# Poll...sort of...



## Raymond S. (Jan 11, 2013)

Anyone ever use these bulbs before/if yes, what results did you get from your plants.
Please include tank water depth/ferts/Co2/water change sched:
Aquatic Life T5 HO 6000K Lamp at PETCO
Zoo Med T-5 HO Flora Sun Max Plant Growth Fluorescent Bulb at PETCO
Zoo Med T-5 HO Ultra Sun Super Daylight Fluorescent Bulb at PETCO


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## lonedove55 (Jan 25, 2012)

Zoo Med T-5 HO Ultra Sun Super Daylight Fluorescent Bulb at PETCO

I am currently using 2 of these bulbs in my 38g (39 watts each) 8-9 hrs per day. Tank is planted with swords, crypts, dwarf sag, anubias and moss in eco-complete black substrate (with some fert tabs added under swords). Bulbs are right at a year old and one seems to be getting darker and may need replacement. So far, I've had good growth, use no ferts except the above, and usually add Excel once a week after large water change (I forget to dose daily..lol). You can see a picture in my gallery Aquarium Gallery - 10/27/13 jcclimber's plants This tank does have a glass top, so lighting is dimmed somewhat.


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## Raymond S. (Jan 11, 2013)

Thank you very much. I have used the two Zoo Meds with each other in a ten but they were T8's. Did very well in that set.


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## lonedove55 (Jan 25, 2012)

You're welcome. I've not used T8s, so can't comment on those.


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

Not sure what kind of comparison you can get from the question. It is the reflector in your fixture that has more impact in how the fixture performs, vs the bulbs you use. How those T5HOs perform in my fixtures will no doubt not compare to yours. Some companies do very well in getting as much as 4 times the rated wattage equivalent in the tank, others not so well. This is where the "you get what you pay for" theme comes in.

If you want the bulbs that a large portion of the planted tank community calls one of the best instead of buying tons of bulbs, buy Giesemann and forget about the rest. JMO.


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## Raymond S. (Jan 11, 2013)

I often can't resist putting in enough words to think I've completely explained what it is I'm talking about, but didn't in the original post here.
For the reason you mentioned, reflectors, I had planned to get a Carolina T5 fixture. It's rated the highest in that dept and really not
that much more for their T5 fixtures than the others at the high end of the selection available for that. About $100 for the 24" dual bulb.
However...it has come to my attention that the focus seems to be on getting the plants to grow at an unusually high rate.
Without all the everything that goes/w it, your seriously asking for algae, as per my results, when you try to short one or both of
the other two arias that go/w the high lights. I also get a LOT BETTER coverage of light in my tank/w T8 bulbs even in fixtures without
reflectors in them. The light cover all surfaces in the tank which are directly under something which might shade it. Even all the way
to the very tops of every wall in there...no shaded spots/great visibility in your tank from the T8's in fact. I'll take pictures to show it.
I have one ten G/w T5 and one/w T8. Both have two bulbs. They say a picture is worth a thousand words so watch this thread as I'll
add those pictures to it.
I have one of the higher rated T5 fixtures now. On the chart for T5's on the PAR chart susan put in here it has high levels. So the results
that "others" got with those bulbs is of great interest to me. But not for the reason that you think. And I did ask for feed back
from people who used those bulbs.
Sorry I really should have added this: The reason is that I'm getting too much growth/w the T5 6500K/6700K bulbs and I am looking to
find out which of the lower rated bulbs, as in 5500K, works good for "other" people..regardless of their reflectors and I'm especially
interested in that Aquatic Life bulb because it's an inexpensive one.


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

Not sure what you mean by lower rated bulbs comparing a 5500 to a 6500k. I doubt very seriously you would see ANY growth differences and in fact would argue that as long as the bulb is the same wattage anybody who says they see differences between anything in the plant spectrum probably doesn't have a clue. You can't even see that in high light, CO2, and daily dosed tanks, much less something below that. If there were differences it would likely be millimeter differences. A 6500/6700K bulb will seem brighter, but the PAR will still likely be very, very close. The plants will look different under different light, more colors can be brought out etc. 

Carolina fixture? Did you mean Catalina?


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## Raymond S. (Jan 11, 2013)

Oops I guess it is...
24 INCH SOLAR T5 HO AQUARIUM LIGHT FIXTURE - 2 X 24 WATTS
Primarily wanting a cheaper bulb that would grow at least fairly well, but hoping for less growth in general. I think your likely right
about it only being millimeters apart from the 5500 to the 6500 though. You know how hard it is to keep smaller tanks right/w good water quality...well it's just as hard to do the balancing act/w light/fert/o2 in them also. One T8 bulb is very poor but two is actually overkill.
Needs lots of ferts and o2 to balance it and you can't have any viewing room in the tank left over if you actually put in enough plants
to use that up. So I'm just trying to balance them. One/w T8 and one/w T5 bulbs and I'm trying to find(in this thread) which T5
bulbs seem to be the most popular etc. but especially that Aqua Life one. But in this case the balance will be in how much I can
reduce everything to the point that you have some viewing room left over when you have just a few plants and balance all
other factors in/w that. I'm going for just over 1/3rd blank space left in the middle/w plants on the right and left ends.
Appreciate you getting my attention on that 5500/6500 thing. I got the Catalina rating from the thread that susan made.
I know they didn't cover many in there but it looks like the Catalina did well. Have decided to use it only for a future larger
tank as the T5 I have is too much anyway.


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

I have 5 Catalina custom fixtures. Custom because the bulbs are spread farther apart to give max spread front to back and more even lighting instead of the typical setup where the bulbs are less than 2" apart. All the data that you see on the big PAR thread on TPT that has Catalina fixtures listed is what I provided to hoppy (author to the thread) using my PAR meter.

I worry about the "lots of ferts" ref when talking about a T8 fixture. If you really do use "lots" you are probably overdoing it by quite a bit. It just doesn't "require" it.

Still waiting for you to try DIY CO2. Once you see how your plants change, you will understand why many like having CO2 and want it.


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