Noobie lighting question

[jnizzle]

So i have a little 8watt 12'' bulb, not even an aquarium light, and i was thinking about getting a bigger light. the problem is, the window on my tank hood is only 12'' so im thinking about getting a new hood that can put out more light. any ideas?

btw i just have one amazon sword but plan to get 3-6 more plants in the future. tank is 20'' x 10.5'' on top and is an 18 gal

pic of light and hood..

 

[Fishkeeper88]

why not do an open top tank with some dual high output t5 plant lights?

 

[jnizzle]

why not do an open top tank with some dual high output t5 plant lights?

That could work! But some fish like to jump out and that could be an issue. But I think I could make a hood and use the high output t5's. Do you know where to get these t5's? My lfs should have them right?

 

[Erikmichael23]

Yes they should b able to tell u everything about them I have some there nice..or just ebay 12inch aquarium stuff, lights should pop up..

 

[jetajockey]

For plant growth you will definitely want to step up to more intense lighting. Another (cheaper) option besides t5ho would be to put some screw in CFL's in there. For kelvin rating you want something in the daylight range, usually around 6500k give or take is a good start.

 

[Erikmichael23]

T5 has 10k bulbs that grow coral in a tank of mine...ho are a great option too..

 

[Erikmichael23]

If u want a nice one they got some sweet led lights...our u can make your own with your old fixture if u do some research (plenty of youtube videos available ) and buy your own leds or led chips...its not very hard and over half the price...plus u can say u built it..

 

[Fishkeeper88]

im not sure but i dont think all LEDs support plant growth

 

[Erikmichael23]

Just check the PAR..its only a 12" tank shouldn't need much..

 

[jnizzle]

okay, so i want to just do it right the first time, so i dont have to upgrade again. im looking at this:

20" T5 HO Aquarium Light Hood Saltwater Reef Cichlid 72W LED 18W Lamps Odyssea | eBay

Is that a bit too much? or will that work? thanks everyone for input, really appreciated

 

[Erikmichael23]

Other than the fact that the light its a bit long that should work great with plants...plus there are 2 actinic lights..brings out some nice color..

 

[Erikmichael23]

Plus the 2 cords make it nice if u can find a cheap timer...moonlights are cool too

 

[jetajockey]

You'd be fine with just a two bulb set up, actinics have no functional place in planted aquaria. A single t5ho bulb is enough to grow most anything and still keep it fairly low tech. Running two bulbs might require co 2 but it just depends on several factors.

 

[jnizzle]

Hey guys! so i found the perfect solution at petco! its a 20'' t8 and im going to upgrade the bulb to at t5! its already sooooo much better. heres pics:

Old light on the right, new on left

So much more vivid light, very happy. Amazon sword should return to full health soon right? ive got a fertilizer tablet under the roots. anything else i should do?

 

[fort384]

Unfortunately, it looks like you got NO T5s which won't be much different than the T8s. I could be wrong... but that looks like a T5NO fixture to me.

The other issue will be a lack of a reflector. Part of the great thing about T5HO lighting is individual polished reflectors for each bulb. This is what helps to increase the PAR so high. Output of HO bulbs is not much different PAR-wise without individually reflected fixtures.

 

[jnizzle]

Unfortunately, it looks like you got NO T5s which won't be much different than the T8s. I could be wrong... but that looks like a T5NO fixture to me.

The other issue will be a lack of a reflector. Part of the great thing about T5HO lighting is individual polished reflectors for each bulb. This is what helps to increase the PAR so high. Output of HO bulbs is not much different PAR-wise without individually reflected fixtures.

are the reflectors inside the bulb or is it something i can make out of mirrors/other reflective metal?

 

[fort384]

They are behind the bulb attached to the fixture. Polished aluminum works best. Probably not worth a modification though for NO bulbs.

 

[aqua_chem]

You could try putting tinfoil behind it to up the reflection.

 

[fort384]

That would be a start... It would be better than nothing.