# cheap light fixture, is it any good?



## sschreiner5 (Oct 11, 2011)

Aquarium Lighting , TheSFshop.com - Knobs Handles - Cabinet Handles - Cabinet Hardware - Cabinet Hinge - Kitchen Faucet , 48" 108W Aquarium Lighting Fish Tank T5 HO Light Fixture

Please follow the link and tell me what you think of this light fixture. I know you get what you pay for but does any one think it looks ok? Only looking for OK, not awesome. I cant afford awesome right now. 

I have a 55 gallon with 2 20w t12 bulbs and my plants are not growing very well. I have jungle val that isnt dieing but its not really growing either, I use to trim off a foot or more from each leaf once a week but now they grow less than one inch in 2 weeks. I had them in a 29 with the 2 20w bulbs but have moved them to a 55 now. 

I have heard 108w of t5ho lighting will be too much for a 55 without co2 but I figured if I get a lot of algee I will swap one of the bulbs with a blue (actinic) and I should be ok.


----------



## rtmaston (Jul 14, 2012)

for the price it should do a perty good job.later on you might be able to upgrade the bulbs.just a thought


----------



## Gizmo (Dec 6, 2010)

Looks good to me.


----------



## Raymond S. (Jan 11, 2013)

Might as well,
I do believe that it is priced higher than Petco or Petsmart. I've never asked
at one of those stores but I just realized that I don't know if theirs come/w
bulbs or not. I did notice that this one does and they seem the right type.
The 6700K I mean. In fact check this out.
48" 108W 6500K T5 HO Pink Fluorescent Aquarium Light Hood Freshwater Plant Reef | eBay


----------



## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

That fixture should be fine with your 55g. I'm guessing the quality of the light would be a big factor in considering whether or not it is too much. Swapping to an actinic will not keep algae down.


----------



## sschreiner5 (Oct 11, 2011)

I got this light new for $70 (shipping included) from Amazon it came with 2 6700k bulbs (sold out right away). My 20w t12 6700k bulbs had a purple tint and these have a yellow tint, I liked the purple better. I've been using it for a week now. I have had some algee but it hasnt been that bad, prolly from overfeeding as I struggle with that. So far I havent seen any new plant growth on anything other that java moss but I am hopefull. I maybe saw a runnier from a jungle val but did not investigate. While I was ice fishing last weekend my heater died and my tank was 70 degrees when I got home on Sunday. I got a new heater but now I got ich. I'll update in a few weeks once the ich is gone.


----------



## sschreiner5 (Oct 11, 2011)

So I have been using this light for a while now and there hasnt been much change in my plants. I have grown some brown algea though. I noticed the light has a yellow tinit to it and the old lights had a purple tint which I liked better. I also noticed a few black spots on the bulbs that look like burn marks from the inside of the bulbs. The bulbs do have 6700 printed on them but I wonder if thats actually what they are since its a cheap fixture from China. I am going to replace the bulbs and see if that helps as I expect the bulbs sent with it are really poor quality. I prefer them to have a purple tint but as long as my plants grow I dont care. Can anyone recomend a good 48" 54w T5HO bulb? 

I have been shopping PetMountain and wonder about these two let me know what you think:
Coralife High Output T5 6,700K Lamp Aquarium T5 HO Bulbs

True Lumen T5HO Freshwater Flora Pink Bulb Aquarium T5 HO BulbsTrue Lumen T5HO Freshwater Flora Pink Bulb Aquarium T5 HO Bulbs

I have the ICh taken care of, now I just need my plants to grow and I will be happy.


----------



## Raymond S. (Jan 11, 2013)

You can over do it/w plant bulbs. The T5's are intense. The 55 is tall so two bulbs one pink and one 6700K may be alright or two 6700's. But if you have
a problem/w it being too much light you can either shorten the cycle time or...get one of the cheapest bulbs they have to replace one/w. I don't know
on the T5's but regular flo you can't just use one bulb. I know one extreme to the other. But...here's one more trick. A piece of aluminium screen wire under 
one or both bulbs will block 30-40% of the light. Likely how tall the 55 is will make the two bulbs work correctly though.


----------



## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

I prefer these bulbs D-D Giesemann Powerchrome Midday T5 High Output Fluorescent Lamp

Either those or check out catalina aquariums website.


----------



## Raymond S. (Jan 11, 2013)

I'm limited to a ten gal right now (lease issue) but will get a 50 or 55 before forever passes. That Mid day looks great. I now use a cycle
in summer time. This is for my ten but convert it to the 55. Those don't come in 18" so I'll wait till the 55. But I have a Zoo Med max flora
grow T8 on from 8a to 6p but also have a Zoo Med Ultra sun trycromatic (good thing they don't do jail time for spelling) on from 11a to 3p.
Likely go/w the flora(in your brand) for the 8/6 and the mid day for the 11/3.
I really like the spectra graph on this bulb (mid)...more complete than the Zoo Med..three very high peaks as opposed to two.
Now to go and check out Catalina.


----------

