Lighting

[orangepunkins]

I am really confused about my lighting for my 55 gal. right now I have barley enough lighting for low light plants (1 single florescent on each side of the tank. I have been talking with a very information person about my lighting. He suggest getting t5 or t5ho. I am VERY new to this lighting and i need basic instructions/suggestions. Well when I went to lowes they had the t5 lightbulbs but not housing. What is the difference between t5 and t8 and t12 other that the ends of the bulbs. Do they still do the same thing? My husband is looking into getting me a shop florescent housing that would be able to have 4 bulbs. Is this to much light now? I do not have co2 (that is in the future). I am a newbie at this lighting thing and I get VERY confused with watts and spectrums. Any help will be greatly appreciated.

 

[jglover]

T5 bulbs have a different ballast so they will not work in standard fixtures. However a four tube shop light would work just fine. I'd consider getting clear glass versatops to cover the tank though and then just mount the lights over the versatop.

 

[Fresh2o]

Some differences between t5, t-8, and t12:
Efficiency: t5 more efficient, t12 less efficient
Availability: t12 have been phased out or in the process of being phased out
Size: t5 5/8", t-8 1", t12 1.5"
You cannot put one type of bulb into another type of fixture
T5s come in NO (normal output) and HO (high output)
There are T2 bulbs available as well

A 4 bulb setup might be a bit much especially since CO2 in not in the picture yet. If that is the case then you could possibly run only 2 bulbs in that setup or get a 2 bulb shop light fixture.
+1 on the glass top because the shop lights do not offer much in terms of moisture protection.

 

[Fresh2o]

Oh, why do I put the dash between the "t" and "8" as in t-8? Otherwise, it converts it to this: t8
Not sure why that is

 

[Fresh2o]

Oh, why do I put the dash between the "t" and "8" as in t-8? Otherwise, it converts it to this: t8
Not sure why that is

Oops, on the web version it looks different than the mobile app. Sorry to go off tangent here.

 

[squirrilah fish]

T5 bulbs have a different ballast so they will not work in standard fixtures. However a four tube shop light would work just fine. I'd consider getting clear glass versatops to cover the tank though and then just mount the lights over the versatop.

I learned this the hard way, even a little bit of water can kill the electrical, it happens over time, but I lost a. $100 hood with over $50 in bulbs my first go. I now have glass versa tops AND wrap my light hood in plastic wrap.

 

[jglover]

I learned this the hard way, even a little bit of water can kill the electrical, it happens over time, but I lost a. $100 hood with over $50 in bulbs my first go. I now have glass versa tops AND wrap my light hood in plastic wrap.

Not only will it kill your electrical, it will kill you as well. I'd seriously recommend using a GFCI outlet or a GFCI extension cord for a shoplight. It's not a bad idea to use it for everything electrical on your tanks. i do, but then again, i'm a safety professional.....

 

[Caliban07]

I am really confused about my lighting for my 55 gal. right now I have barley enough lighting for low light plants (1 single florescent on each side of the tank. I have been talking with a very information person about my lighting. He suggest getting t5 or t5ho. I am VERY new to this lighting and i need basic instructions/suggestions. Well when I went to lowes they had the t5 lightbulbs but not housing. What is the difference between t5 and t8 and t12 other that the ends of the bulbs. Do they still do the same thing? My husband is looking into getting me a shop florescent housing that would be able to have 4 bulbs. Is this to much light now? I do not have co2 (that is in the future). I am a newbie at this lighting thing and I get VERY confused with watts and spectrums. Any help will be greatly appreciated.

Hi orange

I've had the same problem and questions as you this past month or so. Lighting is all so confusing however, I have 2 x T8 fluorescents in my tank and I am keeping a fair few plants going in m tank.

Plants need a few things to be balanced. Too much of one and not enough of the other will result in deficiencies and a dying plant.

For my setup I can only keep beginner plants or the most common you see at a fish store. The bottom line is don't get too hung up on lighting. Just put 1 bulb with a wavelength that is predominantly in the red spectrum and one that is predominantly in the blue spectrum.

My water is very soft so in order to ensure that plants were receiving calcium and magnesium I added some crushed coral to my filter. I also dose liquid fertilisers with my water changes for micro nutrients and I've cutback on gravel vacs so the plants can obtain nutrients from their roots as well as their leaves.

It's a really basic planted tank but with the lighting I am limited to what I can do. I will have a more heavily planted tank in the future with co2 injection and proper fertilisers but I just don't have the time right now.

 

[Mebbid]

For a 55g tank I would highly suggest a 2 bulb t5 ho fixture. That's what I ran on my 55g for quite a while and had a ton of success with it. You can follow that with dry ferts and a liquid carbon supplementation and you can easily grow medium and some high light plants.

Aquatic life is currently my fav t5ho fixture.

 

[Caliban07]

I meant to say that the wattage is also confusing. But as long as the tank in no more than 20 inches in depth the 2 x 25w tubes should be enough. There also seems to be a lot of talk about colour temperature of bulbs being too high or low etc. I think it is the wavelength of the light that is important in order to stimulate photosynthesis.

You could argue that 2 x bulbs in the red spectrum would be better but I went for the mixture.

I figured that their is enough co2 in the tank to sustain the plants and I've got a 10 hour lighting period a day for now.

 

[BBradbury]

Hello orange...

You don't have to make any changes to the lighting you have. You can get plants and even fish that prefer low light. Any of the species of Anubias, for instance nana and nangi grow in low light as will Java fern. Fish are generally indifferent to lighting, but Corydoras thrive in shaded conditions. You can also float plants like Hornwort. If this plant is close to a light source, it grows very well. Lighting is expensive, so you may decide to use your current light strips and just shop for the bulbs with the highest wattage. Your local hardware will have a fairly good selection of bulbs.

B

 

[orangepunkins]

I do have glass tops for each side that I use. and my lighting that I have now is on a timer.

 

[orangepunkins]

lighting

Hello again,
A thank you to all for the help on my lighting. I went to HD and got a t5 shop light. I got a 2 pack Flourscent day bulbs. Now where do I get a red spectrum t5 bulbs. Does anyone know if the local hardware place sells them?

 

[Fresh2o]

Are these T5 (normal output) or T5 HO (high output)? I believe the bulbs are different and not interchangeable.
I would do as previously suggested and see how the plants respond under the daylight bulbs you already have. If not, then perhaps go online for specially bulbs. I don't think hardware stores would carry them.