t5 lighting

saleensc405

saleensc405

Member
I have an 8' tank and I just purchased the Nova Extreme Pro 4' and a 3'. I just noticed that the 4' fixture is 54 watts and the 3' fixture is 39 watts. I'm just wondering if using the different wattage is OK or if they should be the same. I do plan on putting in corals. thanks.
 
jackri

jackri

Active Member
So you're looking at 93 watts over the span of 8 feet?
Sorry but doesnt really sound like a recipe for success in keeping corals. There are a few things skimping on hurts in maintaining a reef.
Skimmers/filtration
RO/DI water
Lights
 
geoj

geoj

Active Member
You tell me,
I think that you get the same light per square inch so it should not make a diff
I must ask why are you going a foot short?
 
saleensc405

saleensc405

Member
Jakri ~ I have a skimmer, an RO, filtration, and everything that I need for the tank.
GeoJ ~ The reason why that I could not get two 4' as because I have only 8' of space above the tank and I would need more than 8' so that I can access the switch and so that the fans can work properly.
 
jackri

jackri

Active Member
I understand you have a skimmer, ro, filtration for a tank --- but corals love light. 93 watts over an 8 foot span isn't going to keep any alive.
I have 716 watts over my 90g. Granted you don't have to have metal halides to keep corals but if your total wattage for that big of a tank is 93 watts you are going to have problems with coral.
 
saleensc405

saleensc405

Member
I was told with the Nova Extreme Pro T5 lighting that I would be able to keep corals? The 4' has 6 bulbs at 54 watts each and the 3' has 6 bulbs at 39 watts each. That totals 558 watts of lighting - is that not enough?
 
jackri

jackri

Active Member
Well that helps when you give more details

Just keep light loving corals up high in the tank and you should be alright
 
nycbob

nycbob

Active Member
its fine with the way u set it up. how deep is ur 8 foot tank? i am sure u will be happy with the nova pro. i hv one over my 4 foot tank.
 
05xrunner

05xrunner

Active Member
Originally Posted by jackri
http:///forum/post/2964478
So you're looking at 93 watts over the span of 8 feet?
Sorry but doesnt really sound like a recipe for success in keeping corals. There are a few things skimping on hurts in maintaining a reef.
Skimmers/filtration
RO/DI water
Lights
where are you getting 93 watts
looks like 558watts to me
 
nycbob

nycbob

Active Member
i think he/she just added 54 and 39 watts together. next time, people should really know what they r talking about b4 answering questions.
 
spiderwoman

spiderwoman

Active Member
Originally Posted by nycbob
http:///forum/post/2964712
i think he/she just added 54 and 39 watts together. next time, people should really know what they r talking about b4 answering questions.
:) very true. A single T5 bulb would do that, but not the correct number of bulbs :)
 
saleensc405

saleensc405

Member
Hey Bob ~ the tank is 30" deep. So do you think it matters that one side has more wattage of lighting than the other side? will this affect the coral growth?
 
srgvigil

srgvigil

Member
Are you sure about that wattage it seems exceptionally low
You said that you got the nova extreme pro fixtures right?
These are the specs for the NEP's
1083 20" Nova Extreme Pro 6x18watt T5HO 3-10k/3-460nm actinics 2 Yes 108w 20" x 12" x 4.25"
1080 36" Nova Extreme Pro 6x39watt T5HO 3-10k/3-460nm actinics 2 Yes 234w 36" x 12" x 4.25"
1081 48" Nova Extreme Pro 6x54watt T5HO 3-10k/3-460nm actinics 2 Yes 324w 48" x 12" x 4.25"
1082 72" Nova Extreme Pro 12x39watt T5HO 6-10k/6-460nm actinics 2 Yes 468w 72" x 12" x 4.25"
Ohh I see what you are talking about. You are reading the watts for each individual light. The 48' fixture is putting out 324 watts and the 3' fixture is pitting pit 234 watts
 
geoj

geoj

Active Member
Originally Posted by nycbob
http:///forum/post/2965064
no not at all. the wattage is different bc the bulbs r shorter.
This is what I think but never had the opportunity to check out bulbs side-by-side. So I would like to hear from others on this. Saleensc405 do you have the lights up if so what does it look like…
 
ibew

ibew

Active Member
you will be just fine just center them over the tank for instance you will have a foot of area left over make sure you have about 6inches on each side of tank. So it is close to being centered of the tank. By the way nice choice I would use the lamps for awile an get your use out of them then upgrade to ati lamps or gieseman for better par
 
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