I need help in picking the right T5 fixture for my 40 build. I was looking into the nova extreme pro but want to just explore all my avenues. Thanks guys!

The Nova Pro is a good light but I personally think, for some more cash, and ATI Sunpower or Powermodule will do you much better in the long run. These aren't cheap by any standard, but I'd bet the 4 tube Sunpowers can put out as much light as the 6-tube Nova Extreme. You can get either from ReefGeek for around $400-500 with bulbs. Powermodule is the best but mostly b/c of the better cooling fans.

You can also save some cash and get nearly the same performance by getting the AquaIllumination retro kits if you are able to build a canopy/hood to enclose them in.

I looked at the ATI and see that they are more expensive and less wattage due to less amount of bulbs. If i got the 6 bulb ATI it would be the same price as buying another nova extreme. How would they produce more light than the Nova?

+1 on the ati fixture. the best in T5 lighting. Better to spend your money the right way before ending up regreting. Some other quality T5 fixture/brands are:sunlight supply tek light/elite tek light, aquaillumination(icecap)48" T5 fixtures, Aquactinic fixtures. If you p[lan to go Retro, give reefgeek a call or eamil asking them about retros for the ATIs.

A lot has to do with the high quality reflectors, ballast as well as active cooling.

What type of corals do you plan on keeping? I have the NEP on my 40br. The stock bulbs color sucks IMO. I changed my bulbs out after two months. Some say you only need a good four bulb fixture unless your going all SPS.
3 ATI-39W ATI 39W Blue Plus T5 HO Fluorescent
1 ATI-39W-S ATI 39W 12000K Aquablue Special T5 HO Fluorescent
1 UV-F39T5-ATW UV Lighting 36" 39w T5 Actinic WHITE Lamp
1 GE0003 GE 39W 6500K Daylight

Clams and SPS an some LPS but mostly SPS. I guess what my problem is I don't understand how the ATI 4 bulb fixture is better than a NEP 6 bulb.

ATI reflectors are literally so much better than the novas reflectors that when combined with much better active cooling you get more light out of an ATI 4 bulb fixture than a NEP 6 bulb.

With T5HO, the quality of the reflectors makes a really big difference in the amount of PAR that reaches the tank.
I agree that a 4 bulb ATI fixture would put out as much PAR as a 6 bulb Nova.
For the livestock you want to keep in your tank, a 4 bulb ATI Sunpower, a 5 bulb Aquactinics fixture or a 6 bulb Nova fixture would all work.
Here's a link for the Aquactinics fixture: http://premiumaquatics.com/store/merchant....ode=Aquactinics
That's what masterbuilder, Tigahboy and divecj all have over their tanks.
Volupte79 on here should have a used 36" Aquactinics fixture available f/s soon.

Precisely .


Neither fixture actually makes the bulb produce more light. But in the Nova Pro (which IS a good fixture that WILL work fine for you) the light that's made by the bulbs gets poorly reflected compared to the ATI fixture.

Here's a good example. When Sanjay tests halide bulbs, he tests them without a reflector. They usually give him around 40-70ppfd in PAR.

Now put a good reflector on them, and the PAR values literally jump by 4-8 times the amount of light (ie, to 400 or 700ppfd).


The light collected by the reflectors and re-focused back down into the tank makes a fixture dramatically more effective.

I bought the ATI Sunpower 4x39 watt, and I couldn't be happier. You can get more bulb combos with a 6 bulb fixture, but the 4 bulb combo I'm using is perfect for how I want it to look.

I would get the Tek over the ATI and here is why: price. I also think that most people who setup a 40B decide after a while they want more tank, and most people who can devote 3 feet to a tank can devote 4, so they upgrade to a 55,75,90,120 and then have to buy a 4 foot fixture. The Tek is lower priced so you will take less of a hit on resale, and it selling for cheaper will open yourself up to more potential buyers.

having said all that, if you are SURE you are going to stay with the 40B, get the ATI.

I Like the ATI powermodule with the 4 bulbs. I was interested in laying out the extra money for the six bulb fixture but it wouldn't come with the bulbs. Not a big deal to me as I don't have the tank set up and I'm just accumulating equipment right now. With that being said: Should i go with the 4 bulb ATI Powermodule with bulbs or 6 ATI powermodule without bulbs?

That will mostly depend on whether you think you'll upgrade to a bigger tank in the future that would use the same fixture (ie, a deeper or wider tank).

The 6 bulb fixtures give you a lot more room for bulb combinations and you can generally get more interesting color out of them, plus some more PAR output.


The downside is that it's another $40-50 a year to re-lamp and another two bulbs of electricity (not a big deal).

If you can afford the 6 bulb, and it's not too wide for your tank, then it may be the way to go.


Otherwise you'd be just fine with the 4 bulb.

6 bulb, you can tweak the colors so much better

+1

You can also run just the middle 4 bulbs if it's too strong for the LPS.
The SunPower has practically identical output if you want to save a few dollars.

L Ike te powermodule for it's cooling so I'm sorta stuck with it. Nice output while runnin cool I'm in. Anyone know where to get JUST the fixture? I checked reefgeek dot com they seem to e the lowest place I could find.

Reefgeek is a great choice, especially for their bulb selection.

