Lighting conversion

[dskidmore]

I currently have my 10 gallon sitting 15" under 4 T-12 bulbs (my 75 gallon fixture) I want a new lighting fixture that is properly sized for the tank, and placed closer to the tank. How many T5 bulbs do I need to get similar lumens?

I consider this a mid-light planted tank. It runs on plant based filtration, but has no CO2 or fertilization.

 

[dskidmore]

Actually, I've been out of the game long enough, is T5 still the best replacement option?

 

[aqua_chem]

T5 isn't really a good option on 10g because bulbs usually start at 24", and 10g are 20". 10g are nice because you can use the screw-in hoods that often come with 10g kits along with 10w CFLs that are readily available to get a really nice level of light for many purposes....

As an aside, I still recommend you look into some sort of fertilization, even if it's just a dose a Flourish a few times a week. It's not particularly complicated or expensive, but really will help the tank along.

 

[dskidmore]

Fertilization will wait until after we move and see how things react to the new water. I was on the EI dosing plan, but there's something horrible in the city water and every time I did a water change I had an algae bloom. I tried doing all sorts of testing and analysis, nothing worked. Had to move to a very hands-off system with minimal water changes.

 

[dskidmore]

I found a twin T5 10 gallon fixture at a local store, but the bulbs were saltwater colors. I didn't want to spend money on the wrong bulbs when new bulbs are half the cost of the fixture.

The PC has the advantage that the bulbs are carried in the local hardware store in daylight colors. The 18" T5s are not.

Online option:
AquaticLife T5 HO Light Link Fixture - FreshWater

This one takes an odd bulb I've never seen before:
Coralife 20 Inch Aqualight With 1-96W 6,700K 4-Tube (Quad) Lamp - Square Pin Base

AquaticLife Dual Lamp T5 HO Freshwater Light Fixture - 2 x 18W - 20 in.

HelloLights had nothing in 20"
AquariumLighting.com had nothing in 20"
Foster Smith was hard to search, found mostly low lumen LED fixtures in the freshwater category..

I expected to find some dual PC fixtures, using the 9-18 watt daylight bulbs like I can readily find in the hardware store, but didn't find any. I hate mail ordering bulbs every 6 months.