Have a lighting question.

Ok well we are looking at upgrading the lights on the reef tank. Right now we are running 3 t-8's 18" bulbs (not much light at all). Now we are looking at 2 options, option number one is a Power compact 2x65 watt setup one with the dual actinic bulbs and the other with the dual daylight 6500k/10000k bulbs. Now we like this option as the light output seems alot higher than the t-5 setups we have found. The other setup is a 4x24 watt t-5 fixture each bulb would get its own reflector.

Now the conundrum in all this is the awkward size of the tank. It is a 45 gallon tall tank its 20"x20"x30". So the 24" fixture is about the only size we can use on this. The ends will stick off which will be my reason to opt for a fixture with legs so i can raise it up and get the extra range.
Now the 2 we are looking at are the Nova Extreme 4x24 24" setup and the Coralife Aqualife 2x65 24" fixture. MH is not an option at this time.

 

Go with the T-5s & be sure it has individual reflectors.

 

+1 on the T5s, less energy, more light output, change bulbs less, no brainer.

 

Yes i would definitely have the individual reflectors. The thing that was getting to me was the whole WPG thing. Right after i posted i took a look at the sticky's on here and was reading on the way the reflectors actually work. THe way i was looking at it was 96watts vs 130 watts.

Ok now the search begins for a nice T-5 fixture that can handle 4 bulbs. Now another question ive read about the ballast overdrive, where can i get these ballast from.