T5 bulb life span

[Turtle]

I think this been asked in this forum before but I couldn't find it. Usually how often the bulb need to be replace? A guy on Craiglist want to sell me a 1 year old 8x54w Nova Extreme T5 with lunar lights for $280. The light new sell for $450. He said the bulbs only need to be change every 2 years . It not worth it if I buy the light for $280 and then need to change the bulbs then it will cost almost a new one. So how long do you change your T5 bulbs? TIA

Also, which is better? a used 6 bulbs T5 retro kit for $300 or a brand new 6 bulbs Nova Extreme Pro for $374 shipped.

 

[Bobbofin]

I would go for the Nova Extreme Pro and immediately change a 10,000k and 460nm actinic to 420nm super actinics from UV lighting. That would give you two 10,000k, two 460nm and two 420nm. IT will be aswesome. Then change the bulbs yearly. You'll have an a couple of extra bulbs for next light change. I wouldn't replace bulbs with Current ones, low par but I'd use them for now. It's not a big big differance but enough not buy them as replacements. I'd buy ATI or UV Light.
I am currently running 1-10,000k, 2 UV Lighting 420nm super actinic and a Hagan Marine-Glo 460nm actinic(PetSmart). It looks Awesome! Very bright, good color.

 

[Joel A]

nova's are a POS IMO, i'd go with a retrofit or a tek fixture.

Nova's don't have individual reflectors, aren't actively cooled, and come with junky bulbs.

 

[afboundguy]

Actinics are supposed to have about an 18 month span and daylights 24 months. Take that with a grain of salt as I'll prob change mine earlier than that...

+1 on swapping out the crappy current bulbs to UVL or another brand... Way more PAR!!!

 

[Joel A]

i think PAR of T5 bulbs dramatically decreases after a year or so (not so that they aren't usable, but not as efficient) ... and the drop is even more evident if the bulbs are over driven or not actively cooled. If bulbs are not overdriven, and are actively cooled they should have a solid 18 or so months in them.

 

[Turtle]

Thanks guys.

Anyone else have more opinion of which light I should go with?

 

[JayM]

The crappy bulbs that come in a nova fixture aren't good for more than a year, actively cooled or not.

 

[Joel A]

The crappy bulbs that come in a nova fixture aren't good for more than a year, actively cooled or not.

well i wasn't even taking those into consideration... i was talking about quality bulbs that if he bought the fixture he would hopefully be replacing with.

 

[Rick C]

If I had to choose between the retro or the Nova pro, I'd go retro. Or another idea could be to retro a single halide w/ a couple PC actinics. Good luck with which ever way you decide to go.

 

[number1gsxxr]

I have a nova extreme pro and it has individual reflectors. I've been very happy with it so far. Sure, the bulbs that come with it are pretty crappy but I'll have to live with it until it's time to replace them since I don't have a ton of money.

 

[stevenp]

I've only run T5 and VHO bulbs as actinics. That being said.... IME T5's loose their punch pretty quickly. My T5's lost their punch after 4-5 months of running them 10 hrs/day. I've heard that keeping them cool with a fan will increase their life span but I didn't see much of a difference after installing 2 cooling fans directly on the bulbs.

I ended up switching to VHO's but ran into the same problems. Just seems to me that both T5 and VHO actinics lose their intense fluorescent punch pretty quickly, but I still prefer VHO over T5.

Again, I have no experience with T5's as primary lighting so your mileage may vary. FWIW I'm running x2 48" on an Icecap 660 ballast.

In any event, if the bulbs are 2 yrs old they need to be changed IMO.

 

[Fazulka]

Related to the life span of bulbs - which type of bulb will cause more algae when old? T5 actinic bulbs or 10k MH? I know that one of the first questions asked when people have algae problems is the age of the bulb, but I don't know what is better to replace first.

 

[Shenlung]

I'm arguing against the "Anti-Nova" arguments...my nova came with a single reflector for all 4 bulbs, but it's bent in a way that all 4 bulbs are individually reflected, and it has a fan on it. IIRC, the 6 bulb version has dual cooling fans....so how can anyone say it isn't "individually reflected" and not "actively cooled"? How actively cooled can it get? Water cooling across the ballast?

Granted, you could get better PAR with a custom-built system, but you're never gonna get it at the price Nova charges. Best bang for the buck I've come across yet.

OTOH, I've heard at least one person say that theirs caught fire or fried out or something along those lines, but mine works beautifully. When I get a hold of the light tester, I'll post my numbers with the stock bulbs at 6 months

 

[afboundguy]

I'm arguing against the "Anti-Nova" arguments...my nova came with a single reflector for all 4 bulbs, but it's bent in a way that all 4 bulbs are individually reflected, and it has a fan on it. IIRC, the 6 bulb version has dual cooling fans....so how can anyone say it isn't "individually reflected" and not "actively cooled"?

