I just bought a t-5 fixture off ebay and I am sure it is not the greatest quality but should work for the time being until I get the fixtures I want. My question is are all t-5 bulds the same so if the bulbs that come with them are crap I can order new ones and they will fit no problem.
t-5 lighting
- Thread starter Butter73
- Start date
in diameter and lenght yes. Although be sure your purchasing either normal bulbs if the unit needs it or High Output bulbs. on the box it will say something to the effect 34watt HO or 20 watt NO, HO-high output and NO-normal output.
T5s aren't much better than regular flourescent lighting without good, individual reflectors for them. The bulbs come in different colors & you need to find the right combinantion to get the color you like out of your corals. www.reefgeek.com is where I get mine.
HO's are great with or without individual reflectors. All it does is increase the amount of PAR in the tank which in terms makes them that much better for the coral. With individual reflectors wattage means very little to HO's and VHO's because of the average 20% increase per bulb. not an official number because it changes between ballasts and bulbs.
A unit that has 2 bulbs sharing one reflector is still very efficient but yes you are limited to corals again.
A unit that has 2 bulbs sharing one reflector is still very efficient but yes you are limited to corals again.
you can get fixtures with odd sized t5's and there normally the cheap ones(like the ones on ebay). so no not all t5's are the same length. then there are vho and no tubes wattage being the difference.
With individual reflectors & T5s, you can keep the same corals as if you were using metal halides.
yes you can, but even if you didnt have individual reflectors, you can still keep a large assortment of corals, which is the point im trying to make.
Yeah but why not just use PCs then? With T5s & individual reflectors, clams, anemones & SPS will thrive just as well as if they were under MH.