T5 fixture for the Nuvo 20 ?

[Angel_V_the_reefer]

That is what i am using in my picture

2 ati blue plus 1 coral plus 1 actinic

Oh wow that’s really nice brother ! I may buy these eventually! I won’t get coral until may , I may just stick with the schedule chlorinated gave me for a few months and once save up on my budget I’ll perhaps buy these and creat a hybrid. Thanks again!

 

[A. grandis]

The ATI fixtures have a nice cooling system designed to provide a better efficiency and get more out of the bulbs. It is made for salt water aquarium use and therefore won't rust like those Amazon fixtures, lasting much longer and with an amazing customer service from ATI USA. Also has a lens to protect the bulbs of splashes and such. We pay for what we get, as always. Are you going to be in this hobby for only a year or two? My ATI fixture is 10+ years old and it will probably outlive my kids. LOL!
If you want to get a disposable T5 fixture get the Amazon one and just be careful. Keep in mind it will be over a reef tank and it's not designed for that purpose. That will still be better than LEDs IMO.

 

[Juka087]

The ATI fixtures have a nice cooling system designed to provide a better efficiency and get more out of the bulbs. It is made for salt water aquarium use and therefore won't rust like those Amazon fixtures, lasting much longer and with an amazing customer service from ATI USA. Also has a lens to protect the bulbs of splashes and such. We pay for what we get, as always. Are you going to be in this hobby for only a year or two? My ATI fixture is 10+ years old and it will probably outlive my kids. LOL!
If you want to get a disposable T5 fixture get the Amazon one and just be careful. Keep in mind it will be over a reef tank and it's not designed for that purpose. That will still be better than LEDs IMO.

The ati is just.... insanely overpriced... people have used the amazon fixtures for many years. Tidal gardens actually has a video on them as well. The whole ati thing is just....elitist. its a t5 bulb... it just has to turn on, and turn off.

 

[Angel_V_the_reefer]

The ATI fixtures have a nice cooling system designed to provide a better efficiency and get more out of the bulbs. It is made for salt water aquarium use and therefore won't rust like those Amazon fixtures, lasting much longer and with an amazing customer service from ATI USA. Also has a lens to protect the bulbs of splashes and such. We pay for what we get, as always. Are you going to be in this hobby for only a year or two? My ATI fixture is 10+ years old and it will probably outlive my kids. LOL!
If you want to get a disposable T5 fixture get the Amazon one and just be careful. Keep in mind it will be over a reef tank and it's not designed for that purpose. That will still be better than LEDs IMO.

Well I’m 18, about to start college very soon (community so I’ll be living at home) I do plan on maintaining this hobby while I’m in college, not sure what after college has for me but I plan on sticking with this hobby for as long as I can imagine haha I’ve always loved the aquatic hobby, I love only owned freshwater and I still do but saltwater really gives new sentiment haha.

 

[Angel_V_the_reefer]

The ati is just.... insanely overpriced... people have used the amazon fixtures for many years. Tidal gardens actually has a video on them as well. The whole ati thing is just....elitist. its a t5 bulb... it just has to turn on, and turn off.

I have to agree with you brother, as of right now I’m only going to start my cycle but I don’t plan on having lights on until I get corals (could I run lights at a super low intensity while I only have fish?) once I get corals I’ll probably buy the fixture as honestly is a very good price point, and convert it into a hybrid.

 

[Steven Garland]

The ReefBrite Supra quad fixture is just wide enough 10" wide and work perfect. Or you could do the 2 bulb supra and put a led bar down the middle. ReefBrite,ReefBreeders,Orphek,SBReefLights,or DIY would be perfect.

One single prime is just not going to cut it.

HomeDepot has 4 bulb fixtures for $75,then add bulbs for $100. So under $200 is not bad what so ever for a light. If you REALLY wanted to push the light,get 2 ATI ballasts and swap the stock ones.

T5's is really the best anyways,especially for biggers tanks. My next tank will be long enough for t5's. I'm over the led life lol.

 

[Juka087]

I have to agree with you brother, as of right now I’m only going to start my cycle but I don’t plan on having lights on until I get corals (could I run lights at a super low intensity while I only have fish?) once I get corals I’ll probably buy the fixture as honestly is a very good price point, and convert it into a hybrid.

