10 gallon for mid-high light?

[liberator123]

I have the aqueon fuorescent delux 20 inch hood fixture (has the 18inch t8 full spectrum bulbs).
That is obviously not enough now that I have decided on keeping plants such as byxia japonica or Hemianthus callitrichoides (dwarf baby tears).
I am in a limited budget and i really don't want to dish out $70+ for lights.
I have a few choices of making, but I am not sure it will work. Btw, I am planning on a diy yeast CO2 system. This is a 10 gallon 12 inch high.

1. Will Single t5no or single t5ho work? will it generate enough light for high plants? Ive read many mixed things about t5ho vs t5no about efficiency, but none really answered my question about lighting for high plants.
2. Is it possible to keep the t8 fixture I have and just use a converter for a t5no? or will that change the lighting's efficiency?
3. Will I have to change the ballast to use t5?
3. Has anyone ever used t8 LED lights before? They look like fluorescent tubes, but it has LEDs inside... How do they work? do you need a totally different gear (does it even use ballasts?) can I just "edit" the t8 fixture I have? (i saw these tubes going from $40-60)

Long question Short:
Is there anything I can do with my single t8 fixture so it can produce enough lighting for high lights... can i convert it to single t5ho or t5no or t8 LED? Or would I need to just ditch it and get something like finnex fugeray? (which is my last resort...)

 

[Fishperson]

IMO, a finnex fugeray would cost you less than $60 on amazon, and would be cheaper in the long run because it doesn't need to be replaced. Well, maybe not cheaper, but not much more expensive. I would just go with that.

 

[liberator123]

T8 LED Tube Light - 550 Lumens, 18 inch, Day White, 7 Watt, 120 LED, 90-277VAC, Clear Lens, Commercial Grade, SMD LED Chips for longer, brighter operation!
or
Amazon.com: Starlights T8-18 18" Fluorescent Tube LED Bulb: Automotive
or
http://www.adventurerv.net/camco-le...urce=Froogle&gclid=CMTriZSEurkCFYie4AodODcA5w
These are examples of t8 LEDs (priced from 30-40)

how would this these compare to the fugeray? which is better of the three?

 

[candymancan]

Well for one... The aqueon Hood has a full spectrim bulb (8,000k)... It has absolutetly ZERO reds in it... which means you wont be able to grow anything in that tank really... If you simply switched the bulb out to a floramax.. you will be able to grow plants pretty well in a 10 gallon tank... That would be a cheaper solution as the bulb is only $14. The bulb is pink though so the tank wont seem (bright) to your eyes but itll be worlds.. better for plants then that full spectrum light you have.. That is the cheapest solution if you want to grow some plants

You could do what I did to my 27g hexagon.. I measured my tank... went to lowes and make a plexiglass hood.. Was only $15 for that hood.. Then I went to pets mart and got 2x 20 inch aqueon hoods (the same hood you have) and 2x floramax bulbs... And my tank is growing extremely fast.. and its 26 inches tall.. The reason I did that is because my tank is only 20 inchs long.. they don't make T5 tanks that are that short..

I dunno just giving you an idea

 

[Fishperson]

T8 LED Tube Light - 550 Lumens, 18 inch, Day White, 7 Watt, 120 LED, 90-277VAC, Clear Lens, Commercial Grade, SMD LED Chips for longer, brighter operation!
or
Amazon.com: Starlights T8-18 18" Fluorescent Tube LED Bulb: Automotive
or
Camco RV T8 LED Fluorescent Light Bulb 54630 - $31.99
These are examples of t8 LEDs (priced from 30-40)

how would this these compare to the fugeray? which is better of the three?

Well it depends. Better is not just, "more light" because if you have tons of light you will just grow algae, without the proper ferts and co2. What you really need to know is the PAR values for those, which is basically how bright the lights are. For that tank you want around 30 to 60 PAR around 10 inches from the light source.

 

[Rivercats]

I've never used this but a cheap solution that many on here use on 10g's is getting a couple dome fixtures at the hardware store and using CFL bulbs. It will give you a lot of light. Look for bulbs that are 6500K or 6700K. It may not be as pretty but for now it will get the job done until you can afford to get a nice LED made for planted tanks.

 

[Sillyfishies]

I've never used this but a cheap solution that many on here use on 10g's is getting a couple dome fixtures at the hardware store and using CFL bulbs. It will give you a lot of light. Look for bulbs that are 6500K or 6700K. It may not be as pretty but for now it will get the job done until you can afford to get a nice LED made for planted tanks.

I used this setup. Cheap and efficient.

 

[liberator123]

Well for one... The aqueon Hood has a full spectrim bulb (8,000k)... It has absolutetly ZERO reds in it... which means you wont be able to grow anything in that tank really... If you simply switched the bulb out to a floramax.. you will be able to grow plants pretty well in a 10 gallon tank... That would be a cheaper solution as the bulb is only $14. The bulb is pink though so the tank wont seem (bright) to your eyes but itll be worlds.. better for plants then that full spectrum light you have.. That is the cheapest solution if you want to grow some plants

You could do what I did to my 27g hexagon.. I measured my tank... went to lowes and make a plexiglass hood.. Was only $15 for that hood.. Then I went to pets mart and got 2x 20 inch aqueon hoods (the same hood you have) and 2x floramax bulbs... And my tank is growing extremely fast.. and its 26 inches tall.. The reason I did that is because my tank is only 20 inchs long.. they don't make T5 tanks that are that short..

