[Koresample]

I bought the same one only in the 24" size for my Fluval. It was reliable and ran with no problems but the bulb quality and reflectors are poor (get what you pay for). I went from a 24" Aquatic Life T5HO (96 watts total) set up to this. I don't have a par meter but the lighting looked duller than the Aquatic Life and I started to get bad algae issues shortly after with no other tank changes. If you look at the overall quality of the wiring inside it compared to a high quality fixture, you will also see it is lacking (although perfectly functional). I think if the bulbs are upgraded it is a pretty good buy, but with the stock bulbs its got pretty mediocre performance. I think I paid $169 for mine (compared to about $525-$889 for a Sunlight Supply or Giesemann) so if i factor in $80 for a top line 150w MH & 4 X 24W T5HO Giesemann for another $80, I am only at $329 and have a pretty good set-up. Those same set ups for the size you have would run about $890-$1400.

I am interested to see how yours measures up for you, I bought mine two years ago so things have possibly improved.