Good deal on T5 fixtures
Printed From: Utah Reefs
Category: Specialized Discussion
Forum Name: Equipment
Forum Description: This is the place to ask question about reef equipment.
URL: http://www.utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=22472
Printed Date: December 15 2025 at 8:32am
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Topic: Good deal on T5 fixtures
Posted By: dkle
Subject: Good deal on T5 fixtures
Date Posted: December 13 2007 at 9:58am
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This is a new line of T5 from Nova extreme, 6 bulbs with individual refectors, 2 separate cords, 2 fans, bulbs included. Only DrsFS has this sale price. They are listed on all other vendors' site with the original price. I think this is an awesome deal and just want to alert those who are on the lookout for a T5 fixture
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=3578+3733+13822+16770&pcatid=16770 - http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=3578+3733+13822+16770&pcatid=16770 ------------- If you can't bedazzle them with your brilliance, baffle them with your bs! Dinhkim Le - Procrastinator extra-ordinare |
Replies:
Posted By: Mike Savage
Date Posted: December 13 2007 at 10:55am
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I see where it says "Nova Extreme T-5 fixtures feature a finely tuned electronic ballast, parabolic reflector" but it does not state "individual reflectors" In the picture it looks like one reflector for all the bulbs. Maybe they are not being clear about this in the ad?
Mike -------------  |
Posted By: dkle
Date Posted: December 13 2007 at 11:05am
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Sorry, I wasn't clear on this. The Nova extreme pro is what I am talking about. They are in the middle part of the list.
Here is the info from the manufacturer
http://www.current-usa.com/nova_extreme_pro - http://www.current-usa.com/nova_extreme_pro ------------- If you can't bedazzle them with your brilliance, baffle them with your bs! Dinhkim Le - Procrastinator extra-ordinare |
Posted By: Mike Savage
Date Posted: December 13 2007 at 11:21am
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You are right! Thanks for the link.
Mike ------------- |
Posted By: CrimsRayne
Date Posted: December 13 2007 at 12:06pm
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Nice. I have been looking at getting one of those for the 180. I hope they stay on sale till I can afford them. Thanks for the links. ------------- "What we know from this hobby is too hard to share with the people who just want to look and not get wet." -Rioreefer "The Puffer Girl" Zoo freak :) West Jordan |
Posted By: bbauman
Date Posted: December 13 2007 at 12:14pm
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I am trying to get one of these. AWESOME prices.
http://search.ebay.com/_W0QQfgtpZ1QQfrppZ25QQsassZfishneeditQQssPageNameZMERCQ5fVICQ5fRCRXQ5fPr4Q5fPcNQ5fQ5fSI - http://search.ebay.com/_W0QQfgtpZ1QQfrppZ25QQsassZfishneeditQQssPageNameZMERCQ5fVICQ5fRCRXQ5fPr4Q5fPcNQ5fQ5fSI ------------- 28g Cube http://www.utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=23030" rel="nofollow - Beginners Guide to Saltwater Aquariums Brandon in West Jordan |
Posted By: Mike Savage
Date Posted: December 13 2007 at 2:44pm
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Individual reflectors really increase the light output. Those fixtures are too narrow to have individual reflectors.
Mike ------------- |
Posted By: bbauman
Date Posted: December 13 2007 at 3:46pm
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I thought the same thing, but you can also make reflectors and use this for a retrofit. That's probably what I'll do. ------------- 28g Cube http://www.utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=23030" rel="nofollow - Beginners Guide to Saltwater Aquariums Brandon in West Jordan |
Posted By: Mike Savage
Date Posted: December 13 2007 at 3:56pm
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Good idea.
Mike ------------- |
Posted By: bbauman
Date Posted: December 13 2007 at 4:09pm
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Mike - do you think that would be a cost effective solution or would it cost just about as much to buy reflectors? (if that is possible) ------------- 28g Cube http://www.utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=23030" rel="nofollow - Beginners Guide to Saltwater Aquariums Brandon in West Jordan |
Posted By: dkle
Date Posted: December 13 2007 at 11:40pm
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I once calculated out the cost of DIY T5 to compare with Tek light cost, and it doesn't really save all that much. You might also have problem putting reflectors in that hood because it is too narrow.
