Tips on Lighting

[supermazz9]

Wow...where do I start...I've just finished reading the post by Wizzard~Of~Ozz ( http://www.aquariumadvice.com/viewtopic.php?t=72491&highlight= ). It may take me a few days to get over this headache.

That being said, has anyone seen any detail on T5's? They seem to be left out of any discussion of lighting. (Let alone how they hold up in the thread mentioned above.)

Also, I'm not exactly sure how k-factor works, but I'll re-read the lighting sticky...I think most of it got emptied out of my brain for this other thread...(I've got a 5gallon brain, and I'm forced to learn 8 gallons of info everyday! it's not fair!)

 

[Lonewolfblue]

The k factor is just the light temperature of the bulb. As long as the k is between 5000k and 12000k, it will be good for the plants. Some of us, like myself, like to have multiple bulbs, and run some on the lower end, as well as some on the upper end.

 

[Purrbox]

The T5's will be roughly equivalent to CF's. Basically a CF is just a bent T5, but the T5 will be slightly better since it has less restrike issues.

 

[Wizzard~Of~Ozz]

Purrbox is correct. For efficiency, they are pretty much equal to CF bulbs. T5 fixtures have typically also taken a bit more care in the design of the reflectors and overall efficiency of them.

$ for $ T8 is still the best provided you aren't putting them in a limited space.

Sorry if ended up in a headache. The intent of that post/article was to help people understand that the WPG rule (while accurate for 55Gal tanks) cannot be applied to other bulbs then a normal T12 bulb. I did mention CF and T5 together in the hopes that most would draw the conclusion they are pretty much the same.

T5's and Compact Fluorescents (CF) I will only touch on since there is no direct bulb to bulb comparison, however I will state that the average bulb outputs 79.4 lumens per watt (141% of T12) . Interesting that a T8 bulb actually outputs more light then a T5 or Compact Fluorescent bulb. Not really. Their specialty is in long lasting and compact location.. A CF or T5 bulb will burn out before it becomes spectrum dead. The long lasting bulb makes them far more efficient, also the compact design means you can fit more light in the same space, but it would seem the sweet spot for efficiency (only by a margin) is T8.

As for K of the bulb, I find between 6500k and 10000k to have the nicer colouration.. If you have more then 3 bulbs, I would recommend using a 4100k, 6500k and 10000k from back to front.. this will give you a nicer appearance and still provide the plants with a wide spectrum of light..1 bulb, 6500k is nice, 2 bulbs, a 6500k and 10000k look nice whereas 10000k and 4100k will probably yield better growth.

 

[BillD]

I'm having good luck with a Philips Natural Sunshine tube (5000K), in T8 ($4 at HD). It has a better CRI than the higher K tubes. I find that even the 6500K tubes are bluish. However, both the 5000K and 6500K tubes are less than $5 at HD, in T8, and both will grow plants.