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

[D12monkey]

Here's my recommendation after purchasing these new lights..... FORGET ALL OTHERS unless you plan on keeping Small Polyp Stonies (SPS). These are by far the brightest lights I've seen on any tank or displays. It's the T5 lights by Current USA... These are called T5 Nova lights... I have purchased 2 10,000K fixtures and 1 Blue actinic fixture for $21.00 each at my Local Fish Supplier and it's almost as bright as my 250W Metal Halide and the 300W blue Actinic Very High Output (VHO) lights. I mean these lights are bright. You just don't get that nice ripple effect on the tank. I'm gonna be replacing all my Power Compact (PC) lights and VHOs. These new light also produce minimal heat and the light outpost I this is almost if not more than twice the ammount that VHOs and PCs produce. Plus it's cheaper!!!!

These lights are Godsent!

Now the catch... I've heard from my LFS, which is very reliable, that these fixtures and bulbs have a 50/50 faliure rate from the manufacture so I don't recommend buying online. Go to your LFS and test the light before purchasing.

[FragOutpost]

Sounds like a good deal.
Did you say the manufacturer is Current USA? I haven't heard of them before.
How do the actinics compare to VHO actinics?
What kind of ballast are you running them on? Workhorse 5 or 7?
I was looking around online for those now that you mention them and it seems like they come as a retorfit fixture, right? Is the whole fixture $21 or just the bulbs? I'll have to ask my lfs about them.
Thanks for the heads up.
Keep us updated on how they work out for you and how your corals respond, growth rates, etc.

[D12monkey]

$21 is for the whole fixture. Ballast and bulb. They can be ran inline with each other up to 10 fixtures on one power cord. Will provide reports further down the line. No more tons of wires to run into a power strip. They also make chillers and other lights. The orbit light is a current usa light. The prime chillers are current usa items. Here's the link to there website Current USA

And As far as the actinics, they are a crisper blue, brings out more color than the VHOs I have.

[FragOutpost]

That is pretty cool how they can be daisy-chained together like that requiring only one power cord. Looks like a great buy. What wattage and length lamps did you get for $21? Does each one come with the short connecting cord to connect to the lamp next to it, or do you need to buy those separate?

[D12monkey]

I bought the 24 in fixtures to go over my 30 gal reef. They come with a short cord for zig-zagging the light and an inlight to butt them up against each other. They also provide with 2 different mounting systems and with anchors. Nothing else is needed to purchase seperately unless you wish to buy a different mounting brace.

[D12monkey]

Ohh and for wattage.... the ones I bought are 14 wat and they put out more light than my 75W VHOs and 65W PCs.