Hey all here's an update for anyone looking to purchase lights.

[marami]

Thanks for your welcome... YES!! they are really bright... I can't compare them vs VHO because I don't own one of those... but I can't stare directly at them... it hurts my eyes!! I have just finished the cycling of my thank... and now I'm goign to shot for a couple of Clown Fishes... but what do you mean by Soft corals?? LPS and SPS can't be mantained with this light???

Thanks for you answer!!

[FragOutpost]

Welcome to Frag Outpost marami!

Most soft corals are able to adapt to almost any level of light, particularly lower light levels and still sustain good growth. I have seen nice SPS tanks lit only by T5's, but these tanks are usually a little on the shallow side and the canopy is packed full of T5's. One good aspect about T5's is that they are a smaller diameter bulb which allows for more bulbs to be able to fit above your tank. I would think that you should be able to sustain SPS corals in your tank with these bulbs, but I would keep the corals as close to the light source as you can.

Good luck with your tank, marami. Please post some photos sometime.

[marami]

Thanks for the reply FragOutpost, in fact the reasons I don't want to use the MH are 2:

1. The generate a lot more heat than th T5
2. They look horrible!!

Thanks for the input and I'll be posting some pics later... In what part can I do this???

Thanks!!

[FragOutpost]

Yeah the halides do put out some heat, that's for sure.

Originally Posted by marami

In what part can I do this???

What do you mean, post photos?
Just use the "manage attachments" button below the textarea input field and you can upload up to 5 images at a time.

[D12monkey]

Originally Posted by marami

They look horrible!!

I guess that's all a matter of opinion

[FragOutpost]

I was surprised to see that my LFS stocks the Nova retrofits and bulbs so I purchased a 28 watt 48" retrofit with a 460nm bulb. So far I am pleased with the fixture. It doesn't put out very much heat at all compared to VHO's.

[D12monkey]

That shield drowns out a lot of the light. Take it off and use the exposed bulb adapter over the bulb sockets. That'll increase the light output quite a bit.

[D12monkey]

Ohh and a quick update on my lights. I've accidentally dropped my lights into my tank 3 times already and rinsed them with fresh water and let them dry and have not had the bulb nor the fixture burn out on me. Nice feature.

[FragOutpost]

Thanks for the tip. I have removed the shield and installed the end covers instead. Glad to hear that your lights are still working after being dropped in the water. I might get another fixture sometime if this one holds up well.