I Did It! Finally Got T-5's!

N

NanoKat

New member
Well, it's been bugging me since I purchased a pc fixture (Current Satellite 24" 130w) a few months back. It was nice and all, but I wasn't very pleased with the intensity or color of the light, I just figured I'd upgrade bulbs at a later date. It also was very large and cumbersome looking on my little 15g nano. So one of the bulbs went bad (already!) on this fixture and I needed a quick fix, so I headed up to my LFS by my work. They had the Nova Extreme 24" 96w for what looked like a reasonable price to me. I bit the bullet and did it...figured I got a little overtime last week and can sell the Satellite as soon as I figure out what's wrong with it and remedy the problem.

Can I just say that the color and intensity is awesome! It may not be the top of the line T-5's I've heard about, but I'm at least in the ball park until I want to upgrade at a later date. I am so glad I made the spur of the moment decision when I was only there to buy a bulb for the other fixture. I love when things work out that way.

I will post photos later with the old and new fixtures so you can see the difference. Right now the tank looks aweful because I've been neglecting it for a little while. At least this will inspire me to stick my hands back in there and fix it up a little. After that, it's on to the "Refugium Project"...got my sections siliconed in, so just have to paint the new aquarium stand and set it up. Wish me luck!
 
Awesome kat! Cant wait to see pics...I to jsut ordered a new lighting fixture...I got the 4x54w t5 and the 2x150 HM...Cant wait till it gets here wed!!
 
I was going to order that fixture myself, but from what I read it only projects 20% more over 130 watts of PC.

1 question, did it come with bulbs too?
 
i have the nova extreme 8x54 over my 75g and loving it, i know everyone says the ones with individual reflectors put out more light but this one come as a complete pkg with moonlites and fans just plug and play.
 
Yeah, that's 96w that puts out 20% more than the other fixture I have...that sounds great to me. With the added benefit of better color to boot (and a much slimmer designed fixture)! And yes, ek9vboi, it came with 2 10,000k and 2 actinic bulbs. The other fixture I had heard about didn't come with bulbs...so it would have been that much more $$$. From what I've read about the reflector, they say that this one reflects something like 99%...so individual ones would probably be better, but I don't know if I would actually notice the difference.

The other thing is that T-5's are still relatively new, especially in the US, so the prices are probably going to fall as this technology becomes more predominant. I'm sure I'll invest in one of the better fixtures later on. Then there's the LED thing I've been hearing about...but that's years down the road, I'm sure.

T-5 Rocks!!!
 
yeah i also upgraded my lights this week from two T12's to a 2x65w pc by coralife, very happy with it. its lighting upgrade week eh?
 
I have 4-65w coralife PC's all 10k bulbs and i just ordered 2-54w t5's now i'm trying to decide which bulbs to put in them, Pure actinics, aquablue + or actinic + Any ideas? sorry for the hijack.
 
That's what i'm planning. The tank looks a little funny w/o any actinics. I just wasn't sure on going with pure actinic or the actinic plus, which have a blend of blue in them.
 
LOL, im sorta downgrading my lighting. but i think ill be happier.

going with 2- 150 watt 14k phoenix, and 2-54 watt UVL super actinics.
 
I, personally love the look of the 10k with actinics. The actinics in this fixture are so much brighter than my pc's also...another plus. The moonlights also looked better...although by now, I think I'm quite biased after 24 hours with the new fixture ;) .

I shot a couple of pics after I cleaned the coralline off my glass...that was great forearm exercise! The Kent pro scraper does a pretty quick job of it though...I highly recommend it! I have a love-hate relationship with coralline...I believe it's a good sign that so much grows in my tank, but man I hate cleaning it off the glass...guess I better keep up with using that little magnet cleaner in there!

First of all, here's an actinic shot from last nite of a mushroom:
DSCN3301.jpg


Then, a toadstool that's just opening up after my cleanup (note, that I have not seen that yellow/green color in this since it was in the tank I received it from):
DSCN3320.jpg


And here's a shot with the fixture and tank...notice how streamlined the fixture is, the satellite is nearly twice as tall...
DSCN3333.jpg


I'll see if I can find some shots to compare the difference in overall color temp from one light fixture to the other.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

T
Kessil A360XE TUNA BLUE Setup Help Please
Replies
2
Views
104
tgurske
T
Reefing102
Amazingly simple…thank you ATI
Replies
3
Views
191
Vinny Kreyling
Vinny Kreyling
hrdneglcry
Why can't I grow coral?
Replies
3
Views
84
Reefing102
Reefing102
E
Ben’s back at it 20G long
2
Replies
21
Views
441
griss
griss
Brian60077
Cannot believe it is going on 3 weeks already.......
Replies
2
Views
118
griss
griss
Back
Top