24" T5 lighting system questions

well im going with T5's on my tank, ive missed these lights and cant wait to go back, but i have some questions. My tank is about 20 inches in length, but the only fixtures i can find are 24"... no real biggie to me, just a bit longer. So i guess the first question is, is there any fixture out there anyone knows of that would work in my situation? i am thinking about getting this fixture and maybe replacing the bulbs... anyone reccomend better bulbs? -

24 inch Current USA Nova Extreme 2x24 watt T5 HO 10K/460nm

i was thinking of this fixture, but with how cheap it is i cant really trust the reflectors, ballast, bulbs, and everything else...;D

T5-ho 24" /2 lamp aquarium Light

any info and advise you can give me would be great!!! and if you have any suggestions on sme other types of fixtures that would be cool too, thanks guys!

 

I just bought the Nova 24, and my tank is 20".. What's nice about 24" is that you get full bulb coverage, whereas a 20" fixture, the bulbs are usually 17 to 18" long whereas the 24" fixture has 22" bulbs. So it will cover you whole tank. I just set up my new T5's this morning. They replaced my 20" 80watt Orbit. They are way bright! I was blinded when they kicked on. Go with the new Nova SLR (single Light Reflector). It really will make a difference. It's not actually a true single reflector for each bulb, but one piece shaped to a single reflector form, but it's better then a single German Parabolic reflector.

Aquarium Lighting for Freshwater and Reef Systems: Nova Extreme Compact SLR T-5 Fixtures

You won't be disappointed. I heard UVL bulbs are the best. Marine Depot ships them for free as long as you order 4. I will put up some pics in a few days. all my coral are at the bottom of the tank and to me it's like a messy house.. I don't want anyone to see my #@$%! all over the place.. lol

 

I would also recommend UVL bulbs, I bought mine from tangster, a sponser. I use two white actinics and two super actinics, so if you choose to use those bulbs, you could do one of each. It does give the overall color a more lavender color at first, but once you get used to it, it really makes the coral colors stand out

 

hey aqualung, how much was the shipping and what bulbs came with it?

guitarman - thanks for the suggestions! any cons to those bulbs?

 

My 4 bulb fixture was 169.00.. I found a 10$ off coupon by googling Drs foster and Smith coupon codes.. shipping was 17, but I bought 80$ worth of other stuff. So shippng might be 16$. it came with 2 10k and 2 460 bulbs. For some reason they gave me a free saturday delivery!! I told them I really needed the light, it was supposed to ship last wed, but it shipped thur when they promised wed.. so they gave me a free sat delivery.. freaking awesome!

 

Honestly, not really. They are about the same price as other bulbs and do come in a nice range of wavelengths.