Brett’s Reef

  I bought this t5 aquarium lighting unit after some trouble with my older lights.  This unit has served me well for a couple of months now and I figured I would review it for anyone else that has been interesting in trying a T5 aquarium light or the Current Nova Extreme Pro.  The exact light is theNova Extreme Pro T5 High Output Lighting Fixture - 6×39W - 36 in.  I have this Light over my 46 gallon bowfront reef aquarium.

  The T5 lights are a high output light (HO), that run on an electric ballast.  T5 lighting uses less energy and puts out far less heat then T12 and metal halide lighting.   There is even talk that these bulbs can last 2-3 years without loosing that much lumen content.  The T5 lighting bulbs are only 5/8″ and in the Nova Extreme Pro they come in a 10k and 460nm spectrum.  This enables the reef keeper to have a dawn to dusk effect on there reef tank.  I use this light on a Coral Life timer to mimic this effect.

   Current currently has four sizes for these lights the 20″, 36″, 48″ and the 72″.  The only difference between the four are the wattage.  The 36″ has three 10k bulbs and three 460nm bulbs, each bulb containing 39watts of light for a total of 234 watts.  The Nova extreme pro also has a individual bulb contoured reflector, meaning that the reflector is one big unit but it is molded to reflect each bulb individually.  Having individual reflectors or countered reflectors plays an important role when choosing T5 lighting as most lower end units do not have this and the light is not as effective penetrating the water.

  Having using four lighting units so far in the hobby I can say that the nova extreme pro is the quietest light I have used this far.  This lighting unit is also very bright and hardly puts out any heat.  In fact this unit puts out less heat than some power compacts that I have used.  The 36″ unit uses two fans to keep the lights cool and comes with a splash lens for the bulbs.   This unit also came with docking mounts, this is a major plus since some units charge extra for them.

   There are more expensive T5 lighting units for this hobby that have individual reflectors, these lights are usually in the $500-$700 range.  For the $300 that I spent on this T5 lighting unit it was well worth the purchase.  This unit is a solid construction and so far as been very dependable. I am very happy with this purchase and so are my corals. 

  You can see more pictures of the Nova Extreme pro Here.

 Whether your keeping salt water fish or your planning a full blown reef aquarium it is important that your marine aquarium water parameters are in check.  For most reef aquaria and for salt water fish only tanks the parameters are as follows.

Calcium: 380-450 ppm

Alkalinity:  2.5-4 meq/L, 7-11 dKH

Salinity:  35ppt or a specific gravity of 1.024-1.026

Temperature: 77-83 F

pH: 7.8 - 8.3

Magnesium: 1250-1350ppm

Phosphate:  Should be undetectable

Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrate: Should be undetectable, unless cycling.

  Constant testing will usually prevent and help any marine aquarium water problems.  Weekly water changes replaces used traced elements and keeps ammonia, nitrite and especially nitrate to near zero conditions as well as replaces calcium (if not already dosed).  

    When receiving corals online or through a reputable dealer or from a fellow reefkeeper, It is important to obtain the healthiest specimens.  There are many reasons for picking healthy specimens but one extremely important reason is that you don’t want to expose your saltwater reef aquarium to unwanted parasites or disease. 

   One way of making sure you are not bringing unwanted parasites into your reef tank is using a coral dip.   A coral dip is simple to use and every one has a different set of directions that are easy to follow.  Mainly you will add a little coral dip (or Lugol’s solution, iodine solution) to some tank water and soak your new coral for a period of time.  The soak time is dependent on the solution you are using, the  MediCoral Coral Dip - 60 mL - 2 oz. as shown above has a soak time of 8-11 minutes for soft corals and 7-10 minutes for sps corals.

  The Medicoral Dip comes in two size bottles a 2oz and a 1oz bottle.  You may be thinking that it may not be worth to spend the $10-$20 bucks on a bottle but keep in mind that only 20 drops of this solution is combined with one gallon of saltwater (you can use fresh made saltwater).  Also that dipping your corals will prevent coral eating organisms from destroying your whole tank, this hobby is expensive and a little preventive care goes a long way.

  I chose Medicoral dip for dipping my corals because it has a good name among reefers on the online forums.  When I started out on this hobby I had pyramid snails, sundail snails, zoanthid spiders and flatworms that all caused big tank problems.  I wouldn’t even think about adding another piece of coral without dipping it first.

These worms really creep me out but they are harmless detrivours that are beneficial to your reef aquarium. These can sometimes have an orange tint to them.

    Pictured above is a green Sinularia coral, one of nine colonies my main tank has.  These corals are a very hardy soft coral that is similar in shape to colt (Cladiella) and tree (Nepthea) corals.  Many beginner reefers often mistake the three, however you can tell the difference by looking at the stalk.  The Sinularia coral has a very thick stalk where as tree corals do not.  Colt corals are very feathery while Sinularia corals are not as feathery.

  The Sinularia coral does best under intense lighting but I have kept these corals and propagated them under 130watts of pc lighting.  So it does tolerate a wide range of lighting.  They prefer a good amount of water movement but not direct laminar flow.

  Sinularia are photosynthetic so you do not have to target feed them.  They also seem to thrive in water rich in phosphates and nitrates (but so does hair algae).

  I currently propagate my nine Sinularia colonies and sell them to a local fish store for store credit.  They are extremely easy to propagate once they get a foot hold in your tank.  My method is with a sharp pair of scissors or a razor blade and I either rubberband them to live rock or place the new frag into live rock rubble.  When using the rubberband method take care not to wrap the rubberband to tightly around the coral.