hello im new to planted tanks my question is should i replace my 96 watt power compact bulb 4pin config 50/50 (10k and acentic)for 96 bucks or buy a T5 that has one 21 watt 10k bulb and one 21 watt true acentic for 55 bucks. My tank is a 38 gallon with a co2 ladder fairly heavy planted with water sprite anubias hornwort and a few others i dont know the name of. The live stock is about 20 tetras and 5 cae's The only reason im replaceing the bulb is because it is about three years old.
should i replace pc or get a T5
- Thread starter svtim
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its kinda up to you... your plants are not HIGH light plants. it looks like that T-5 fixture is a NO (Normal Output) light so the par output would be less then the PC (i think).....T-5 bulbs are cheaper then PC bulbs but if your looking for a stronger light source a T-5 HO (High Output) would be the way to go. i love my T-5 HO fixtures you have many many many bulb types to choose from and get way more PAR then almost any other fixture for the watts used.
also the actinic lights will do very little to nothing for your plants. plants can use light ranging between 6500k (kelvin) and 11000k the 11000 would be pushing it as far as usable light for the plants.
hope that helps.
also the actinic lights will do very little to nothing for your plants. plants can use light ranging between 6500k (kelvin) and 11000k the 11000 would be pushing it as far as usable light for the plants.
hope that helps.
T5HO FTW! No question about it. Check out http://www.fishneedit.com/t5ho-ligh.html. I have read of people being pretty happy with these lights for the price. Also maybe check out Giesemann Aqua Flora bulbs. heres a link for your reading pleasure...http://www.horticulturesource.com/3...4683/?osCsid=a11ccd70d0da6d1e15dd35319f862e03
And yes actinics are useless with plants.
And yes actinics are useless with plants.
I would just buy the quad strip if you are gonna spend the money. Each light in it has its own switch so you can run as many as you want. 42 watts isnt much. Just about 1WPG with your 38gal. Just think of what you could grow with 4 bulbs!!!!
that kelvin should be fine just will be a little yellow in color. (that only matters if you dont like that look) and 4 bulbs is always good but remeber the more watts you push on your tank the more chance you have for algae and more demand you have for CO2 and fertz. but the light you have will work fine im sure.... time to get some pics up.
you should take a look at the hagen glo HO T5 fixture. just got a new tank with them and they seem to be a great unit so far, not bad priced either