what do you think?

[jpenwell]

Mike and Dana please advise me on this one. Anybody else can too please, i just know these two know the exact tank i am talking about.

I will be building my stand next week. at that time i will also be building my canopy to old my lights which brings me to my question. for a 100 gal tank, what do you guys think about these lights? dana, you know exactly what will be in there and know the names of everything so if you pros want to ask what is in it exactly i hope that dana canhelp me out. below is the link

https://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=15491&prodid=30722&catid=3

prodcut: 48" 108 watts 2-54W 460 nm

[bpd964]

How deep is your tank?

What animals are you keeping?

Is this light you mention going to be the only lighting you are using?

[Dastank]

Jason,

I don't know much about the Nova Extreme lights. I would recommend going with the Tek T5 retro kit or the IceCap retro. The Teks will run about that same price from Custom Aquatics. For that tank 24" deep, your probably going to end up with 6 lights IMO. You could build the canopy, start with a 2 bulb Tek system and build up your system as you go. If you had some softies in the top of your rock work the 2 bulbs would probably do OK, but if you want some growth and good color, you're going to want get get more lights over that tank. I would do a little research on the Nova Extreme set up here on RC before I made a decision. The key to all of the T5 systems are the reflectors. From the picture they look nice and shiny, but pictures can be deceiving.

I recommend the Teks and IceCap because those are both systems I have and have read nothing but great things about them.

I hope this helps!

Mike

[Dastank]

The Teks on this page from Custom Aquatics are only $109.99, but you need to purchase bulbs too. It will be about the same as Dr. F&S by the time your done.

http://www.customaquatic.com/customaquatic/subsubcategorypage.asp?subcatindexid=lt-t5-rt

I'm kind of partial to Custom Aquatics. They're in CA, they package your stuff up in a day or two, and they'll send everything USPS Priority Mail. I placed an order this Friday, got the tracking info for the priority shipment today. The best thing is I'll probably have it by the end of next week. I've only ever had one glitch with them and the fixed the problem ASAP and took care of me with some extra parts.

[jpenwell]

Mike,
Thanks for the the great advice. I will surely look into and probably switch.

[jpenwell]

do you know if Kris has all the same stuff in the tank as when you gave it to him? what did you keep in it? are you the one that built the standpipes?

[Donstuprich]

I have a 4 x 54w 48" t-5 Current setup here. Got it from Dr Fs. It was a plug and play, not a retro fit. I do Believe it's the same hardware and reflectors though. The lights are good, but as said before... you can do more for your money.

[Dastank]

I gave Kris an empty tank, that's it. All the rock, live stock, skimmer, etc... he's added.

I'm in the process of putting together a new acrylic tank that's just a little smaller. 48" long X 24" wide X 18" tall.

Here's a link for the thread:

http://archive.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=970762

I'm hoping to get the top completed today! I've had to many other projects going on lately, but I've got to get that thing done!

[jasalmanza]

mike, did you say you had some sps fargs?

[Dastank]

I might have some stuff for you. What are you looking for? Shoot me an email and we'll talk.

[hot4teacher]

Hey Jason,

I can't really give an opinion about the Nova system there.

As Mike mentioned he's had good luck with the Tek T-5's, and that's what I use, so that's all I can really give an opinion about. And for about the same price, I got the Tek T-5's and pretty good bulbs that have a good reputation of quality.

Also as Mike mentioned, plan the canopy so that you can upgrade to more T-5's. As we talked, I think 4 bulbs would be a great start for a reef aquarium, but with the width and depth of the tank, 6 may be the magic number.

If you're looking just to get everything up and running, fish don't care if you have 2, 4, or 6 bulbs...but once you want some corals, then you have to make sure you didn't build yourself into a corner.

I have that Coralife PC set you can use if you need something while you canopy is being made. Don't rush it just to be done! It sucks spending time and money only to go back and redo it a few months later!

Dana

[jpenwell]

thanks dana. i am going to ordor a couple t-5 like like mike said but i may need to get those lights from you. we will talk about it once i get that far and you can come look and see what you think.

[jpenwell]

ok please excuse the newbie but what would be a good bulb. i looked at the site and it seems there are more bulbs to choose from then there are ballasts.

[hot4teacher]

I think all of mine are either Gieseman or ATI...I think the word is that one company bought the other so they're all the same now. I could be wrong though.

Of the 4 bulbs I have running now, I have 1 pure actinic, 2 super blue?, and 1 11K.

I have to dig through some receipts to find out for sure.

Dana

[jpenwell]

i was getting ready to order the lights and did a double check on the tank length. it is a little under 47in so now i am faced with,
1) do i order the 48in lights since i building a canopy anyways
or
2) do i order the 36in lights and let them be a little short.

i am thinking it would be better to order the 48in lights. any thoughts?

[teto_78]

I personally would order the 48" lights and build the canopy a an inch or two wider on each side, thus making the 48's fit.

[Dastank]

The 48" lights are a little under 47" They will fit, but it's really close. I have less than a half inch on either side of my lights. They'll be fine.

[jpenwell]

thanks. i will order those

[cpenwell]

cant find the pic of your tank

[jpenwell]

click this link

http://archive.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1052318