# Is this light good enough?



## gdawg (Jun 8, 2012)

I'm upgrading my turtle tank to 40 gallons and I wanna do a little bit of planting. Maybe some java moss on some driftwood or something to give a nice natural feel but not anything too crazy because my turtles will most likely eat it. but I was wondering what is up with the Home Depot lighting compared to the "aquarium lighting" because it seems to be a lot cheaper. Could I put some of these grow lights on my tank? 
(2 ft. T5 865 High Output Fluorescent Grow Light Replacement Bulb, 6500K-VT52B at The Home Depot)....... or will those not do? I'm new to all of this lighting stuff and it seems as though this would work for the minimal planting I will be doing but thought I would check with you guys. This seems like a way cheaper alternative to put in a canopy opposed to some of the other ones at a lfs. Tell me what you guys think! Thanks!


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## Redtail84 (Jan 23, 2012)

That light will definitely work. I use hardware store CFL bulbs for both of my aquariums. As long as they are the right color temp, which those are, you should be fine.


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## snail (Aug 6, 2010)

T5 HO is the prefered lighting of many high tech, high light planted tank keepers. What you are looking at seems to be essentially the same thing, although the cheap version may not be as efficient or lasting as the specialist aquarium ones I think it will work for your purposes. One bulb doesn't give you that man watts but again it will do fine for java moss. You could do some sort of DIY reflector with it to maximize efficiency.


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

The link you posted is just bulbs. I assume you have a fixture? Given that, HO bulbs will not work correctly in a non-HO fixture. It is not the bulb that makes it HO, it is the power supply. They have a higher output voltage. Just get standard bulbs, they will work fine. Also, java moss will grow from just ambient light so no need to go crazy. Unless you have a HO fixture?


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