Nova T5 Extreme Pro Lighting

[jw1977]

What do people think of these lights? Does anyone know if they have lunar lights? I don't see that in the specs. Also, These say they have built in fans, does that mean I won't have to buy some other piece of equipment to keep these lights from burning up my tank.

 

[nycbob]

i hv the 6x54w nova pro. there r no lunar lights. there r two built in fans. i hv them over my 72 bowfront for the past 3 weeks. it has indiviual reflectors too. curently hv many sps ans clams under them.

 

[rcoultas]

The light comes with legs to raise it off the surface of the tank to minimize the heat transfer into it. the fans are cooling fans for the light itself as the ballasts have thermal overload and without air circulated they will shut off to cool down. Nova are good lights - I also use them on one of my tanks.

 

[jw1977]

I really wanted something with lunar lights? Can I just by those separately? It looks like the Nova T5 Extreme comes with lunar lights. Should I just use those instead? Are the "Pro Model" that much better?

 

[nycbob]

the pro model comes with individual reflectors. thats the only difference i see, bc i had the regular nova w lunar lights b4. it all depends on what corals or inverts u want to keep.

 

[jw1977]

What exactly do the reflectors do? Also, If they're both T5's does that change what corals or fish I can keep?

 

[jw1977]

I also noticed the wattage is decreased to 156 total watts. Does that make a big difference.

 

[nycbob]

with the reflectors, more lights get into the water. but if u dont plan to keep light demanding sps or clams, then the regular one is fine. i'd get the pro and just buy separate lunar lights. that way, ur options r not limited in the future. back then i never thought i'd be keeping sps and clams. now i hv 2 lights sitting in my garage as backup, the regular nova and a sunpod 2x150w mh. pic with nova pro:

 

[jw1977]

Where do the lunar lights mount? In the canopy or somewhere else? How do I know there will be enough room to mount lunar lights?

 

[nycbob]

it comes w mounting legs. so there is about 4-6 inches between the light and water. lunar lights could be bought separately. they hv so many varieties. some go under water, some clip-on, and some onto the canopy itself.

 

[rcoultas]

The lunar lights are mounted into the reflector of the NOVA fixture and seems to me to be a design flaw as the LED's are not rated for the high temperatures that they sustain there. I have gone thru 3 of those fixtures all having the same problem - the lights will dim out and lose their intensity or will fail one at a time.

 

[jw1977]

So I guess I should look for lights with built in lunar lights. What's better looking the white or blue lunar lights?

 

[nycbob]

lunar lights r a waste. its much better to buy them separate.

 

[jw1977]

If you purchase lunar lighs separately where do the mount? Under the canopy? In the tank?

 

[milkman]

Individual reflectors are better for intensity but how deep is your tank? If your tank is under 18inchs, go with the cheaper nova extreme. You can still keep anything alive with the nova extreme if it's a shallow tank.

 

[moprint]

I also own a 48" Nova Extreme Pro. I had a friend do some testing with it to see how it stacked up against the more expensive fixtures. Stock out of the box with the light 2" above the water and the sensor 17" below the water the PAR reading was 245. He then changed the bulbs to the same bulbs he tested a Fauna Marin and an ATI Sunpower with. The Nova did 224, Fauna 310, Sunpower 346. These fixtures are over twice the price of the Nova. So them having better readings is no suprise. He also tested a 4 bulb Tek unit with the following bulbs 1 Aquablue, 1 Blue Plus, 1 Actinic, and 1 Sun. I know four compared to six bulbs, but they only seperated by $10 when you get bulbs with the Tek. The Tek reading was 152. I think this is a good buy for the money, definetaly get the Pro over the regular Nova. Then buy a couple of Coralife lunar lights.