[stangbabe1993]

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

 

[GetITCdot]

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

 

[stangbabe1993]

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.

 

[robertmathern]

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.

 

[stangbabe1993]

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

 

[robertmathern]

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.

 

[stangbabe1993]

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.

 

[robertmathern]

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.