shop light... t-8 or t-12?

[HaleMoana]

I am using a glass top to prevent splashing.

Posted via Mobile Device

 

[malawi mayhem]

I vote for T-8...

What kind of fish...? Sorry you mentioned it already... it late ....

mm

 

[VNCNT]

i'll go with the t8's. all i can find are 6500k bulbs at the hardware store. 2 bulbs for about $6-$7. if i can find 6700k bulbs for about the same price, i'll go with those. i also saw clear polycarbonate tubes that the bulbs go into while in the fixture for protection. would these be recommended or are they useless for this application?

 

[Tropical Dude]

You should just get a cheap acrylic sheet and make a splash guard. The tubes will be pointless, it is the end cap and ballast you have to worry about. But the tubes may be good just to prevent breakage (a broken fluorescent is pretty nasty).

 

[HaleMoana]

do you have a glass top? If not, then a cheap acrylic layover (like mentioned above) is a simple solution.

 

[VNCNT]

i have glass tops. i'm thinking of hanging the shop light so it isn't sitting directly on top of the lids. this should eliminate the need for a splash guard, no?

 

[FSM]

T8 bulbs are more efficient; less wattage, equal or greater light. They are also thinner so less light gets blocked by the bulb itself. Almost all aquarium bulbs are T8 instead of T12

 

[HaleMoana]

Can a T-8 fixture also power T-12 bulbs? I thought they could?

 

[Bud8Fan]

T8s with 6700k bulbs. I use them over my big tanks and they look great.

I'll second this post. I have two of them over my 300 and it looks great!

 

[VNCNT]

i got a t-8 fixture from home depot for about $19 yesterday. i also got 6500k phillips bulbs. the CRi on the bulbs is 85 compared to a CRi of 78 on the 6500k GE bulbs. i love the way my tank is illuminated. it is bright and the colors on my fish look very true and natural. the only problem is i can see all the scratches in the glass now!