150-250w with appropriate reflector will be no less expensive than anything but entry level T5 ($100 for the ballast, $100-150 for the reflector and $50-90 for the bulb) or less effective than T5. For example a sunlight supply Lumenmax 3 reflector+ sunlight supply galaxy ballast (plug and play)+150w phoenix or aquamaxx halide bulb will cost about $300 ($100 ballast, $150 reflector, $50 bulb give or take $10), wont create much more heat than a 24wx4 t5 fixture (54 watts more but can be hung much higher and still be effective) and allow you to keep anything. to change that to 250w will cost basically nothing ($10 more for the bulb and $15 more for the ballast) and you'll have plenty of juice to keep everything. With the highly developed reflector you can raise it way up to reduce heat concerns.
 
greenxb

greenxb

New Member
So all you are saying is that I should get a HQI. What about 30” SunPod 1x150W HQI Fixture by Current USA. ***
 
stanlalee

stanlalee

Active Member
Originally Posted by greenxb
http:///forum/post/3137596
So all you are saying is that I should get a HQI. What about 30” SunPod 1x150W HQI Fixture by Current USA. ***
No, nothing wrong with going T5 but theres no reason not to consider a single halide on this size tank. I have a sunpod so I like them but it has 150w x2 over 36" so its going to have better coverage and overlap between the two bulbs than a single over 30" thats why I would probably use a more advanced set up with a 30" length (search lumenmax, lumenbright, lumenarc, cayman sun, cozumel sun reflectors). these would easily cover 30" with intense light raised a little which helps with heat and coverage where a "normal" halide set up is ideal for 24" per halide. Sunpod is also hangable for coverage (but a. discontinued so good luck finding one new and b. cost as much as it would to do a much better plug and play reflector, ballast, bulb combo. either way (T5 or halide) Hanging the light is the best option since both (24" T5 or a single halide) will need to be raised a little higher than normal for optimum coverage on a 30" aquarium.
 
btldreef

btldreef

Moderator
I have used the Current Nova Extreme T5 HO lights on my 40G and now our 155G and very happy with the results. We just bought timers for ours, they're not that expensive in the grand scheme of things, especially with this hobby being so expensive as it is.
I have not had any bad experience personally, but have heard that Current has great customer service and people that complain about anything love them.
 
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