New Lights for 55g Tank

[Cornstar]

So, it is nearing Christmas and on my wishlist are new lights that may give my tank a new feel. What I currently have are two 24' aqueon light strips. Each strip contains 1 bulb with 15w, and I heard a rule of at least 1w per gallon or better yet 2w per gallon. I intend to add a lot more plants after getting better lights since most of the plants I kept died because of poor lighting.

So it is a FW tank and I am looking for a 48' T5HO light fixture.
Current USA Nova Extreme T5HO X2 - Freshwater Aquarium T-5 HO Light Fixtures

Would anyone recommend this or have any suggestions for other lights?

 

[Cornstar]

Also considering a solarmaxhe2 double t5 with LED lights. A lot cheaper but half the watts.

 

[Cornstar]

Anyone? Really want new lights ordered ASAP.

 

[Convict2161]

Also considering a solarmaxhe2 double t5 with LED lights. A lot cheaper but half the watts.

I didn't like the Solarmax because the LED's stay on all the time. No way to shut them off. I went with the Solarmax Xtreme but than again I went a little extreme. Didn't need it but it's a killer light and you power everything with a flick of a switch. I like to give my fish a period of total darkness the Solarmax your looking at the only way to do that is unplug it. The Solarmax Xtreme had a digital timer built in for every light pattern. It was also 200 bucks then the light hour looking at. And I added the blue lights to it instead of those pink one.



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Those are the 4 settings then completely off.

 

[Cornstar]

Would solarmax be better than the T5HO that I was initially looking at?

Although the LED lights look amazing, I think I may prefer the complete dark similar to the natural habitat.

 

[Cornstar]

Someone suggested an Odyessa hood. The price is definitely by far cheaper but I heard few incidents regarding over heating.

Anyone would recommend the best of the three?
Current
Solarmax
Odyessa

 

[Devon6209]

I got an Odyssea hood and have had no problems.

 

[Ibrahim]

Same here. Infact I've got the Metal halide ones and they heat up but it's not something you wouldn't expect

 

[Cornstar]

I was looking into the 2x54w lights, since I don't think I would need an intense one. I noticed many fixtures are pink for freshwater and blue for saltwater. Is there any reason for that because I kind of wanted the blue one for my fresh water. If I do get the blue one, would it hurt my freshwater?

 

[Ibrahim]

I was looking into the 2x54w lights, since I don't think I would need an intense one. I noticed many fixtures are pink for freshwater and blue for saltwater. Is there any reason for that because I kind of wanted the blue one for my fresh water. If I do get the blue one, would it hurt my freshwater?

Nope. The blue is just for aesthetics.

 

[Cornstar]

I think I am going to get the current nova one just because it fits perfectly on my hood without alternating anything.

But just to confirm, it would be ok to use this for my freshwater tank?

Current USA Nova Extreme T5HO X2 - Saltwater Aquarium T-5 HO Light Fixtures

 

[Cornstar]

Anyone?