Coralife T5 Fixture Bulb Question

[bs6749]

Hello, I was thinking about getting this fixture for my 29G tank: Coralife F/W T-5 Aqualight Double Strip Light-30
but I'm not sure if it's exactly what I'm looking for. There are two bulbs in the fixture, one 6700K and the other is a "ColorMax" bulb. They are each rated at 18W but I'm wondering if the plants will be able to use the lighting from the "ColorMax" bulb and if it should be counted in the total "WPG" of the fixture. If the plants will be able to use the light, I figure I will have about 2 WPG equivalent on that tank. If that's correct, will I be able to grow plants such as swords, and fast growing stems plants that require more light. I'm wanting fast growth out of the plants so maybe a different fixture would be better if any of you guys know of a better one please let me know. Also, what is the "boundary" or the amount of light I should have over the tank for it to be considered a high light setup? My plans are to have Eco-Complete as the substrate and I'll be dosing with Excel every 1-2 days along with potassium, nitrogen, phosphorus.

 

[jrp1588]

I don't know about the colormax bulb, but that's a good deal less light than I have on my 29gal and I'd call mine a solid medium light. I use a strip very similar to this. Mine is basically that same strip rebranded to coralife. Granted, T-5's are more efficient than PC lamps, but at almost twice the wattage I think the PC lame I showed will beat the T-5.

you could also get this. That would be very high light.

 

[bs6749]

Well, I was looking around on Big Al's after you said something about going with PC and I found another fixture. I wanted to try T5's but I'd need 2 strips to do what I want (I think) and I'd have overkill (over 4 wpg equivalent) on the tank. Plus, I'd be using more watts with the two T5 fixtures versus a single 65W PC/CF fixture. I see that the Coralife model is on sale right now for $60 and since I have some stuff to buy at Big Al's anyway I might as well get it there if I decide to go that route. Plus, I already have a 48" Coralife PC Light (130W freshwater) and it works well for my 55. I like the idea of sticking with a name brand but what I don't like is the $30 price tag of the PC bulbs. How long are they good for anyway...a year?

I'm kinda hoping that a single T5 with 36 watts would be enough lighting to do what I want to do but I'd like a definitive answer before making a decision and purchasing something that won't work. Maybe I'll do something completely different anyway. I was thinking of making a 29g planted tank and I'd put my angels in my 100g but now I may just put the angels in my planted 55 and move the RCS over to the 29g. It's really a waste of a 55 gallon tank anyway. The RCS would be just fine in the 29....don't know why I didn't think of that in the first place LOL. Actually, I think it may have been the cost of Flourish Excel, but it shouldn't be much more than what I was initially planning. Guess I have some decisions to make.

 

[Ruadh]

You might want to give some thought to the availability of the light tubes.
I have a Coralife fixture that has tubes I can only get at LFS's They have a 4 pin square base and I can only get 2 types of tubes for them.
Other brands have tubes that are available in several intensities and are available at other outlets like lighting stores and the big box stores.
I have no trouble with the fixture itself, just the choice of tubes.

Rick

 

[SpeedEuphoria]

Fixtures for 30" and 20" tanks are hard. The Coralife T5 NO fixture is the only one that has 30" bulbs. The T5HO bulbs are only 24" or 36", the PC bulbs are ~23" also. So your not getting full coverage.

Since WPG doesnt mean much at all, you should be just fine with that Coralife 30" T5NO fixture IMO. I know on a 20 long it would be good it just seems like on a 29G it wouldn't be as good but I think it will be fine. Hey PM new2bettas as I think she has one on here 29G.

Other than that then the PC 55/65w PC fixture would be fine.

For the PC, a GE 9325K bulbs should work if it has the right pins, its rated at 55w but the ballast will give it 65w I believe. These are basically the best PC bulbs in many's eyes. They should be ~$15 locally.

The T5NO, well, T5's are normally better than PC's in a couple ways. Like "programed start" instead of rapid/instant start(makes the bulbs last longer), but the Coralife ballst prob doesnt have this. Then individual reflectors, which again the coralife doesnt have and the bulbs are close together also basically like a PC. Then the bulbs are hard to find since most are 24" or 36". Also that "colormax" bulb is just fine fore plants, I had a pink bulb on my 10G and it worked fine growing plants. Also one of the best T5HO bulbs is a pink Aquaflora bulb.

So its a toss up.

With the PC, you can hang the fixture, so you can "adjust" the intensity by how far it is off the tank. So if you want/need more light in the future this would be the best way to go.

 

[bs6749]

The availability of bulbs is not an issue for me as I am constantly ordering stuff online for all of my tanks and the bulbs are readily available. The cost is another thing to consider however. I can buy a T5 light for $35 and have to pay $20 for two new bulbs every couple of years or I can spend $60 on a PC/CF light and buy a new one for $30 every year or so, if they even last that long. I'm not sure of how long each type lasts but that's what I thought I remember hearing...at least that T5's last longer than PC/CF. At the price of replacing a PC/CF bulb I could purchase a new T5 fixture and sell the old one. T5 seems like the way to go to me but in my current situation it looks like I'll have to settle for way more light than I need and be wasteful or not get the amount of light that I need.

 

[SpeedEuphoria]

IMO w/o program start, the bulbs should last similar amount of time, and like I said the bulbs cost will be ~ the same. But the T5's may prob still last ~6months longer IMO.

If you are considering using 2 of the Coralife T5NO fixtures, I would start with 1. Then since they seem to always be onsale and you always order things, you can get another later on. Also I'm pretty positive that you can remove 1 bulb and it will fire just the single bulbs, so that may be the best option with 2 fixtures running 3 bulbs

 

[bs6749]

Thanks for your input. That's a good idea about removing one and seeing if that works. If not, I guess I could always put in an actinic which shouldn't change the WPG.

Also, If PC/CF bulbs are that cheap I may just consider rescaping my 55g planted and changing the bulbs in that. It'd still be a little cheaper than purchasing another fixture and I wouldn't have the extra 48" light around. I guess I should make use of what I have and that seems like a very promising option for me. I'm not sure that my bulbs even need to be replaced on that fixture yet, I'm guessing it has another 4 months left at 10 hours/day for as little as I've used it so far. The only real reason why I was thinking about doing a 29g planted instead of the 55g was because of the cost of Flourish Excel, but after doing some math it works out to less than $.02/mL and I'd need to dose about $0.10 per day. I think that is extremely cheap.

 

[SpeedEuphoria]

I didnt or havent noticed much at all from Excel in my tanks. Well as far as plant growth. I do however think that everyone that has planted tanks should have some b/c it deff gets rid of algae, especially BBA/staghorn.

I think your 55G would be the best bet also, since you already have the fixture.

That GE bulbs everyone loves:
http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/forumapc/lighting/723-9325k-difference.html

http://www.lightbulbsdirect.com/page/001/PROD/Aquarium/F55BX-AR-FS

 

[bs6749]

Hey thanks for the links, especially the first one. It's great to see what my tank is going to look like before I put the GE bulbs in : )

The reason that I'm wanting to dose with Excel is because I'm getting very little growth out of my plants and I know it should be MUCH better. I have the equivalent of 3.2 WPG over the tank and I have Eco-Complete as the substrate. I keep the lights on for only 5 hours at a time...I'm sure this doesn't help any. Maybe I should push that up to 8-9 hours and start dosing ferts. What do you think?