Kimlafeiet
Aquarium Advice FINatic
- Joined
- Dec 22, 2012
- Messages
- 680
Hi all,
After some recent losses in the fish world, I have decided to downsize, rearrange, and make my life a little less complicated.
I am downsizing from 4 tanks to 2 tanks in my home. WIth this, I am upgrading my exisitng planted 25 gallon tank to a 35 gallon tank, as it is an exisiting tank with a gorgeous stand and canopy. I am not happy with the stand and look I have going with the 25 gallon, so I am going to transfer everything to the larger tank, and get rid of the 25 gallon.
which brings me to my quesion.............
I currently have a 24inch Aquatic Life T5 HO. It is a little short for the 35 gallon (30 inches long), but I can adjust it work. Problem is.........the tank is about 1-2 inches TALLER than the 25 gallon it currently sits on, and I have found the 1 fixture does not give me the kind of light I want.
I am going to purchase a 2nd light, in a 30 inch to go over the new tank, and use this exisiting one as the 2nd light over the tank, which should give me the lighting I want.
My problem is..........I am leaning towards going LED with the Finnex Ray 2 for the 30 inch light. It is a slimmer design, less cost as far as bulb repalcement, and electric costs, and I think it will fit better under the canopy (which has an open top design, so I am not worried about heat problems).
Is the Ray 2 compareable to the Aquatic Life T5HO light, in the sense I won't be downgrading much with light?
I do plan to use the 24 inch T5HO as the 2nd light, running less hours than the 30 inch, but I am just not sure if I should go with another T5HO, or bite the bullet and go for the Ray 2 LED.
Anyone use both lights and prefer one over the other?
Brian...........since you are the light expert , what are your thoughts? Will a Ray 2 be enough to give me adequate lighting over a 22 inch tank, 3-4 inch substrate bed?
Any other "better" options for LED lights, other than DIY (yea, that's not gonna happen) that is semi-comparable in price?
After some recent losses in the fish world, I have decided to downsize, rearrange, and make my life a little less complicated.
I am downsizing from 4 tanks to 2 tanks in my home. WIth this, I am upgrading my exisitng planted 25 gallon tank to a 35 gallon tank, as it is an exisiting tank with a gorgeous stand and canopy. I am not happy with the stand and look I have going with the 25 gallon, so I am going to transfer everything to the larger tank, and get rid of the 25 gallon.
which brings me to my quesion.............
I currently have a 24inch Aquatic Life T5 HO. It is a little short for the 35 gallon (30 inches long), but I can adjust it work. Problem is.........the tank is about 1-2 inches TALLER than the 25 gallon it currently sits on, and I have found the 1 fixture does not give me the kind of light I want.
I am going to purchase a 2nd light, in a 30 inch to go over the new tank, and use this exisiting one as the 2nd light over the tank, which should give me the lighting I want.
My problem is..........I am leaning towards going LED with the Finnex Ray 2 for the 30 inch light. It is a slimmer design, less cost as far as bulb repalcement, and electric costs, and I think it will fit better under the canopy (which has an open top design, so I am not worried about heat problems).
Is the Ray 2 compareable to the Aquatic Life T5HO light, in the sense I won't be downgrading much with light?
I do plan to use the 24 inch T5HO as the 2nd light, running less hours than the 30 inch, but I am just not sure if I should go with another T5HO, or bite the bullet and go for the Ray 2 LED.
Anyone use both lights and prefer one over the other?
Brian...........since you are the light expert , what are your thoughts? Will a Ray 2 be enough to give me adequate lighting over a 22 inch tank, 3-4 inch substrate bed?
Any other "better" options for LED lights, other than DIY (yea, that's not gonna happen) that is semi-comparable in price?