They're not real individual reflectors they're individual contoured IIRC... IMO a huge difference... If you were to take the Nova "individual" reflector that IIRC is just a single bend and compare it to my SLR individual reflectors that has to have at least 6-10 different bends to maximize the light output into the tank I wouldn't call the Nova's reflectors true individual reflectors... Just my $.02

 

[Shenlung]

Mine have....one sec, I'll count....12 bends for 4 bulbs. It's like this, only upside down: \O/\O/\O/\O/ There's no bends on the end...but there's no light at the end, so it makes no difference to me. As I stated before, Bang for the buck, this fixture does it well, if I had had the funds, I would've gone for something better, but for the reefer on a budget, it gets the job done....just ask my clam

EDIt : You weren't referring to total bends, were you? I just re-read your post and think I misunderstood it initially A full parabolic reflector with multiple bends would make a standard 60w bulb into a sun lamp....worth every penny you spend on one of those things...wish I had the funds/fixture to get those for my setup.

An 8x 54w with lunar lights....which makes the tank a 33L, 40L, 45L, 55, 60, 70, 90, or possibly a 120? that's some pretty good lighting, but a 120 might be pushing it. If it's the 80 or 110 extra high tanks, or possibly even the 120, I'd go with MH, personally. 8x54w is roughly 2w per gallon on a 120, but you're pushing it through almost 26" of water, 23" if you have a DSB.... it'll be fine on the higher end of the rockwork, but you'd be looking at lower light corals down near the sandbed, I would think.

Just my .02¢

 

[KSC]

Don't get caught up in that computer generated "bend" advertising gimmick. The ATI reflectors, which are rated the best t-5 reflector out there, are nothing but a simple U shape.

 

[pvh]

T, I'm running a nova extreme pro with 8 ATI bulbs. This fixture has 2 cooling fans and IMO these are way too bright for what I need. You're welcome to come up to Lowell anytime to see how it looks. I've ran all Current bulbs for about 6 months before and everything still grew and had great color both on my SPS and zoas just the same when I had MH. It really matters what you want to keep and their placement in the tank relative to the light really.

 

[Bobbofin]

I have a Sundial with the timers. It's very nice. The four bulbs for my application are plenty bright. I have it on a 30 cube, 20"wide and 20" deep. There's plenty of light in that tank, corals ARE growing. I run the same set of bulbs B had on the acan tanks up at UA. 1-10,000k, 2-420nm true actinic and 1-460nm actinic blue. My corals have POP! Let's be honest if you're doing a mostly SPS tank you would not even consider T-5HO only unless you had a 40 breeder that's only 16" deep. So for the application these fixtures are meant for, lps and some sps, they fulfill their purpose. I see no differance buying a TEK or a Current. I'd go with the Current and save $100+ and get some decent, although not great bulbs, you can use for a year. My replacement bulbs would not be Current but UV Lighting and ATI. The reflector thing is a non-issue. The reflector is a single piece bent into individual reflectors. The differance between "true" individual refelctors and the one piece is probobly 5%.....who cares!

 

[Turtle]

Thanks everyone for your input. I don't plan to keep alot of sps so I think I'll go with the Nova Extreme Pro.

 

[Joel A]

I'm arguing against the "Anti-Nova" arguments...my nova came with a single reflector for all 4 bulbs, but it's bent in a way that all 4 bulbs are individually reflected, and it has a fan on it. IIRC, the 6 bulb version has dual cooling fans....so how can anyone say it isn't "individually reflected" and not "actively cooled"? How actively cooled can it get? Water cooling across the ballast?

Granted, you could get better PAR with a custom-built system, but you're never gonna get it at the price Nova charges. Best bang for the buck I've come across yet.

OTOH, I've heard at least one person say that theirs caught fire or fried out or something along those lines, but mine works beautifully. When I get a hold of the light tester, I'll post my numbers with the stock bulbs at 6 months

that is called a "contoured" reflector, which is far less efficient than individual reflectors, and it comes with POS bulbs. The 6 bulb version MAY have fans (i don't remember.. i think i remember it NOT having any fans) and either way the fan speed is not controllable like it is on high quality fixtures.

The nova extreme will light your tank.. but the quality fails in comparison to all but the cheapest t5 fixtures.

If you'd like to cheap out on the most important part of a reef tank, than be my guest.. but everything made by Current USA is crap if you ask me.

I can't wait until you post your Nova light ratings with stock bulbs at 6 months and i can compare them to my ATI's fixture with quality bulbs at 6 months...

you'll quickly see where all of the extra money went.


Not saying you can't light a tank with a nova extreme, but if you want to Keep SPS you should opt for a better light.


Edit: FWIW this response was not meant to come off in a harsh matter... i've reread it and i could see how someone might think i was attacking you, which i was not. I was just trying to push the point that a Nova T5 (although it may be pretty good "bang for your buck") fails in comparison to more expensive t5 fixtures... i've done countless hours of research on this one =).

i look at the nova, take the price for the fixture itself.. then add 120 bucks to that price to get yourself some quality bulbs... still cheaper than most lights i suppose, but after adding that in the deal doesn't seem quite as good.