Odd shaped 70g

I have a 41Wx18Dx24H 70 gallon and am ready to upgrade lighting as I transition into corals. I have read many informative threads on T5 lighting and now have a basic understanding...thanks to everyone. I'm wondering if the Nova Extreme Pro 6x39 will be enough for my depth. I'll start with soft corals, but would eventually like to work up to SPS. I know the TEK unit is better....just a little out of my price range right now.

 

Save your money for the tek. your corals will love you for it

 

i would either go with tek(with its great reflectors) or get 8 bulb fixture so its closer to 4watts per gallon since you want sps

 

How's your Tek?;D
If you want best look into Aquactinics, better Aluminum, fans and come with splash shields and so on....
The NEP will be enough depending on what you want to do... AND the kicker, will you upgrade that light anytime soon?
Too many people quickly get a light only to upgrade in a year or so. What will you do with a light that will have little to no resale value.

What budget do you have to work with?

 

Thanks for all the responses...However, I don't want to save up for the TEK...I want the light now...actually I wanted it 5 minutes ago. I purchased a cheap protein skimmer and ended up upgrading in 2 months to an Octopus. I don't want to "upgrade" lighting. I was hoping the NEP with good bulbs would be enough. As far as a budget is concerned...ballpark of about $500.....this hobby sure is spendy. Maybe I should just bite the bullet and get the better light.

Will the NEP just not promote good growth & coloration, or just not what the purists would consider good growth & coloration?

 

it wont put out enough light for good growth of sps, which like very high light. your tank is odd shaped like you said. its not the amount of bulbs its the amount of p.a.r(but par is very messy as it varies alot upon bulb so we go by wattage). you want 4wpg of high power lighting for sps(high power lighting is t5ho(with great reflectors) or metal halide). you could by that fixture you mentioned but i dont think you will get the growth you want if you decide to do sps.

 

Ok, byrodoc...
You answered your own question.... You said you bought a cheap skimmer only to upgrade it a few months later....Do you REALLY want to buy a $300 light only to upgrade it? I say you should have some patience and get a better light, not only because it is simply a better light with better components but most people I have seen with the NEP either upgrade or want to upgrade.
Its not about "purists" and colors of corals, light isn't the ONLY factor as far as color, nutrients will probably brown a coral faster than lack of light. What the "purists" are saying is the NEP has inferior components, such as the aluminum for the reflectors, the TYPE of reflectors, the shape of them and so on....
What they are saying is you will be getting more bang for your buck with a better light. Esp when you will need to swap out the Current lamps for something better as they aren't a very good lamp, they aren't really even a decent lamp.
So taking into consideration that you will most likely upgrade, at least the lamps, the Tek is probably more appealing now.... If you are on a budget I wouldn't take the time to look into the Aquactinics as they are significantly more than the Tek, BUT you get what you pay for!!

Good luck!

 

I would say wattage is messier to deal with than PAR.... just my opinion.
I only have 3 something WPG on my tank and I am growing SPS on the sandbed.

 

Alright..alright..I should just buck up and get the better light. I'll place an order for a TEK this weekend. Do my requirements for bulbs change with my given depth?? I just can't do top of the line bulbs...was thinking about ATI bulbs..Would 3 420 actinic and 3 10K work??

 

wpg is probably just as messy your right, but i dont see any places that list the par values of different fixtures with different bulb combonations, i would be all for par or ppfd if you know a site that will list the values for t5s, like sanjays for halide.

do you know one because that would be pretty awesome if you did?