new light fixture!!

[nitrous]

so at the hardware store today i seen a 24 inch dual fluorescent fixture with a lighting covering already on it for 15 dollars! so i bought it and it takes either 2 17 watt t8 or 2 20 watt t12 but doesnt a t8 only have 20 watts at 24 inches but will it matter i was going to get 2 t12s anyway and with the 40 watts on my 20 gallon tank will it be so much that i need co2?

[ringfinger]

It probably doesn't have a reflector, so I bet you would be ok without Co2. You might want to look into Flourish Excel if you have some algae problems, but I don't think it would be worth setting up a DIY Co2 system.

[nitrous]

no it doesnt have any metal around it which would be a reflector so ya ill try to do flourish excel with the 40 watts and if i see algae ill just take 1 out and run with 20 and they see if i want to do co2

at the lfs around here i dont remember them having flourish exel but i think they had flouris iron and just flourish, which one of those would work?

[Wizzard~Of~Ozz]

Put 17w T8's in it, they are brighter for the power consumed. (T8 = 141% of T12 light per watt) so 17w T8 = 24W T12

Also, next time you are at home depot you can pick up some aluminum tape, put this on the fixture and it should help increase the light.

[nitrous]

hmm thats interesting i thought t12s would be better bc they are thicker hmm thanks for saying this now when i go, ill buy two t8s at 24 inch with 17 watts thanks! but when i was there last if i remember correctly the t8s where 24 inch 20 watts will it still be better than a t12? also if i have an option of t5 t8 or t12 all same watts same lenght wat should i get?

[Wizzard~Of~Ozz]

T8's are 17w
T10's are 20W
T12's are 20W

T10's are exclusive to Hagen and come in the "glo" series, with Sunglo being the best for plants, seconded by Powerglo and Aquaglo. I won't recommend the floraglo since it's so dull.

Try going back to the Local hardware store and getting T8 24" Philips daylight deluxe or natural sunshine. both are excellent plant bulbs. (and cost about 2$ each)

[nitrous]

alright ill do that whenever i go there thanks!

[malkore]

Wizard,

I wish we still had the kudos system, so I could toss a few your way for your work on this thread.

Nice job!

[gfink]

Can you put T8's in any fixture that takes T12's?

[Wizzard~Of~Ozz]

No, they require an electronic ballast or a rapid start ballast rated for T8's. T8 bulbs operate typically on a higher frequency which get's rid of the hum associated with fluorescent lights.

That being said, I currently have a T8 and a T12 on a single T12 fixture and it works but the T8 takes a bit longer to fire and may not be consistant. I have 5 bulbs over my tank so one taking an extra 30 secs to fire or up to an hour doesn't make a huge difference to me.

Malkore: I spend far too much time reading. We all share what we know, and learn from eachother