# T5 Lighting Fixtures Help



## sharkattack (Feb 28, 2011)

I Was Told By A Lfs That In Order To Start Getting Into Live Plants The Right Way, I Need To Upgrade My Light Fixtures So As To Run T5 Lighting.

For The Time Being, He Gave Me Some Live Anacharis, Sword, And Banana That He Says Should Be Ok W/ The T8 Lighting He Sold Me.

However, I'd Really Like To Get The Proper Lighting I Need To Have Live Plants.

I Have A 55 Gallon Rectangle Tank That Came From Petsmart Years Ago. I Have Included A Picture I Took Of The Top Of It So That You Can See What The Top Looks Like.

I'm Just Looking For Assistance On What Type Of Fixture (obviously At An Entry Level Price) Would Be Suitable For My Tank? And If Anyone Has Any Ideas, Maybe Some Links To Some Websites Where I Can Get Them Online Would Help Also.

Thanks So Much For Your Assistance.


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## sharkattack (Feb 28, 2011)

Also, Sorry For The Capital Letters On Everything, Its Hard To Read I Know. At Work I Use All Caps And Thats What The Forum Does To My Posts


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

He probably means T5HO. The lighting you have will probably grow those plants just fine and there are quite a few other low light plants out there. It is up to you though, on whether you want to upgrade and get better lighting and not be limited to certain select plants. By select plants I don't mean that in a negative way as there are a lot of them out there.

There are numerous T5HO fixtures out there. There is low cost fixtures made by fishneedit.com up to what catalinaaquarium.com offers. Difference is cost and Catalina also can do custom work. I have used them numerous times and always top notch work, but comes with a price. Choice is up to you and there are many manufacturers out there.


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## sharkattack (Feb 28, 2011)

Thanks For The Advice And The Links.
Quick Question, Can You Get Entry Level Priced T5ho Light Fixtures That Are Premade To Sit Directly On The Tank?

Or Is It More Common To Get The Lighting That "suspends" Itself Above, Or Might Not Be An Exact Fit For The Tank I Have But Rather Latches To The Sides Of The Tank And "hovers" Or "suspends" Above?

Thanks Again!


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

You can sit them directly on the tank - any fixture. Some come with legs that you can buy, or if they already have you can remove. They can come setup to suspend if you like, but you don't have to suspend them. Fishneedit lights come with legs or you can buy a hanging kit. Catalina light have to be requested to get the haning eyelets or you can buy legs to suspend them about 4" above the tank. All up to individual taste in the way you do it. If your light is too powerful and you're having issues then really all you can do is suspend it - if you didn't want to remove some bulbs anyway.

Your 55gal should be 36" in length, by the way.


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## sharkattack (Feb 28, 2011)

Thanks Again! 
Going To Look Into Everything Now....while I Should Be Working


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## sharkattack (Feb 28, 2011)

IF I WENT W/ THIS ONE HERE
T5-ho 4ft / 2LAMP Aquarium lighting

WHAT DO YOU THINK MY LIMITS WOULD BE W/ THIS FIXTURE? OR ANY OTHER THOUGHTS, SUGGESTIONS, TIPS, ADVICE, ETC

T5-ho 4ft / 2LAMP Aquarium lighting




Item# t5ho-4ft--2lamp-aquarium-light

$89.99
Bulb choice: all blue1 white 1 blueall white1 white 1 pink Color Temp For the White bulbs: ***6700K10000K14000K .

Product Description


Aluminum body is lightweight, heavy duty , rust proof


Accommodates ultra efficient, high output T-5 lamps


Included 2 x 54w bulbs


1 switches and 1 power-cords Cool operation and NO noise


48" L x 5" W x 2.5 inches high


Mounting Leg : Included


save electronic




THANKS!


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

That's right, 55g tanks are 48" long. For some reason....nevermind. 

That light would work for you much better than the stock light it came with. If you go down this road, I would suggest getting glass canopies or some type of cover. Some people use egg crate, but personally I can't deal with the evap rate of an open tank.


