Doing a custom t5 light

[tannercurtidor]

Hi,
I'm thinking about making a 4-3 bulb T5 light fixture with 2 foot long bulbs for my 29g tank (I'm going to a hydroponic store, I heard a person can buy single tube fixtures for around $25). If I get really fancy I might order a couple of blue led bars from eBay for around 7-10 dollar each for a moonlight effect in the morning and night.

I'm just wonder if the T5 bulbs are the same size, what bulbs I should get and how to arrange them?

 

[tannercurtidor]

I'd like to do a fish live rock and sand with some corals

 

[Sniperhank]

To keep corals, we utilize t5ho units. Corals need a varying amount of light, but in reality pretty intense light... If one bar is 25 bucks a pop, I'd save my own time and look at the taotronics LEDs on eBay and Amazon so I can keep whatever I want. Each unit covers 2 ft of tank.

 

[Ingy]

I agree. Good bulbs are about $21-25 each for 24". That's 65-100 and they won't last a year. Add on the costs of the fixture and hassle if hanging it, you can buy a better LED light. Or, if you want to save a few bucks and are into that kind of thing you can build your own led light. But eBay for LEDs is what I'd do.

 

[tannercurtidor]

Any idea on how long the LEDs will last? The main reason i was thinking about going with T5s because I can replace the bulbs without having to replace the fixture

 

[Macscale]

LED's last a lot longer. On the Tao Panels I believe it is 10,000 hours.