You have to match the bulb to your fixture, unless you're buying a new fixture. You can't put a T5 bulb on a T8 fixture.
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Lighting
- Thread starter Bajormatt
- Start date
Okay so understand that actinic is blue, but there are different types of actinic lights. The petstore has t5 and t8 and some others but I have no idea which one to get still
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Or T5 (not T5HO) for same light as T8 with less electricity usage. Easy way to tell bulbs and fixtures: T12 = 1.5" T8 = 1" T5=5/8" (bulb diameters).
Also, regular T5 bulbs are usually cheaper than T8's. Coralife T8's are about $30 and T5 are around $18 in my area (48"). Also, you can use T5HO bulbs (may be even cheaper) in a regular T5 fixture/ballast, it just wont put out all the intensity it's capable of and also may shorten the life of the bulb. I have ran 2 t5ho bulbs in 2x single t5 fixtures for over a year with no problems.
