# T5 or T8?



## snail (Aug 6, 2010)

I've finally got the stand done for my 90 gallon and now I have to buy the lighting. Is there a reason I should choose T5 over T8 for a planted tank?


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

I'd go with T5HO and would look into lights by fishneedit.com. Or, if you wanted higher quality and custom work available...catalinaaqaurium.com.


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## snail (Aug 6, 2010)

Why is T5 better?


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

T5HO is better. HO is high output. I think, although not sure, that they are just overdriven T5 lights.


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## snail (Aug 6, 2010)

Other than being a higher wattage, is there a reason that they are better than T8?
Replacement T8 bulbs are easier to get locally so I'm wondering if it's worth it to get the T5HO.


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

I guess it depends on what you want out of it. If you want better lighting for your plants, then go with T5HO. If T8s will meet your goals then go that way.


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## snail (Aug 6, 2010)

I'm planning on a low medium light setup so I think T8 would do but every one seems to say T5HO is better. I guess my question is if wattage is the only advantage or if there are other reasons they are better too.


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

Typically T5HO lights are made better....better reflectors.


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## susankat (Nov 15, 2008)

With low to medium being your goal, just get the T8's Or you could just run regular shop lights. I have grown lots of plants with shop lights. Just use 2 of them. I get mine at walmart or home depot.

This tank has 2 shop lights on it.


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## beaslbob (May 29, 2009)

If the 90g tank is 4' I would use t-8 fixtures from home depot.


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## mfgann (Oct 21, 2010)

Basically in the same way that the T8s are much more efficient than the T12s, the T5s are much more efficient than the T8s. What this means is that less power is wasted as heat, and thus you get more light per watt. Basically the T5s are technically superior to the T8s. The problem is that they are not as widespread as T8s, so you will have a little harder time tracking down a suitable bulb. I think that is probably the most important factor (bulb availability).

I replaced the single 24" T12 bulb in my 36" hood with a dual T5NO (regular T5s, not HO) fixture. It was a simple job to rewire them. The real challenge was finding 6500K T5 bulbs that were NO (21 watts). I finally found them at 1000bulbs.com for cheap, but it was a little annoying. If I had a T5HO fixture I would have had plenty of places to order it through as an aquarium light, and if it were T8, I might have even had a shot at a 36" light at the home depot (24" and 48" are much more common). If I were doing it again, I would strongly consider using a T5HO fixture from ahsupply.com. If you have a 48" tank I would just go with a 48" T8 as beaslbob suggested, or look into how easy it is to find 6500K T5 bulbs at 48".

Now, for wattage, the old "2 watts per gallon" rule is simply outdated, but it is one of the easiest yardsticks we have to use. I think the best advise I saw was to scale it down depending on the bulb. Basically, a T12 needs about 2W per gallon, a T8 needs about 1.75 watts per gallon, and T5s need about 1.5 watts per gallon. I currently have two 21 watt T5 bulbs in my 30G, and the plants grow just fine, and I've had to cut back my light timer to keep algae at bay.. I am not running any CO2 or ferts though.

I have no idea how well all of this would scale to 90G, but this has been my experience. Hope it helps some.

Good luck


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

T5NO bulbs are the ones hard to find. Actually, T5HO are very easy to find.


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## mfgann (Oct 21, 2010)

jrman83 said:


> T5NO bulbs are the ones hard to find. Actually, T5HO are very easy to find.


Yes, absolutely. That is what I was trying to say in a long round-about way. Sorry if that message got lost in the noise.

T12s -> easiest to find and ineffecient.
T8s -> easy to find and efficient.
T5HO -> Common in fish supplies (especially reef gear) and very efficient.
T5 NO -> Pretty hard to find in right color/size and very efficient.


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## snail (Aug 6, 2010)

susankat said:


> With low to medium being your goal, just get the T8's Or you could just run regular shop lights. I have grown lots of plants with shop lights. Just use 2 of them. I get mine at walmart or home depot.
> 
> This tank has 2 shop lights on it.


