has anyone used ODYSSEA i found a set it looks like the nova extreme fixture. it has 4 x 30w 36" long( 80 bucks). can i mount that in my canopy. I'm looking at this one because i need more than one. my tank will be 180 or 215 gal. can i get away with these and how many would i need or would i be better with the retofit kits. I'm trying to figure out what I would need. the tank would be 6 ft long

i've never personally never used them however my brother had them at one point and ended up trading them up for glo. With a tank that large i would go with a couple nova or glo. If you have the cash deff. MH

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i have 2 x 250 w MH now on my 90 gal i thought maybe the T 5 would be cooler and less on my electric bill but my lfs said i would need at least 12 bulbs so i don't know if i want to go through all that or not its going to be hard enough getting the tank.

What kind of mh do you have? Are they Retro? If so just pick up another one? Much better lighting and honestly there is not that much of a difference on the light bill. And bulb replacement is I think cheaper. A good mh bulb runs about 60 bucks more or less depending on where you get it so thats 180 buck for bulb replacement. A decent t-5 is about 25 bucks. So for bulb replacement for 12 bulbs your looking at 300 bucks.

yes they are retro. i know i was thinking about that to price wise. and was wondering with that many t 5 would it really save anything on the electric bill. i also have 2 vho's retrofits for the actinic's i was going to at least change those to T 5's. also with that man t5 would they be any cooler than the mh. i don't have a chiller

I have 3 retro 250 watt mh over my 180 with no heat issues. I have a fan on each side of my canopy. As far as attinic I would leave the vho you really not going to get much more out of t-5 but a smaller bank account. But I do have 2 2 bulb nova extreme fixtures for attinic and they are nice. but it depends on what you want. T-5 take alot less room than vho but if it was me. I would save the money use the vho and get better equipment like power heads or a skimmer.

thanks alot for your help sounds like a good idea. do you like your 180, I'm trying to decide if I want to go with a 180 all glass or originally I was looking at the oceanic starfire 215 gal but don't know if i want to go that big does oceanic have a 180 in the starfire. and also wondering if the oceanic is worth all that money. I'm definately getting ree ready. my 90 just has the overflow box.

Not sure if that have it in a 180 but I am sure if you call them I am sure they can make it happen for you.