t-5 HO light fixture recommendation

Hello All,

I'm looking to upgrade my lighting for a 55 gallon tank from PC to t-5 HO. These are the two lights that I'm current looking at:
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/produ...70&pcatid=16770

http://buildyouraquarium.com/catalo...&products_id=67

These might not be the best lights out there, but I'm on a budget. Which of the two light fixture is the better choice (or other recommendations)? Is four 54 watt bulbs enough for a 55 gallon tank? Looking to keep mostly softy corals. Thanks.

 

4x T5's is more than enough for softies in a 55 IMO but I think that its still a good idea since you leave your options open for 6 months down the line when you see that awesome SPS that you just gotta have.

Sorry, don't know much about the actual fixtures, just that they are generally lower end.

 

4, 54w bulbs are enough to keep soft corals and many lps, but I would get good bulbs if you are going to try lps. The nova extreme is alright, I had a Nova extreme before and liked it, but it wasn't enough light for what I wanted to keep. I don't have any experience with the other one.

 

shouldn't the light fixture in the second link be ok for keeping sps corals too? since they have independent reflectors that will triple the intensity of the light.

 

get one of these.. I have the 36" version and I just love it.. With just one plug and an integrated digital timer it is a wonderful unit. It comes with fans, legs, and moonlights which are great to look at..
highly recommended..
AquaticLife T5 HO Light Fixture

 

If you get a decent Al SLR fixture with good lamps, 4 will be good for a 55.
The new Nova Extremes have SLRs like the NEP does. Not the best Al out there but it is better than PC.
I have heard some good things about Aquatic Life, never used them but looked decent when I saw them at the last trade show they debut at.

I would honestly if trying to stay on a budget see if you can swing the NEP, and swap out the lamps as soon as you can, with that you will be able to grow SPS no problem on a 55. If you can find a Extreme with SLRs with 4 lamps you will also have no problem with SPS and LPS will be fine also...

 

So the Nova Extreme SLR fixture would be the the better choice of the two fixtures I was looking at?

 

Honestly I have never personally seen the BYOA lights so I cannot really comment, going off of specs they look decent but can't imagine they are that great at that price. If you price out Miro IV Aluminum right there you get a chunk of the price, add in R&D expenses, equipment to bend the Al and so on it adds up... I guess sometimes in life you have to gamble and sometimes you win, sometimes you lose.

IF you go with it, why not write up a review here on the site and help others?

 

This piece of info is nearly on every T5 fixture. Basically, having a reflector on a T5 bulb will reflect about 300% more light into the aquarium then a plain T5 bulb on its own.

 

reefgeeks.com they have best prices and you get to choose your bulbs