------------- If you can't bedazzle them with your brilliance, baffle them with your bs! Dinhkim Le - Procrastinator extra-ordinare |
Posted By: Mike Savage
Date Posted: December 13 2007 at 11:46pm
I do think you would save some money but also I think the factory bent and polished reflectors are worth the money for the extra light output for the same electricity usage. I don't think the money savings would be worth it to do it yourself.
Mike ------------- |
bbauman wrote:Posted By: GARFVolunteer
Date Posted: December 14 2007 at 12:10am
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Companies spent a lot of money and effort designing reflectors. IMO, it would be very difficult to DIY reflectors that would be as efficient. ------------- President Idaho Marine Aquarium Society A fair and biased reef hobbyist "How do you make poor people rich by making rich people poor" Rush Limbaugh on Obama taxes |
Posted By: dkle
Date Posted: December 18 2007 at 12:06am
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I ended up buying two of the 48'' fixtures (waitlisted really, they are expected to be available on 12/19) for my cousin's and my freshwater planted tank. Let's see if we can burn some plants: 324w of T5 HO with individual refectors for 75g tank. Oh yeah baby!!!!
Anyway, I'll post a review once I receive and set these up. ------------- If you can't bedazzle them with your brilliance, baffle them with your bs! Dinhkim Le - Procrastinator extra-ordinare |
Posted By: Mike Savage
Date Posted: December 18 2007 at 8:22am
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I bet it will do great.
Mike ------------- |
Posted By: dkle
Date Posted: December 27 2007 at 7:59pm
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For those who are interested, here is a thread on reefcentral with some PAR testing and comparison with other fixtures by Grim reefer
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=79ac0e2e5588b8cb11e1202b3e086eff&postid=11467331#post11467331 - http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=79ac0e2e5588b8cb11e1202b3e086eff&postid=11467331#post11467331
It seems to perform as well as the Tek fixture, which cost 120 bucks more for a 48'' fixture. However, it sounds like if you put a fan across the top, the Tek fixture becomes the better performer.
------------- If you can't bedazzle them with your brilliance, baffle them with your bs! Dinhkim Le - Procrastinator extra-ordinare |
Posted By: Mike Savage
Date Posted: December 27 2007 at 8:07pm
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Thanks for the link Dinhkim.
Mike ------------- |
Posted By: dkle
Date Posted: December 28 2007 at 1:57pm
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I just spoke with DrsFostersmith today. The fixtures should be shipped out within the next few days. Premiumaquatics.com also have them in stock with similar prices (maybe a few bucks more expensive). ------------- If you can't bedazzle them with your brilliance, baffle them with your bs! Dinhkim Le - Procrastinator extra-ordinare |
Posted By: jeffras
Date Posted: December 28 2007 at 2:07pm
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Do you have any idea which brand of bulbs these will come with? Edit: Nevermind. Found it: SlimPaq ------------- Jeff Rasmussen |
Posted By: dkle
Date Posted: December 28 2007 at 2:51pm
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In the link provided above to the thread on reefcentral, Grim reefer also tested the performance of the Slimpaq bulbs against the more established ones. The result was pretty comparable. However, he stated that 1. the combination (three 10k three actinics) of the original bubls looks awful (I assumed that he meant esthetically, but awful how? I don't know), 2. even though the initial PAR is comparable, nobody knows how they hold up in the long run (maybe JUST a little bit of bias here on Grim's part  ).------------- If you can't bedazzle them with your brilliance, baffle them with your bs! Dinhkim Le - Procrastinator extra-ordinare |
Posted By: jeffras
Date Posted: December 28 2007 at 3:09pm
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Looks like a good light for the money if you *want* a fixture. After looking at this I would suggest against retro fitting the fixture. I was going to do it with a tek fixture that was very similar in design. Here are the problems that I had. Looks like the same issues with this fixture. *The reflector is a single piece of bent metal. You would need to cut it up if you wanted to move the bulbs around. *The endcaps are not waterproof!!! Brandon, If you are going to mount these lights in a hood then I would part it all together. Funny as it might sound, the SLRs are the most expensive part of a t5ho setup (and IMO the most important). Decent reflectors run $20-$40. I just looked up my order at diyreef for my 8 light setup and my total for 9 bulbs (UVL, Geismann, ATI, and GE), 5 reflectors, and 8 waterproof endcaps with mounting brackets: just under $400 shipped. The only thing I didn't purchase through them was the workhorse 7 ballasts which you can get locally for about $38 (I already had them). ------------- Jeff Rasmussen |