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## snail (Aug 6, 2010)

How many Watts is the T8 light you have? Low light, low tech planted tanks can be very nice and you might not need to change anything, it just depends on what you want.

If your lighting levels get over a certain level you need to start using co2 and dosing ferts as well.


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## ftech (Mar 12, 2011)

Any LED t5 lamps?


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## Gizmo (Dec 6, 2010)

ftech said:


> Any LED t5 lamps?


LED = Light Emitting Diode, a small electrical component about the size of a drop of water.

T5 = Diameter measurement of a fluorescent bulb.

LED and T5 are completely different bulbs. LED's are generally more efficient as they consume much less power, however their ability to grow plants as effectively as T5 fixtures is still under debate. They are also much more expensive, in most cases.


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## sharkattack (Feb 28, 2011)

ok, so, ive been doing a lot of research based off of the advice i receive on this website.

first, my lights are T8's that i have in some old top fin fixtures that came w/ my 55 gallon almost 7 years ago. from what i've read, im prob losing a lot of wattage, or not getting the maximum out of them due to the old fixtures. 

i think my next step is definitely upgrading my fixtures to the T5HO. my plants i put in about a week and a half ago are already starting to wilt a little, i bought some liquid fertilizer and started that yesterday. 

someone also mentioned my bubbler would remove CO2 that the plants need? i guess ive been wrong all these years, as i thought the bubbler was important in adding gases into the water, esp oxygen for the fish. i obviously dont have the amount of plants the would require CO2 injection (i dont think), but im clueless as to knowning about my CO2 and oxygen levels, if they are adequate for the fish and the plants.

its a fun and exciting new adventure for me. i gotta say, when i first tried live plants i assumed you buy them, stick them in, put some nice lighting on it and ur done. its just like anything, there are so many fine details ive got to learn. kind of like when i started cycling a few years ago, i just assumed you pick up a bike and take off, now i have a true road bike, specialty pedals and shoes, a trainer w/ a dvd at home, specialty water bottles, hahahaha. 

everyones comments and posts on this forum make me just want to get into the live plants even more, slowly of course as the accountant i work for doesnt pay me squat! haha


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## Gizmo (Dec 6, 2010)

sharkattack said:


> first, my lights are T8's that i have in some old top fin fixtures that came w/ my 55 gallon almost 7 years ago. from what i've read, im prob losing a lot of wattage, or not getting the maximum out of them due to the old fixtures.
> 
> i think my next step is definitely upgrading my fixtures to the T5HO. my plants i put in about a week and a half ago are already starting to wilt a little, i bought some liquid fertilizer and started that yesterday.
> 
> someone also mentioned my bubbler would remove CO2 that the plants need? i guess ive been wrong all these years, as i thought the bubbler was important in adding gases into the water, esp oxygen for the fish. i obviously dont have the amount of plants the would require CO2 injection (i dont think), but im clueless as to knowning about my CO2 and oxygen levels, if they are adequate for the fish and the plants.


First off, yes, your bulb is weak. Standard hood fixtures do not have reflectors, so most of the light energy (75% or so) is being lost to absorption into the fixture and strikeback onto the bulb. T5HO fixtures have very small-profile high-intensity bulbs combined with good reflectors in a cooled housing. The result is you could take a hundred-Watt T8 fixture and it would equal the same quality of light as a forty-Watt T5HO fixture. Well worth the money.

Don't add fertilizers until you bump your lighting up. Otherwise, you will have excess fertz in your water and algae will take over.

As for the CO2, there are two ways for you to intentionally screw with CO2 concentrations: aeration with a bubbler, and CO2 injection. Aeration is to diffuse a tiny amount of air into the water and mainly to break the surface tension at the water's edge, promoting gas exchange by which CO2 is added naturally to your tank from the air. Aeration simply facilitates gas exchange. HOWEVER, if you are injecting CO2, the object of that whole system is to boost your CO2 concentrations ABOVE what normal gas exchange would do. So when injecting CO2, you actually want to REDUCE surface agitation so that the overdose of CO2 is not "gassed out" of your water by gas exchange.