Well id buy that fixture. Then when ready buy a 24" reefbrite. Im so crazy i literally did with a nuvo 10.

The ReefBrite Supra quad fixture is just wide enough 10" wide and work perfect. Or you could do the 2 bulb supra and put a led bar down the middle. ReefBrite,ReefBreeders,Orphek,SBReefLights,or DIY would be perfect.

One single prime is just not going to cut it.

HomeDepot has 4 bulb fixtures for $75,then add bulbs for $100. So under $200 is not bad what so ever for a light. If you REALLY wanted to push the light,get 2 ATI ballasts and swap the stock ones.

T5's is really the best anyways,especially for biggers tanks. My next tank will be long enough for t5's. I'm over the led life lol.

It really is great. I just miss the fluorescence

 

[kev.2013]

I have to agree with you brother, as of right now I’m only going to start my cycle but I don’t plan on having lights on until I get corals (could I run lights at a super low intensity while I only have fish?) once I get corals I’ll probably buy the fixture as honestly is a very good price point, and convert it into a hybrid.

My 2 cents.

buy once, cry once. I’d recommend not going the cheaper route, as it can often cause you to have to rebuy sooner.

 

[Steven Garland]

Everything T5's offer I miss compared to leds. The more natural look of corals,the size of polyps (zoa wise and acan's) I had. My z's and p's and acan's used to be so much bigger compared to leds. I always have felt like led'ers always try to put down t5's for their heat,bulb replacement cost,efficiency ect ect but man they are truly amazing.

I have always built my own led lights,because I keep pico's and well I am not spending $400+ for something like a Radion. But my Prime,I have just not been happy with the spectrum. Another reason I build my own.

With lights like Prime's being so small,you need 2 to just get "enough" coverage and I feel like 3 for proper coverage.

 

[Angel_V_the_reefer]

Everything T5's offer I miss compared to leds. The more natural look of corals,the size of polyps (zoa wise and acan's) I had. My z's and p's and acan's used to be so much bigger compared to leds. I always have felt like led'ers always try to put down t5's for their heat,bulb replacement cost,efficiency ect ect but man they are truly amazing.

I have always built my own led lights,because I keep pico's and well I am not spending $400+ for something like a Radion. But my Prime,I have just not been happy with the spectrum. Another reason I build my own.

With lights like Prime's being so small,you need 2 to just get "enough" coverage and I feel like 3 for proper coverage.

Yes I’m convinced I’ll buy a fixture once I get corals, I used to believe t5’s were equally beneficial as LEDs but once I ran into the issue of a single prime perhaps not being as powerful for the nuvo 20, I researched and found the holy grail that every new reefer like me probably misses, the superiority of the t5 haha. After seeing the polyp sizes of corals under t5’s I was not surprised as to why man reefers still prefer t5 over LEDs I wish I would’ve known when I first got into my research.

 

[Steven Garland]

The way I look at it,if you have enough money to have a super nice done up reef,why are you worried about changing bulbs once a year lol ?

T5's to me personally make a reef tank's and coral's look more natural. I also think the phosphor's used in t5's are better thsn what leds put out ,thus creating a better look tank and coral.

I also feel like you are basically able to MAKE a coral look good with leds,while T5's naturally make tanks look good with no effort.

My zoa's/acan's looked 10x better under t5's. They looked healthier,were more full [my acan's were an easy 1"-1.5" with t5 and about .5-.75" with leds].

I hate that companies never kept the smaller 10"-18" t5 fixtures around or else thats all I would use honestly.

Leds you can play with too much. T5's all you can do is raise or lower the fixture or change bulbs lol.

Yeah,companies like ATI,Giesmann make top notch fixtures but you don't need those to have an amazing tank. So don't listen to all the crap. Off brand t5's are just fine. If you are that hell bent on efficiency,swap ballasts. I used a FishNeedIt 4 bulb t5,with 2 ballasts for 4 bulbs and it worked amazing. It grew everything even light demanding acro's.