I dunno just giving you an idea

So are you saying a single floramax t8 bulb will be efficient enough to grow baby dwarf tears? (its a high light plant, according to online sources) Anyone else agrees to this? Im willing to go get one as soon as possible if this is true.

 

[candymancan]

I dunno about baby dwarf tears I don't know much about that plant.

 

[Billbug68]

First off, 8,000k will grow plants just fine. Just thought I'd correct false statements...

For the plants you're looking to grow, you DO need higher light.

Like stated before the finnex LEDs are a good choice, two spiral CFLs are a good choice with some clip on desk lamps, and yes, there are some retrofit kits to convert your t8 to t5ho. Google is your best friend for the last one.

 

[liberator123]

First off, 8,000k will grow plants just fine. Just thought I'd correct false statements...

For the plants you're looking to grow, you DO need higher light.

Like stated before the finnex LEDs are a good choice, two spiral CFLs are a good choice with some clip on desk lamps, and yes, there are some retrofit kits to convert your t8 to t5ho. Google is your best friend for the last one.

I figured there were retrofit kits for it, though its too complex/expensive to do and it wont be worth the money for what I get. Doing research, best bet would be finnex LED rather than trying to add new fluorescent (that would cost me at least 40+ bucks to add more sockets with ballasts/change t8 to t5, even more so to t5ho) I figured out that theres MINIMAL difference between t8 and t5 when using an electronic ballast. The one thats more efficient is t5ho, but the conversion or switch to that ballast+bulb would actually cost MORE than how much I would spend on the fugeray (or even the ray 2).

I decided to go the cheapest more efficient route for the short run, gutting the t8 hood and changing it to sockets for cfl (sockets are so much cheaper and less headache inducing than to buy ballasts+t8sockets...). However, I did not like the uneven spread of light in duo horizontal cfls... I was wondering if this would work better: 4 x 9watt 6500k cfl aligned vertically. what do you guys think?

 

[Billbug68]

I did the same mod to my hood a while back, didn't feel as if I got any uneven spread. Be sure to paint the inside gloss white.

 

[Fresh2o]

I figured there were retrofit kits for it, though its too complex/expensive to do and it wont be worth the money for what I get. Doing research, best bet would be finnex LED rather than trying to add new fluorescent (that would cost me at least 40+ bucks to add more sockets with ballasts/change t8 to t5, even more so to t5ho) I figured out that theres MINIMAL difference between t8 and t5 when using an electronic ballast. The one thats more efficient is t5ho, but the conversion or switch to that ballast+bulb would actually cost MORE than how much I would spend on the fugeray (or even the ray 2).

I decided to go the cheapest more efficient route for the short run, gutting the t8 hood and changing it to sockets for cfl (sockets are so much cheaper and less headache inducing than to buy ballasts+t8sockets...). However, I did not like the uneven spread of light in duo horizontal cfls... I was wondering if this would work better: 4 x 9watt 6500k cfl aligned vertically. what do you guys think?

The four CFLs aligned vertically would give you more light but I'd be worried about:
1. Clearance - since the bulbs would "stick out more" for lack of better words. That is, unless the hood is deep enough to accommodate them.
2. Reflection - you would still benefit from using a decent reflector.

Not sure if this has already been mentioned, but the cone shaped work lights + CFLs make a nice combination. Some members paint the outside of the work lights black (rather than leave them silver) for aesthetic reasons. They can be mounted directly on the glass canopy or suspended.

You would have to experiment with the number of lights in terms of spread and overlap.

 

[Billbug68]

Yeah, if you mount them vertically, cone style reflectors are better. Horizontal, stick with your modded hood. Here's how I used to have my 10 for a while... The lamps were like 8 bucks at Walmart...

 

[liberator123]

The four CFLs aligned vertically would give you more light but I'd be worried about:
1. Clearance - since the bulbs would "stick out more" for lack of better words. That is, unless the hood is deep enough to accommodate them.
2. Reflection - you would still benefit from using a decent reflector.

Not sure if this has already been mentioned, but the cone shaped work lights + CFLs make a nice combination. Some members paint the outside of the work lights black (rather than leave them silver) for aesthetic reasons. They can be mounted directly on the glass canopy or suspended.

You would have to experiment with the number of lights in terms of spread and overlap.

yeah, the clearance im a bit worried about since I only know the length of the bulb ill be getting, which is short since its 9watts (3.6 inches only). I have to count in the sockets. I will make holes if I have to... Overall this project will cost me less than $40 (if I go just two 18-20watt lamps, $25) Oh and Ill be painting the hood white or tape with aluminum foil for reflection.

Thank you all for the advice. much appreciated

 

[Billbug68]

If you're going to use the stock hood, mount them horizontally... Trust me... and use a gloss white paint. It's been proven to be the best reflector aside from highly polished aluminum. The foil tapes and stuff are lousy. I would post a pic of my hood, but I can't find it on my phone.