Posted By: bbauman
Date Posted: December 28 2007 at 4:47pm
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cool, thanks Jeffras! My wife actually bought me one of these fixtures for Christmas before I had even finished telling her I liked the price. lol It actually looks pretty good on the tank! ------------- 28g Cube http://www.utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=23030" rel="nofollow - Beginners Guide to Saltwater Aquariums Brandon in West Jordan |
Posted By: chk4tix
Date Posted: December 30 2007 at 3:41pm
Do you have a pic of it on your tank. retch2k just bought one for her 65g tank. I think it will workout just fine for what she wants to do with that tank. ------------- Original Crappy Reef Club Member #2 |
Posted By: bbauman
Date Posted: December 30 2007 at 9:49pm
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Sure... I'll take an "after" pic tomorrow and put it up with the "before" I'm pretty pleased with it. ------------- 28g Cube http://www.utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=23030" rel="nofollow - Beginners Guide to Saltwater Aquariums Brandon in West Jordan |
Posted By: bbauman
Date Posted: January 01 2008 at 11:59pm
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http://gallery.utahreefs.com/main.php?g2_view=core.ShowItem&g2_itemId=156928&g2_navId=x38e7c55f - http://gallery.utahreefs.com/main.php?g2_view=core.ShowItem&g2_itemId=156928&g2_navId=x38e7c55f
Here you go Keith. If you want more pictures, I can put more up for comparison but this is it with the t5's on. ------------- 28g Cube http://www.utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=23030" rel="nofollow - Beginners Guide to Saltwater Aquariums Brandon in West Jordan |
Posted By: bbauman
Date Posted: January 02 2008 at 12:03am
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Lights in the room off and flash off.
http://gallery.utahreefs.com/main.php?g2_view=core.ShowItem&g2_itemId=156932&g2_navId=x38e7c55f - http://gallery.utahreefs.com/main.php?g2_view=core.ShowItem&g2_itemId=156932&g2_navId=x38e7c55f ------------- 28g Cube http://www.utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=23030" rel="nofollow - Beginners Guide to Saltwater Aquariums Brandon in West Jordan |
Posted By: chk4tix
Date Posted: January 02 2008 at 7:20am
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Thanks Brandon, those look great. it doesnt look like there is any problem of the t5 lights reaching the bottom of the tank as I have read on some forums. How many bulb fixture did you end up using?
I believe Rachel gets her lights today and I hope they look as nice as yours do. ------------- Original Crappy Reef Club Member #2 |
Posted By: bbauman
Date Posted: January 02 2008 at 8:56am
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Thanks, Keith. I hope she'll be happy with them too. The fixture I purchased was the 5 foot 2 bulb.
http://www.fishneedit.com/t5ho-5ft--2lamp-aquarium-light.html - http://www.fishneedit.com/t5ho-5ft--2lamp-aquarium-light.html ------------- 28g Cube http://www.utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=23030" rel="nofollow - Beginners Guide to Saltwater Aquariums Brandon in West Jordan |
Posted By: dkle
Date Posted: January 13 2008 at 12:04am
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My review of this fixture: 1. The reflector is basically one big piece of reflective aluminum that is bent to create individual cover for each bulbs. So it is not as nice as the real Icecap or Tek reflectors; but still reflect lights well. The full 6 bulbs when turned on are blindingly bright. 2. I particularly like the acrylic cover that can pull out and put back in without having to undo any screws. This makes the cleaning and bulbs changing much easier. 3. The fans are very quiet, which are always a plus. 4. It comes with legs that are very well designed. Overall, I am pretty pleased with this purchase. ------------- If you can't bedazzle them with your brilliance, baffle them with your bs! Dinhkim Le - Procrastinator extra-ordinare |
Posted By: Mike Savage
Date Posted: January 13 2008 at 12:33am
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Thanks for the review Dinhkim. Mike ------------- |