I had the 8 lamp unit and I dont see how you could put the individual reflectors on it. There just isnt the room. Maybe the bulbs are more spread on the lower lamp Current fixtures.
That said, there is nothing wrong with those fixtures.
The reflector is a single but it is a decent reflector. I love the claims that a 2 light individual reflector set-up would slam the 4 or 5 light Novas. Its not that I have a closed mind to it its just that nobody could provide any figures to support the claim.
Simple upgrade for the fixture ... when it comes time to replace lamps, buy better lamps. The color of the Current lamps looks pretty decent but the German Bulbs and the UVL's definitely are brighter.
I can tell you from personal experience that the 8 lamp Nova Extreme WITH stock bulbs at 432 watts appeared signifignatly brighter than 4 110 watt VHO's with Ice Cap ballast and UVL lamps. I dont have any numbers but this is from personal observation and I do own both. I seem to remember that quite a few people had success using that type of VHO set-up a while back.
Bottom line, there is nothing wrong with the Nova. I have no doubts that it doesnt maximize light output with the reflectors it uses and I know that there are better bulbs from experience. But I wouldn't sweat the purchase or be quick to go with something else. As others have pointed out, it's a nice fixture that will do the job. Just because its not the best, doesn't mean there is anything wrong with it.
And ... I'd still love to see the comparisons between the individual and single reflectors. In fact, I'm still waiting for somebody to post a link to some hard figures. I mean, there are so many claims about how much more par the individuals have ... over 2 x the par figures as claimed in this thread. There has to be some sort of numbers to back that up. Again, I'm not saying its not possible, just that I havent been able to get the information so I can see for myself.
That said, there is nothing wrong with those fixtures.
The reflector is a single but it is a decent reflector. I love the claims that a 2 light individual reflector set-up would slam the 4 or 5 light Novas. Its not that I have a closed mind to it its just that nobody could provide any figures to support the claim.
Simple upgrade for the fixture ... when it comes time to replace lamps, buy better lamps. The color of the Current lamps looks pretty decent but the German Bulbs and the UVL's definitely are brighter.
I can tell you from personal experience that the 8 lamp Nova Extreme WITH stock bulbs at 432 watts appeared signifignatly brighter than 4 110 watt VHO's with Ice Cap ballast and UVL lamps. I dont have any numbers but this is from personal observation and I do own both. I seem to remember that quite a few people had success using that type of VHO set-up a while back.
Bottom line, there is nothing wrong with the Nova. I have no doubts that it doesnt maximize light output with the reflectors it uses and I know that there are better bulbs from experience. But I wouldn't sweat the purchase or be quick to go with something else. As others have pointed out, it's a nice fixture that will do the job. Just because its not the best, doesn't mean there is anything wrong with it.
And ... I'd still love to see the comparisons between the individual and single reflectors. In fact, I'm still waiting for somebody to post a link to some hard figures. I mean, there are so many claims about how much more par the individuals have ... over 2 x the par figures as claimed in this thread. There has to be some sort of numbers to back that up. Again, I'm not saying its not possible, just that I havent been able to get the information so I can see for myself.
