I am Purchasing Current USA NOVA EXTREME 8x54w - Any suggestions are welcome! Can I..

[ikn0xl]

Hello My name is Sev, I am really hoping to start off my SPS tank off right Im even willing to get rid of all my fish except maybe 2 colorful for algae and also aesthetic values.

Please let me know what I need to do to prepare and what I need to do after installing my new lights on my tank this friday. TIA

My tank is a 90 Gal
24" High Tank, Glass, 45"L
30 gal fuge,
ASM G2 skimmer,
rio hf 14 and maxi 1200 and rio 1100 for fuge return.
4x65w PC's 2 10,000K and 2 Actinic
________
1-2" Sandbed Grade3 + grade 1 sand
200lbs LR- TOO MUCH I know but Ill be starting out a coral QT tank in a few weeks so itll help contribute to that.
Caulerpa and Chaeto.

I currently Feed
1)Formula one + two FROZEN & Dry pellets
2)Cyclopeze

{I DONT KNOW what to feed my fish and corals...? Any suggestions..?

I have the following:
________________________
1 yellow tang
1 Kole Tang
1 powder blue
1 Naso
2 Blue tangs
1 Lawnmower Blenny
1 Crab-eye Goby
4 cleaner shrimp
Various cleaner crew critters

CORALS- So far just zoo's

My levels are

Ammonia/Nitrite - 0 undetectable
Nitrate - 20 ppm
Phosphate - Havent tested (which test kit is recommended)
Calcium - 500
Alk - Havent Measured yet but I dose KENT 2 PArt Calcium/ALK

I am buying these lights this thursday and it is the

Current USA 8x54w T-5 Setup Is that enough for clams..?

I know this is a much disputed topic thought I might get you guys to chime in?

Thanks any comments welcome.

Regards
Sev

 

[Julio]

I think this fixture is great, i do however think yoru nitrates are too high so bring them down if you can.

 

[ikn0xl]

How can I bring them down?

I hesitate to feed my fish less and less because I feel as htough they should be nutritionally sound to ward of disease and provide good coloration.

Any suggestions on what to feed?

Regards
Sev

 

[Julio]

is your tank brand new or do you have inhabitants in it? if yo uhave fish, slow down on the feeding a bit and make sure you service your skimmer every week to keep performing well.

 

[ikn0xl]

service the skimmer as in clean the chamber..?
and yes the tank has inhabitants, btw what media goes inside a phoshate reactor..?

 

[Julio]

Yes i mean clean the riser tube and you want to put feric iron in your phosphate reactor such as Phosban or Rowaphos.

 

[Horace]

8x54w typically do not fit over a 90 or a 75g. Though the Nova, not haveing the most important feature of the T5 (individual reflectors and yes it makes a HUGE difference) it might fit. Personally I think you should forget putting the 8x54 without good reflectors and just get a 4 or a 6 bulb unit that will put out twice as much light as that 8 bulb unit. Trust me, the reflectors increase the light atleast 75%-100%. I didnt think so either until I changed my T5s over and now its a whole different tank. Dont make the mistake and waste your money on a T5 unit w/out good reflectors...

 

[ikn0xl]

Yes Horace I agree with you, the reflectors are a key element in the T5's design but unfortunately I have done graphic design for a local petshop and I can purchase the lights for a discounted rate.

The only T5s they have are the NOVA's I was given the option of returning in 30 days and I may do so.

I will be purcahsing a lux meter to check what the output is form the lights.

I want to purchase Metal Halides but I cannot afford a chiller which in the summer time w/ metal halides is a must in the room where the tank is located.

Though I may build a system where when the temp of the water increases to a certain point the pump activates and runs water through my refrigerator or below ground where it is cooler than pumping it back into the tank e.g. poor mans chiller.

Would you happen to know what the lights SHOULD be putting out with indiv reflectors and what I should comparing to.?

Thank you for following my inquiries!

