48" Nova SLR T5HO vs. 48" 4x54W Tek Light T5HO fixture...

Is this fixture going on your 55g build (which is going to be sweet, by the way)? If that is the case I would go with the Nova. You can't beat it for the price! I run a Nova 4 bulb extreme on my 75g and love it. It has individual reflectors and built in cooling fans. The cooling fans have a high buzz sound but it's not that bad.

One other nice feature, is that the cooling fans have their own power source. This way you can put them on a timer and leave them on for a while after the lights go out to cool the fixture down.

 

So far sounds like I should stay with getting the Nova! Yes it will be for my 55g. Thanks, 4phish! I'm so excited to get this build started! I was wondering why the nova had 3 cords..that's cool(no pun intended ) that the fan has it's own power cord.

 

front and back bulbs: aquablue actinics middle two: 10,000k's I'll retro-fit some led's later on.

What about a canopy? Can I just have holes on the ends where fans are? I don't know yet if I will have a top on the canopy. If there is a top, then the front will lift up with hinge on top. If there is no top, Then there will be two, 2' x 1' doors, opening outward from the middle.