T5 vs T8

[sieski]

whats the differences between the 2. I know there is a size difference in tubes but whats going to be more effective for lighting my aquarium and to help keep my plants alive. Also how much of a diference. There is no point me spending twice as much for one setup for 5% increase is there! lol

I'm either going to modify my horrible existing hood or build a new one out of mdf.

Lamp relectors. I seen the claim of "offers 100% increase of lighting" how true is that?

also how much does my condensation trays effect the amount of light getting through?
thanks

 

[mfdrookie516]

the reflectors do play a big part in how effective the lighting is. Just think about a standard shop light (as i have on my 55g), there are no reflectors, so alot of the light is lost out the sides of the tank. On a good T5HO setup, there are single reflectors for each bulb which point the light exactly where it needs to be. Also, a 48 T8 bulb is 32 watts. A 48" T5HO bulb is 54 watts. So really, youre getting almost twice the light from a single bulb. What size tank are you working with and what kinds of plants? If its just a low-medium light setup on a 48" tank, an $8 shoplight from walmart will do the trick. If you're wanting more than that, you're going to have to upgrade, but fish need it;lights; food;Sponge has some fairly cheap T5HO lights.

 

[sieski]

the reflectors do play a big part in how effective the lighting is. Just think about a standard shop light (as i have on my 55g), there are no reflectors, so alot of the light is lost out the sides of the tank. On a good T5HO setup, there are single reflectors for each bulb which point the light exactly where it needs to be. Also, a 48 T8 bulb is 32 watts. A 48" T5HO bulb is 54 watts. So really, youre getting almost twice the light from a single bulb. What size tank are you working with and what kinds of plants? If its just a low-medium light setup on a 48" tank, an $8 shoplight from walmart will do the trick. If you're wanting more than that, you're going to have to upgrade, but fish need it;lights; food;Sponge has some fairly cheap T5HO lights.

Well it's a 4ft tank 15 inches deep. The t8 tubes I was looking at in the LFS earlier are 40 watts and I was thinking of 2. The tubes were far cheaper for t8 than t5 and the controller units for that matter. Plus I already have one controller that will handle 40 watts. The link was great but I'm in the uk.

Well If I use 2 t8 40w with reflectors co2 and plant food what plants am I looking at?

If I add a 3rd tube what will that do?

 

[cmor1701d]

Is this a FW or SW tank. FW the T8's are fine. For SW you can not get enough light for anything but FOWLR unless you go to T5 or better.

 

[sieski]

Is this a FW or SW tank. FW the T8's are fine. For SW you can not get enough light for anything but FOWLR unless you go to T5 or better.

it's fw

 

[cmor1701d]

Any light that pleases your eye will be fine unless you plan a planted tank. You may want again in the FW forums in that case.

 

[Ziabis]

I have a 29G aquarium. I bought a T8 full spectrum Daylight, 17 Watt bulb for my light to medium planted live freshwater plants.

What other choices do you suggest? Petsmart does not carry T5 bulbs. Any advice would be great.

Thank you...

 

[CorallineAlgae]

For a 15" deep tank 2 T8s should do just fine. A single Hagen T5 light strip would be an excellent choice too and I think they're available in the UK.

 

[Ziabis]

I live in Canada, but my petsmart doesnt carry the T5 for some reason...