lighting help

ncompany

AC Members
May 2, 2007
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i have a 55 fowlr but wanting to upgrade lighting to keep corals was looking at the current nova extreme pro 1081 or current nova extreme t5ho. the first one has 324 watts and the second 432 watts. didnt know which one would be better or if the second would be over kill. the second one says that it has 24 hour lighting where as the first i cant find anything on it that says 24 hour lighting. any help would be great even other suggestions for lights in the same price range.
 
324W over a 55 seems way excessive to me. I think you may be raising the temp dramatically too. Others will chime in I'm sure.
 
from what i have gathered a general rule of thumb is 4 watts per gallon. 324 would be a little less than 6. if that was the case would 216 be enough. i hve found lights in that watt range but then i think that i would be limited to what i could have
 
the marineland t5ho is very cheap and is 216 watts it's what i have over my 55 the price is right, but it doesn't have individual reflectors.
 
You will actually (probably) get a bit more light with the lesser wattage fixture. My reasoning--the Pro actually has individual reflectors, whereas the other does not. If it doesn't have more light, it is likely equal (and less electricity).
 
the 55 gallon tank is a very tall tank so if you want to keep stoney's the more light
the better

Brian
 
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