Which light??

[reice05]

I got a 48" Nova Extreme Pro 6x54w fixture and I got a friend that wants to trade with me and he has a 48" Outer Orbit 2 x150wmh/t5 fixture. Which one would u prefer? It's a swap for swap. The only thing that bother me is the Outer Orbit discontinued so that's a bad thing correct?? Anyways thanks for any input.

[spw4949]

IDK if it's necessarily a bad thing that it's discontinued, as far as parts go you can almost always find parts if the need arises....as far as the trade I am a halide fan myself so I personally would do it in a heartbeat, with that said what type of corals are yopu planning on keeping & what size tank is it?

[reice05]

Right now I got a 75g with a 25g sump with the intentions in the near future to go with a 90g+.. And I got a mixed reef at the moment. I just heard I don't know how true but the Outer Orbit had/has alot of issues with them.

[Dun Properly]

I would just make sure that the bulbs in your friends fixture aren't towards the end of their life expectancy. I would hate to make the trade, then have to fork out all that dough for new bulbs. But if your bulbs are at about the same point, then I guess it is a non factor.

[Dun Properly]

Oh and just some advice...If you aren't 100% sure that you will be happy with the trade, then don't make it, especially with a friend.

[spw4949]

I have a current outer orbit pro 2x250W with 4x39W T5's, so far no problems at all, I couldn't be happier. What is the age of your fixture vs. the halide, the reason I asked about what your keeping is with 150W halides your not going to get great light penetration in a deeper tank but you could always position stuff accordingly as long as your rock structure is condusive to it...........

[IslandCrow]

I have a feeling you'll actually get better PAR with the T5s (my 36" 4xTek T5s blew away any 150W MHs out there), but I think it really comes down to whether or not you want halides. Grim Reefer may be able to give you a definitive answer on which one will provide more light. You can usually find him posting in the Equipment and Lighting section.

[Chiefsurfer]

Your power usage would be the same, but honestly, I would prefer the extreme pro t5 over the outer orbit 2x150, but thats just my opinion.

I don't see the advantage of MH when dealing with a tank 24" deep or less. Above that, penetration is obvious.

Just for S&G, I would not expect a 6-bulb t5 to be great on a 90, NOR the mh/t5 to work too well on it either. I think either way, if/when you upgrade to the 90 or larger DT, you would have to upgrade the lights either way.

I do agree, if there is any chance either of you will not be happy, do not do trades among friends.