plants and light t5 t8

[iheartmyed9]

Okay i bought a 62 gallon aquarium and it came with a florescent light and seperate ballast. The ballast says 1-40 watts. The bulbs measures 35" but the housing end to end is 36" so does that mean I have a 36" bulb? I didn't remove the bulb to measure but maybe with the prongs end to end its 36" it has a Penn plax pink colored bulb in it but its fairly old. I want to get a new bulb and was wondering if t5 is 39 watts and from what I gather from what I read here t5 is the superior bulb for plant growth. So if my ballast is 40 watts i shiuld be able to get it correct? Also my ballast seems to get incredibly warm. I have had mh and hps bulbs before but not with fish ans those ballast got very warm but I've always thought florescent ballasts are cooler. Thanks for any help. Right now the only plants I have are anachris.

 

[richpowell1989]

Okay i bought a 62 gallon aquarium and it came with a florescent light and seperate ballast. The ballast says 1-40 watts. The bulbs measures 35" but the housing end to end is 36" so does that mean I have a 36" bulb? I didn't remove the bulb to measure but maybe with the prongs end to end its 36" it has a Penn plax pink colored bulb in it but its fairly old. I want to get a new bulb and was wondering if t5 is 39 watts and from what I gather from what I read here t5 is the superior bulb for plant growth. So if my ballast is 40 watts i shiuld be able to get it correct? Also my ballast seems to get incredibly warm. I have had mh and hps bulbs before but not with fish ans those ballast got very warm but I've always thought florescent ballasts are cooler. Thanks for any help. Right now the only plants I have are anachris.

Yes that is 36" also yes a t5 bulb does come in 39w but you can't just add a t5 bulb to a t8 fixture so make sure it is a t5 ballast before you buy a t5 bulb else it won't work

 

[BBradbury]

Your Lighting Question

Good morning iheart...

I get bulbs at the local hardware store, they're inexpensive and the GE Aquarium Plant bulbs work fine for aquatic plants. I always take the old bulb with me to make sure I get the proper size.

A T5 is going to provide intense light over a small area. The T8, is less intense, but shines over a wider area. I prefer T8s and have them in my 55 G planted tanks.

I suggest measuring the width of your tank. If it's wider than 12 inches, then you could use a strip that will accomodate two bulbs. A two bulb strip with a couple of T8s should be sufficient light for growing most aqautic plants.

This is just a suggestion based on what I do, so it's by no means the only option. There are always alternatives.

B

 

[richpowell1989]

Good morning iheart...

I get bulbs at the local hardware store, they're inexpensive and the GE Aquarium Plant bulbs work fine for aquatic plants. I always take the old bulb with me to make sure I get the proper size.

A T5 is going to provide intense light over a small area. The T8, is less intense, but shines over a wider area. I prefer T8s and have them in my 55 G planted tanks.

I suggest measuring the width of your tank. If it's wider than 12 inches, then you could use a strip that will accomodate two bulbs. A two bulb strip with a couple of T8s should be sufficient light for growing most aqautic plants.

This is just a suggestion based on what I do, so it's by no means the only option. There are always alternatives.

B

In my opinion t5 are so much better for growing plants but that's just my opinion but I do no that a lot of people on here use t5s but when I used t8s it was never enough

 

[iheartmyed9]

So how would I know what I have? Just simply take the bulb up to my lfs and compare? Also with one bulb atm what else could I add plant wise until I get new bulbs. I'm going to get seachems flourish, it seems to be effective in helping growth from reviews. I feel like the aqueon plant food I had hurt my fish. What does everyone else use?

 

[richpowell1989]

So how would I know what I have? Just simply take the bulb up to my lfs and compare? Also with one bulb atm what else could I add plant wise until I get new bulbs. I'm going to get seachems flourish, it seems to be effective in helping growth from reviews. I feel like the aqueon plant food I had hurt my fish. What does everyone else use?

Just to make sure I would take the bulb with you mate and seachem flourish did my plants wonders

 

[iheartmyed9]

Just to make sure I would take the bulb with you mate and seachem flourish did my plants wonders

Thanks! I figured it would be good since prime works so well. What other plants can I look into that are low to medium light and cichlids won't dessimate too badly?

 

[richpowell1989]

Thanks! I figured it would be good since prime works so well. What other plants can I look into that are low to medium light and cichlids won't dessimate too badly?

I'm not really into keeping plants with cichlids sorry mate I think you should ask some one who knows about that I know a lot about plants but not with cichlids wouldn't want you to waste money, if you didn't have them I could really help with plants