Two T8 bulbs would only be 80 watts I think, that wouldn't be enough for a 90 gallon tank would it?


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## snail (Aug 6, 2010)

beaslbob said:


> If the 90g tank is 4' I would use t-8 fixtures from home depot.


Yes, it's 4 foot.


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## susankat (Nov 15, 2008)

I would use 2 strips which would be 4 bulbs. That is whats over the 75


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## snail (Aug 6, 2010)

susankat said:


> I would use 2 strips which would be 4 bulbs. That is whats over the 75


 I see, yes.


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## beaslbob (May 29, 2009)

snail said:


> Two T8 bulbs would only be 80 watts I think, that wouldn't be enough for a 90 gallon tank would it?


two fixtures=4 tubes. Cheapie t-8 are 32w t-12 are 40w

I believe a 90g tank can take 3 fixtures so:

6*32=186w or 2 w/g. should be enough. But price is up to around $45 plus tax.

my .02


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## snail (Aug 6, 2010)

When you say T8fixture you are talking about some thing like this?:
T8 Fluorescent Lamp Fixture With Reflector(Double Tube)BMT8240A12


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## beaslbob (May 29, 2009)

snail said:


> When you say T8fixture you are talking about some thing like this?:
> T8 Fluorescent Lamp Fixture With Reflector(Double Tube)BMT8240A12


Yep

Only that particualr fixture has a reflector that is fairly wide and would probably not fit over a tank. The home depot $10 fixture has much narrower reflectors. So more fixtures can fit.


my .02


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

Fixtures on top of a tank would just be annoying to me. Unless I didn't have to remove them. Of course, my hands are into my tanks a lot and even a feeding would require you to remove a fixture. I have glass canopies on all of my tanks because I also consider the evap rate of a topless tank to be exceptionally annoying.


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## snail (Aug 6, 2010)

That was my next question, lol, what do I do with the fixtures? Are they just supposed to sit on top of the tank? I'm not tying to be funny by the way, it is a real question.


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## beaslbob (May 29, 2009)

snail said:


> That was my next question, lol, what do I do with the fixtures? Are they just supposed to sit on top of the tank? I'm not tying to be funny by the way, it is a real question.


On my 55g I put a plastic 1/4" square grid egg crate on the tank instead of glass.

then use 2x4's at the ends to rest the fistures on and hold them up off the tank/egg crate.


But that did look kinda "getto".

If you have a hood you might check to see if they will fit inside the hood and just mount them there. Which would also look much better anyway.


my .02


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## snail (Aug 6, 2010)

Unfortunately it has no hood, just a glass canopy. I would like the lighting to look fairly tidy at least as the tank is in our living room. I'm looking at T8 fixtures at the LFS but they seem expensive for what you get and I'm worried if I order something on line I won't like it when I get it. What I'd really like to do is DIY LEDS but that won't be cheep either and I don't quite have the courage to take the plunge because the DIY part is a little complicated. At the moment I'm considering all options. Cheep would be nice but I wouldn't mind spending a little more for something that was just right.


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## balutpenoy2oy (Dec 17, 2010)

snail said:


> Unfortunately it has no hood, just a glass canopy. I would like the lighting to look fairly tidy at least as the tank is in our living room. I'm looking at T8 fixtures at the LFS but they seem expensive for what you get and I'm worried if I order something on line I won't like it when I get it. What I'd really like to do is DIY LEDS but that won't be cheep either and I don't quite have the courage to take the plunge because the DIY part is a little complicated. At the moment I'm considering all options. Cheep would be nice but I wouldn't mind spending a little more for something that was just right.




why not check your Home Depot, I saw on my place a shop light with 2X T8 in and a reflector that is the same as the specialist ( aquarium) type I only forget its price but this much more cheap to compare, as I say this is one unit.


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