t-5,t-8,t-12

[jcardona1]

yup, the kelvin rating is only a measure of light's "color temperature". here's a few charts the better show the color scale. i find that 6500k are too yellow for my tastes, so i go with 10,000k for my tank. the color is not really as blue as shown, but you get the idea...

this one is more accurate id say

and from vehicle HID kits

 

[jcardona1]

here's some more good info on bulb wattage and lumens:

 

[Cartel]

Wow I was just about to ask about all this. I have a 46gl bowfront thats semi planted. I was using a 96wt 50/50 single PC setup that looked niiice. I never had problems with algae. I use all the seachem products so everythings nice and healthy. Well the ballast went out and getting a new setup like I had is out of my price range right now. So I started looking online and so far this is what iv found. Like i said its a semi planted nothing fancy. I just cant stand yellow lights haha so should this work out good?

http://www.bigalsonline.com/BigAlsU...6/cl0/coralifefwt5aqualightdoublestriplight36

Sorry to highjack and thanks for all the great info!

 

[jcardona1]

Wow I was just about to ask about all this. I have a 46gl bowfront thats semi planted. I was using a 96wt 50/50 single PC setup that looked niiice. I never had problems with algae. I use all the seachem products so everythings nice and healthy. Well the ballast went out and getting a new setup like I had is out of my price range right now. So I started looking online and so far this is what iv found. Like i said its a semi planted nothing fancy. I just cant stand yellow lights haha so should this work out good?

http://www.bigalsonline.com/BigAlsU...6/cl0/coralifefwt5aqualightdoublestriplight36

Sorry to highjack and thanks for all the great info!

looks like a good fixture. something to note though, it says "T5" and not T5HO, so i think these may just be normal output T5s. not sure what type of fixture youre looking for.

also, just be sure that whatever bulbs you get with the fixture are less than 10,000k for a freshwater planted tank

 

[duke33]

Thanks for doing the homework for us. I've found alot of info, but not that.

 

[t0p_sh0tta]

Wow I was just about to ask about all this. I have a 46gl bowfront thats semi planted. I was using a 96wt 50/50 single PC setup that looked niiice. I never had problems with algae. I use all the seachem products so everythings nice and healthy. Well the ballast went out and getting a new setup like I had is out of my price range right now. So I started looking online and so far this is what iv found. Like i said its a semi planted nothing fancy. I just cant stand yellow lights haha so should this work out good?

http://www.bigalsonline.com/BigAlsU...6/cl0/coralifefwt5aqualightdoublestriplight36

Sorry to highjack and thanks for all the great info!

Decent fixture, I use it on my 30 gallon, and yes, these are normal output T5s. On my 16" deep tank, I can grow anything I want (depending on my CO2 dosing).

If you're only issue is the yellow color, why not upgrade bulbs? GE's 9325K bulbs get great reviews.

 

[jcardona1]

Decent fixture, I use it on my 30 gallon, and yes, these are normal output T5s. On my 16" deep tank, I can grow anything I want (depending on my CO2 dosing).

If you're only issue is the yellow color, why not upgrade bulbs? GE's 9325K bulbs get great reviews.

Do they make these 9325s in T5 size? I thought they only came in power compact bulbs. the color in the 9325s is awesome!

 

[t0p_sh0tta]

They only come in PC. I missed where Cartel said his ballast died, so disregard my previous post.

 

[TheFishJunky]

All I can say is its a good thing I ask questions.I can honestly say I am now grasping this by what info has been given here and the help everyone is contributing in laymens terms.I can see myself getting into trouble already once I become addicted to this part of the aquarium hobby.Wife will wanna kille me.I can give an example already,"WTF DO YOU MEAN YOU SPENT A GRAND ON PLANTS AND LIGHTS?!" and my reply will be,"Well you said you wanted a tank that was all pretty with plants so I'm doing all of this for you babe-this will be your tank.You can even pick out the fish for this one."
Then will come the time when she will be asking me to get her a bigger tank because her plants have outgrown there tankyeah right and somebody slap me back to reality

 

[jcardona1]

All I can say is its a good thing I ask questions.I can honestly say I am now grasping this by what info has been given here and the help everyone is contributing in laymens terms.I can see myself getting into trouble already once I become addicted to this part of the aquarium hobby.Wife will wanna kille me.I can give an example already,"WTF DO YOU MEAN YOU SPENT A GRAND ON PLANTS AND LIGHTS?!" and my reply will be,"Well you said you wanted a tank that was all pretty with plants so I'm doing all of this for you babe-this will be your tank.You can even pick out the fish for this one."
Then will come the time when she will be asking me to get her a bigger tank because her plants have outgrown there tankyeah right and somebody slap me back to reality

haha yeah man messing with planted tanks is no easy task. i can imagine how hard a reef tank must be but really though, once you get everything dialed in right and you have the algae under control, its get pretty simple.

all i really do with mine is just 50% water change once a week, and do my daily dosing. all it takes is 3 minutes everyday. every now and then i have to trim the plants that get too overgrown.

one thing that you need to consider is the long-termability (i think i just made up a word lol) of the tank. some plants dont do too well over longs periods of time. ground covers are a pain to work with over the long run, like HC for example. its a cool plant but after a while i got to hate it and ripped it all out and sold it.

and some stem plants will need to be replanted after a while. trimming the tops will not work forever. there are times when you will need to pull out the plant entirely and replant the tops, giving it a fresh start.

just a few things to think about