Built in fans T5 fixture?

I'm currently in the process of setting up a 90g Oceanic Bowfront w/ canopy. I've been doing a lot of research on lighting and for now I'm set on a 48" 4 x 54 T5 fixture. The feature everyone says is a must have is individual reflectors. Anything else? Also after looking at all the brands out there I've noticed about half come with built in fans and the other half don't. From your experience, do the T5 get hot enough to require a fan or are the fans mostly to cool the bulbs and prolong its life? Please give any input or info you feel would be beneficial. Thanks so much in advance

 

The ballasts still get a little hot so I have installed fans just to get rid of the extra heat because every little bit counts in a hot climate. The only drawback I can see is that you have more evaporation.

 

I agree. Fans do help with the heat but do cause more evap.

 

The other drawback is fans built into T5 fixtures also make noise, but they keep the bulbs/ballasts cooler. The TEK Elite and ATI fixtures have fans that are supposedly pretty quiet.

 

Check out the aquatic life fixtures they run super quiet the reflectors are very good they come with built in lunar lights and they have built in digital timers

 

The fans do get noisy when the run at full speed. I have 12 volt fans connected to a variable A/C adaptor and set it at 6 or 9 volts, this reduces the noise the fans make because they run a little slower but they still draw the warm air out.