What are your thoughts on a TEK fixture? I know it seems funny coming from the ATI but I'm interested in this fixture as well and for half the price I could get the top of the line bulbs for it.

tons of people love the Tek fixture, they are just a lower option ATI. I think with a 6 bulb fixture I would just go with the Tek Elite.

Is there a fixture in between the TEK and the ATI?

The Aquactinics Constellation and TX5 fixtures probably fit that description. I'm curious to see how the Tek Elites stack up against ATI and Aquactinics.

Go with the 4 bulb. Thats more than enough light for a 24 gallon tank.

Dude, the title even says it, it's a 40B, 36" tank. What are you talking about

+1. I think master builder has one of those.

The constellation comes in only a 48" and a 72". But with both of those the 48 comes with 7X54W and the 72 holds up to 14X39W. That is an insane bulb expense but I do wonder if it is overall worth it because thats pretty ridiculous amount of bulbs and power.

The TX5 comes in the 36" that I need but I'm unsure how well it is and would like to know if anyone has any details on them?

Any other fixtures worth looking into what about the ATI sunpower any ideas on just getting one of those? Would that be my best bet rather than the powermodule?

Tigahboy's 35g with TX5.

Its desiscion time: TEK Elite 6 Bulb or the ATI Powermodule 4 bulb.

Pick.

Tek 6 Bulb, you going to hang it or use feet?

Any other opinions?

This is a hard choice! More bulbs would be better, but the ATI fixtures are very high quality. Maybe you should get a TX5.

How're the TX5 reflectors comparatively to the TEK 6 bulb. I'm guessing the ATI are superior but only the 4 bulb combination is what I feel I would NEED.

TEK 6 bulb if you want more choice of colour combinations.

ATI 4 bulb if you want the best fixture money can buy.

Reckon PAR will be similar for both fixtures.

Have you checked out DaveFason's tank?

Same depth and height as a 40 breeder but only 30 inches long. Running a 4x24w ATI SunPower to grow LPS/SPS.

Just in case you wanted to see, I bought a used nova extreme unit a couple days ago. This is what the reflectors look like now (kinda hard to see, but the reflector curves around each bulb, almost level with the lowest point of the bulb if u know what i mean):



the novas are much cheaper now, just in case money was in issue.

Might be a little late, but a canopy + retro fit is my vote. 6x39W 36"

I have the Nova, chopped to fit in my canopy. Gonna give MH a run and see how it goes.
Only reason....got it basically for free. 2x 150w radium 20k.

Back to the 6x39W. I run my 40B on a 9 hour cycle.
2bulbs two hours - other 4 kick in for 4 hours (so all 6 are running)- then back to the 2 for 3 hours.

so I have 2 bulbs running 9 hours with the other 4 running mid cycle...follow me?

had to do this as I bleached a few sps. 6x39W can be a LOTTA light.

If the MH thing doesn't work out as planned, I'll be going retrofit 6x39W 36"

ATI Blue +
AquaSun
ULV Super Atinic

^Bulbs I have used and like

best-o-luck

I say go for ATI. trust me, I've used a 6 bulb tek before and its good but i'm sure an ATI can top it off. Liek they say, you get your moeny's worth. You buy an ATI, decide to sell it later on the road for a downgrade/upgrade, your bound to get more for it than the tek. Just look at the vortech powerheads that gain a lot more money used compared to other brand poweheads that lose a lot of value afterwards.

IMO, go for the ATI, no regrets knowing you got the best of the best.

So I've decided to go with the 6 bulb ATI I figure the investment will pay itself off in enjoyment alone let alone having prime lighting for a few years to come. Thanks for all the replies I really appreciate and took into consideration everyones view.

Now, What bulbs to get? I for a weird reason am into the blueish tint for this setup. That's all I know for now.

I'm very happy for the decision you made. think its the best you could have made.
I am also into the blue color. I'd like to suggest buying your light from reefgeek since they have great prices on fixturew/bulb combos.

maybe 3 ATI blue+, 1 kz fiji purple, 1 uvl super actinic, 1 ATI aqua blue special?
This is what i did with my 6 bulb fixture a while ago. It was a light blue color.

Can any other people weigh in with any advice of bulb choice now that I have settled on the ATI 6 Bulb Powermodule.

As Always thanks for the opinions.

40 breeder? I would be worried about it having too much power on a breeder.

How do you like this fixure so far?

I figured that too, I would most likely hang the fixture and adjust it if needed. Also I don;t plan on using all 6 bulbs at once until either its fully stocked and I can acclimate the corals to the full light potential or most likely run them 2 hours on 6 bulb 10 Hours on 4 bulbs and maybe an hour? or 2? of Actinics. I still havent figured that out fully yet as I don't have the tank filled even. I'm placing the order for the light this week and tomorrow will be picking up my new MP40 for this tank.

Does that plan seem unreasonable?

You should be fine with all the bulbs on, especially if you can hang the fixture. I'm not sure if ATI provides a hanging kit, but there are ones available at either hardware or online (aquarium light) vendors. Use the T5HO information thread here and the T5 Q&A thread on reefcentral.com. A warning for the RC: this thread gets hundreds of posts in a week, making it difficult to find current advice. It's best to just try to find the last few pages of the thread and search for posts on 6 bulb combo recommendatoins by "the grim reefer". The RC search feature is rarely operational.