Regards
Sev

 

[Horace]

To be honest it greatly varries pending bulbs and which reflectors your using. I will say that there will be a major major difference. Seriously without individual reflectors you might as well just buy a cheaper PC unit because it will put out about the same PAR. BTW dont get a Lux meter, get a PAR meter, there is a very big difference. PAR is what your interested in measuring, not Lux. PAR is photosynthetic light, while Lux is simply the amount of light. Light that doesnt fall within the photosynthetic spectrum is worthless.

If you want some numbers you will have to find some of The Grim Reefer's old posts (he was the T5 Guru before he got banned). His T5s were putting out more PAR than his 250w MH 14k bulbs.

 

[landragon]

Hi . I hope I can help. First off, go to the lighting forum and find "the t5 thread". then find "great t5 glarathon" thread. Read these for what to look for with output.

As for the NOVA extremes made by Current USA : no matter how much you can save, don't waste your money. If you do, then I have a rare elegance skeleton that I will let go cheap Seriously, I have had more of these returned than any other product and they even beat Rio pumps for bad build quality and reliability. Here is a list of problems I have seen :
ballast stop firing bulbs
moonlights quit
bad/broken endcaps
bad/broken bulbs
bad/broken fans

I would reevaluate your plans and take the savings from the store off another piece of equipment. I was pretty excited to see these and now wish my boss had never started dealing with them. Does anyone know what ever happened to Custom Sea Life ? It's funny too, because I have never seen a satelite fail. I think they rushed out to market too soon. Kind of like with the 12 gallon Aquapods.

I am not one to bash the company for the fact they make one bad product, (seaclone!) , but I have personally had 36" and both versions of the 48" returned.

I hope you figure out what works for your situation, but there is a reason these are so cheap, and the others cost so much. I own a 4 x 54 nova extreme (supprisingly no problems), and a 6 x 54 w t5ho retro with IceCap reflectors and universal ballasts. I cry every time I see it fire up with 2 bulbs and think of the money I wasted on the nova. And I bet I got it cheaper than you will. Take peoples advice on the difference between them, as in my experience, the nova are good for softies or shallow tanks, while the retro's can suit almost everyones needs.

Furthermore (I know I know, how much more is there) after seeing theirs versus german bulbs, you will end up spending an additional $200 anyway so why complicate things. I kinda like the Current 420 nm actinic, but that doen't even come with it stock so....

Anyway , I hope I made your decision more painfull and drawn out. lol

 

[Johnsteph10]

Your nitrates are high because of your bioload.

1 yellow tang
1 Kole Tang
1 powder blue
1 Naso
2 Blue tangs
1 Lawnmower Blenny

6 tangs in a 90g! I have 6 tangs in my 400gal and only did that through careful stocking decisions.

You will have nutrient issues - and they will only worsen over time unless you change your import/export.

 

[ikn0xl]

Wow , Nova extreme bashing lol, I was given the option to try them out before I pay for them so i have them for 1 mo. I will reconsider in a couple weeks.

I have installed htem on my tank and will post pictures asap.

The lights are bright and they dont run extremely hot, I cave a ICECAP 660 ballast which I will be converting to T5's and run 4x54w overdriven to approx 80w/each.

About the lights-They arent what I was expecting, not extremely bright , makes me think the 4x54w is jsut as strong as 4x65 PC's.

I dont think that I can keep SPS with these lights unless they are only in the top 1/3 of the tank.

Also the actinics are not as pleasing as with my PC's the coloration seems to me tainted when only running T5 actinics other than that the coloration in general is a bit on the dull side.

IN reference to my BIOLOAD, yes it is high and I want to reduce it along with an increase in invertebrates.

Does htis sound like a go-ahead plan....

Reduce to only

3-hippo tangs
1-powder blue
1-yellow tang
6-cleaner shrimp
1-lawnmower blenny

I have a G2 skimmer skimming very wet
refugium with caulerpa and Chaeto (they are not growing fast)

I have noticed that many are statinghtat their macro is growing extremely fast but mine isnt its doubled in size in 1.5 mo. and I only have a handful now..? Is it maybe my lights have lost their spectrum, I am using the type of lights recom. by melev. (x2) 24 hrs a day