Does petsmart carry complex lighting?

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Fishdude401

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Aug 15, 2009
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New Jersey
Fishdude401;3582783; said:
Like T5 and high wattage 48" bulbs, im talking like 100-150WATTs like this:
http://www.dtpetsupplies.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=2189

Also, what is the danger (if any) of changing bulbs a few times a week/month when you have plants?

What is the best light for plants? T5, T8 or T12 ETC?
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no i dont believe they carry VHO's which is what the link is to. VHO is kinda outdated now since t5

they do carry t5's some times


the t rating only refers to bulb diameter i believe. you can grow plants with any of those as long as you have enough wattage.

t5 is the newest, and puts out the most lumens per watt i believe, so it is the most effiecent, i believe you could say its the best. but i had people recommend to replace them a lot more frequently then others, about every 3 months. but i have them but and i replace them yearly.

i believe vho recommendation is 6-12 months.
im guessing here but i think t8 is 1-2 years.

im not sure about any danger beside possible wear and tear
 
A 28W T5 produces about the same light output as a 32W T8 and a 54W T5HO produces close to twice the light output of T8 and T12 lamps when these lamps are operated as part of a ballasted lighting system. The nominal light output of a four-foot 54W T5HO lamp is 5,000 lumens, compared to 2,900 lumens for a 28W T5 lamp and 2,850 lumens for a 32W T8.
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http://www.lightingtaxdeduction.org/technologies/t5.html

taken from there.


keep in mind when choosing a lighting system, one type is automatically better then another, quality effects it alot. so a low quality t5 system still may be worse then a high qualty t8 system.
 
Fishdude401;3582809; said:
I have a T8 bulb at the moment but it is very weak, only 32 watts, i need like 100+watts
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you have two options more bulbs or a different system. i think my t5 ho system does a pretty good job. your choice maybe effected by the foot print of your tank and available space above the tank.

if you have a very odd shape tank you could even do metal halide(probably more expensive).
 
i have a standard 55g ( 48X13X21 ) tank. I want like 2-3 wpg and 5000/10000k. is metal halide good? maybe i should buy a new hood all together
 
i wouldnt go mh. t5 is the way to go. petsmart carries hagen glo t5ho. each bulb is 54 watts. i have about 4wpg and i love it. glo is kinda expensive though. i only have them because my gf bought them for me. i think there is a brand called sunblaze that's pretty cheap. i heard of it but havent done any research for it.
 
Fishdude401;3582991; said:
i have a standard 55g ( 48X13X21 ) tank. I want like 2-3 wpg and 5000/10000k. is metal halide good? maybe i should buy a new hood all together
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in general i would say its debatable which is better halide or t5ho but they(both of them) are considered to the best. i personally think halides look better and have had awesome plant growth with them.

for your size if you could find 70w halide grow lights, i would recommend 2x 70w fixture. but its harder to find lower wattage bulbs for halides. i would tell you to go flourscent(so standard, t5ho, or power compact/cfl) because of that.

if your talking about the standard plastic hoods you get with the tank, yea almost every body with planted tanks discards them or sells them in favor of either a canopy , glass/acrylic covers, or a open top.
 
btw different types of lighting require different fixtures, so they wont fit/ twist in your current light cover.

so its basically given you will will have muliple tubes above your tank.
 
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