Different light bulbs

[Mcmcoker]

I don't know much about different lighting systems that what I can read online in the specs section so I was wondering, right now all I have is the aqueon deluxe fluorescent strip light with a full spectrum bulb. At pets Mart they have a coral life t8 50/50 bulb for 18.00 bucks. Could I swap that bulb out for the I have now without any special ballast? ( 50/50 means 10,000 k/actinic) I just assumed all bulbs in the world of 10,000k and actinic were t5 and needed a special ballast but I saw this t8 which is what I think the bulb in the aqueon strip light is. And also if this would work in my fixture do you think it would be capable of actually growing any thing.

 

[carey]

A single t8 isnt gonna really grow anything coral wise unfortunately. If you have a t8 fixture then sure you can swap it out but if its a t5 (real thin bulbs) then the one youre looking at wont fit.

 

[Mcmcoker]

No the bulb I'm looking at is a t8 and I just confirmed that my fixture is a t8 fixture. Just wanted to be sure that there was no compatibility issues when it came to upgrading to a more legit light. I'm cool with it not growing anything, I had a feeling it wouldn't. Really I'm just hoping this bulb will give the water a better color and maybe make some of the fish colors pop a little more. I was reading that ricordeas can handle low light and are good at adapting to lighting conditions do you think those could handle it or no?

 

[carey]

Maybe for a while but I dont think long term that even mushrooms would do well under just a single t8. But it should improve the color of the fish and the tank overall and for under $20 bucks not a bad deal. There are several cheap led options and t5 fixtures that are about $100 or so that you might consider when you are ready for corals.

 

[jeffaquarius]

T8 and T5 tubes are of different types and use different ballast. To answer your question directly, NO you can not interchange them.

 

[Mcmcoker]

Maybe for a while but I dont think long term that even mushrooms would do well under just a single t8. But it should improve the color of the fish and the tank overall and for under $20 bucks not a bad deal. There are several cheap led options and t5 fixtures that are about $100 or so that you might consider when you are ready for corals.

You may not remember or recognize me cause I changed my profile pic but yes as of recently I have been on a few different threads talking in depth about what lighting i should ultimately get and have decided to go with the "taotronics" unit on eBay. That won't be happening until Christmas though so I was just looking for something cheap that I could in the meantime that would improve the overall look of the tank

 

[tonedogz]

I have two of those tao's there very bright and you would have no problem keeping corals with them.