i modded my nova extreme pro fixture

[clevebill]

i bought the nova fixture hopeing it was just as good as a tek or ati fixture and been fighting with it ever since.i always read that the reflectors make or break t-5 and the nova is of less quality than the tek or ati.so i work for a sheetmetal shop and had access to some chrome plated metal that reall shines and reflects alot.i ran it threw the break machine and made 5 individal reflectors that all i could fit in the nova extreme pro 6x39.what i did is rip out the old reflector,and then cut a piece of metal 33x10 and laid it acroos the brackets holding the sockets.screwed down the reflectors to the new metal.and to move the encaps cause they dont fit in the old holds i used double sided velcro tap and laid across the back of the bracket and cut pieces for the back of the sockets and was able to move where i needed to go.hope this dosent sound chinnese but it was very simple to do and from what i rember is the reflectors have to be 2" wide no more cause ya will not fit at least 5 reflectors.now i have to believe this is going to way better than the old reflectors minus one bulb but time will tell.i kept same ballast if ya know of better let me know.

[clevebill]

oh here is a side view

[thebanker]

Nice. Have you noticed better growth with the SLR's?

I'm not going to mod my Nova Extreme with SLR's if I have to lose a bulb. Since my fixture only has 4 bulbs to work with, going to 3 bulbs would sacrifice options for color combinations.

I'll admit, part of my satisfaction from this hobby comes from tinkering with the gadgetry. So along that line of thinking, 4 bulbs > 3 bulbs.

[tydtran]

It would be really interesting if you had some par readings before and after. I have to admit I am a skeptic. It's hard for me to believe that the gain from your improved reflectors outweighs the loss of a 39w bulb.

[Opus123]

It would be really interesting if you had some par readings before and after. I have to admit I am a skeptic. It's hard for me to believe that the gain from your improved reflectors outweighs the loss of a 39w bulb.

Some of the reviews I've seen show a 40 to 50% drop in par on a nova extreme compared to an ATI fixture. If he is now anywhere near an ATI fixture for output then that definately overcomes losing one bulb. Of course as you stated, par readings before and after are really needed to prove this.