 

[Angel_V_the_reefer]

The way I look at it,if you have enough money to have a super nice done up reef,why are you worried about changing bulbs once a year lol ?

T5's to me personally make a reef tank's and coral's look more natural. I also think the phosphor's used in t5's are better thsn what leds put out ,thus creating a better look tank and coral.

I also feel like you are basically able to MAKE a coral look good with leds,while T5's naturally make tanks look good with no effort.

My zoa's/acan's looked 10x better under t5's. They looked healthier,were more full [my acan's were an easy 1"-1.5" with t5 and about .5-.75" with leds].

I hate that companies never kept the smaller 10"-18" t5 fixtures around or else thats all I would use honestly.

Leds you can play with too much. T5's all you can do is raise or lower the fixture or change bulbs lol.

Yeah,companies like ATI,Giesmann make top notch fixtures but you don't need those to have an amazing tank. So don't listen to all the crap. Off brand t5's are just fine. If you are that hell bent on efficiency,swap ballasts. I used a FishNeedIt 4 bulb t5,with 2 ballasts for 4 bulbs and it worked amazing. It grew everything even light demanding acro's.

Yes I definitely agree. In all honesty, I wish I would’ve known how much better t5 are compared to LED. My sister wants to get into the hobby but sue wants something small like a 10 gallon cube. I wish the smaller t5 were still around. I have a nuvo 20 and I have a build thread if you guys want to check it out. As of now I’m about to add sand in a few days, connect my RODI system, and cycle the tank. I plan on focusing on getting fishes in the tank and when the time comes a cuc. I’m not getting corals until may. When the time comes I plan on doing a diy fixture where I can mount two bulbs while still using my LED. Thank you for your response! Hope you keep track of my build, I’ll be glad to show you my progress!

 

[Steven Garland]

Well,see there are people who ride the led train and are trend followers and people who just wsnt natural looking,healthy corals lol.

If I could afford,had the room,and felt like maintaining a bigger tank,I would all day just so I could use T5's.

When I come back from working out of town,I want a 24" tank,4 bulb fixture: 2x ATI Blue Plus,1x Actinic and a Aquablue Special is MAGIC.

Absolutely,throw your thread link so everyone can follow along.

 

[Juka087]

Yes I definitely agree. In all honesty, I wish I would’ve known how much better t5 are compared to LED. My sister wants to get into the hobby but sue wants something small like a 10 gallon cube. I wish the smaller t5 were still around. I have a nuvo 20 and I have a build thread if you guys want to check it out. As of now I’m about to add sand in a few days, connect my RODI system, and cycle the tank. I plan on focusing on getting fishes in the tank and when the time comes a cuc. I’m not getting corals until may. When the time comes I plan on doing a diy fixture where I can mount two bulbs while still using my LED. Thank you for your response! Hope you keep track of my build, I’ll be glad to show you my progress!

Using t5s is so cheap I use them on a nuvo 10

 

[Angel_V_the_reefer]

Well,see there are people who ride the led train and are trend followers and people who just wsnt natural looking,healthy corals lol.

If I could afford,had the room,and felt like maintaining a bigger tank,I would all day just so I could use T5's.

When I come back from working out of town,I want a 24" tank,4 bulb fixture: 2x ATI Blue Plus,1x Actinic and a Aquablue Special is MAGIC.

Absolutely,throw your thread link so everyone can follow along.

Build Thread - Nuvo Fusion 20 build !

Yo what’s up reefing brothers and sister, so I have started a build thread in order to document my progress. I have an Innovative Marine Nuvo Fusion Pro 20 with stock pump. I will make a list of all the good stuff that I have for my tank! Equipment / media / and resources being used on this tank...

www.reef2reef.com

 

[Angel_V_the_reefer]

Using t5s is so cheap I use them on a nuvo 10

Looks nice man ! I have my tank in between my main door and closet door as well! Haha we have the same room floor plan for the most part haha

 

[Chlorinated]

Not true can be done for 180$

I was referring to the person taking about ATI.. yes, you can find cheap T5 on Amazon. But no fan cooling which means lower performance and shorter bulb life.

Can it be done.. sure but for $30 more I get a fully programmable LED With all the PAR and spread i need for a 20 gal softie tank.