Aeration is something I would highly suggest for your tank, especially with the advent of a new more intense light and dosing fertilizers, otherwise your plants will deplete all of the CO2 in the water and your pH will skyrocket.


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## sharkattack (Feb 28, 2011)

[email protected] said:


> As for the CO2, there are two ways for you to intentionally screw with CO2 concentrations: aeration with a bubbler, and CO2 injection. Aeration is to diffuse a tiny amount of air into the water and mainly to break the surface tension at the water's edge, promoting gas exchange by which CO2 is added naturally to your tank from the air. Aeration simply facilitates gas exchange. HOWEVER, if you are injecting CO2, the object of that whole system is to boost your CO2 concentrations ABOVE what normal gas exchange would do. So when injecting CO2, you actually want to REDUCE surface agitation so that the overdose of CO2 is not "gassed out" of your water by gas exchange.
> 
> Aeration is something I would highly suggest for your tank, especially with the advent of a new more intense light and dosing fertilizers, otherwise your plants will deplete all of the CO2 in the water and your pH will skyrocket.


thanks, i'll keep the bubbler in there, finally go get a T5HO fixture, and see what happens!


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## sharkattack (Feb 28, 2011)

So any worries if i settled on this fixture?
T5-ho 4ft / 2LAMP Aquarium lighting




Item# t5ho-4ft--2lamp-aquarium-light

$89.99
Bulb choice: all blue1 white 1 blueall white1 white 1 pink Color Temp For the White bulbs: ***6700K10000K14000K 

T5-ho 4ft / 2LAMP Aquarium lighting


It also asks which color bulbs i want? 
- All Blue
- All White
- 1 White, 1 Blue
- 1 White, 1 Pink

not a clue on this??

Lastly, it asks color temp for white bulbs...6700K, 10000K, 14000K????

Assistance is appreciated.

Thanks.


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## Gizmo (Dec 6, 2010)

sharkattack said:


> So any worries if i settled on this fixture?
> T5-ho 4ft / 2LAMP Aquarium lighting
> 
> - 1 White, 1 Pink
> ...


Freshwater plants like red-hued lights, while white and blue lights showcase your tank, fish, and the colors of your plants. Plants also like lights with Kelvin ratings below 10000K. I would go with the white/pink bulb combo, and get either a 6700K or 10000K bulb for the white. Check and see what the Kelvin rating on the pink bulb is if you can, it might help you get a better gauge of what white bulb you'll need.

The Kelvin rating refers to black-body radiation temperature rating, and really just refers to the color and quality of light the bulb emits. 5000K is a pinkish-red light, while 12000K is a blue/actinic light.


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

You want 6700k or 10000k for plants. I'd recommend the 6700k bulbs. They are brighter looking and I enjoy how bringht my tank looks to me. 10000k bulbs are slightly more pink and doesn't look as bright to your eyes. Either or the plants won't care. 

I have a complete set of 10000k bulbs for one of my fixtures and I've played around with both to see which I like. There is not enough evidence out there to prove different growth rates, colors, health, etc, between using the colors for plants - I've looked. Some things suggest differences, but I haven't seen results. When I get my PAR meter I plan to test some things out between the bulbs


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## sharkattack (Feb 28, 2011)

real quick just wanted to ask a question about fishneedit.com

are they a good company to order from?
i have emailed them a couple times, but never get a reply until like midnight (which i guess is probably 10pm or so their time in san fran)

i just tried calling them, w/ no answer

and when i decided to go ahead and order the product, it sent me to a paypal thing. i hate using paypal

any thoughts?

thanks


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

I bought their light for my 29g. For the price of their stuff I think the light is a nice piece. Does the job. I haven't had too much dealing with them on email or phone as I've only emailed them once and they responded fairly quickly. I didn't care for the paypal thing either, but I do have an account I use paypal regularly so it didn't matter much. I would say just keep trying to call if you don't want to use paypal.


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## sharkattack (Feb 28, 2011)

nevermind about my post above, i spoke w/ the person who runs fishneedit.com, he was very helpful and i got an ordered placed w/out creating a paypal account


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