Converting To T5 - What Wattage Tubes?

[Rich309]

Hi,
 
The T8 lighting unit on my trigon 190 went pop last night. Having checked the net it seems a far too common problem however mine has lasted 6 years which isnt too bad.
 
I've replaced the fuse and put the old known working bulbs in and it's non responsive.
 
I don't really want to spend £80 replacing them for another that could go in a year or so.
 
I have had a read of the guide to replacing the ballast which is something I should be more than capable of as I'm quite handy.
 
However I did see someone mention Arcadia ultraseal T5 light units which I think I'm going to go for as fitting will be a doddle.  I can just screw the new bulb holder to the current lid with stainless self tappers.
 
A few things I need to sort out - 1 routing the extra wires out of the tank - I guess I can just make a notch in the lid at the edge?
 
The other questions are what tubes to go for.
 
It currently has 2 x 18w T8's, 1 is a daylight and the other a warm light - it was supplied like this.
 
The tank is not planted - well it has plants but they get replaced every couple of months as they are bought in bunches.
The fish tend to destroy them!
 
Do I need a warm light bulb in there or will 2 daylight bulbs be ok and look fairly similar to what I have now?
 
Will a pair of 24w 549mm 10k daylight bulbs (ebay £12 the pair) be sufficient or do I need to go for 2 x 28w bulbs as supplied in the new style trigon lids?
 
Thanks
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

[fm1978]

Hi Rich, welcome to the forum.
 
If you're not particularly fussed about your plants and replace them regularly then your lighting issue is one of aesthetics.
 
All you need light for (if not for plants) is to make the contents of your tank look nice and be visible to the viewer, of course. In that case, the cheapest of your solutions would be fine.
 
The 2 ebay tubes (24W) at £12 would be plenty, wattage wise, if you have the rest of the equipment for them, ballast/cables/controller... The colour temp won't be an issue really either, again, just down to your preference. At 10K, that's quite cold and and at the blue end of the spectrum, which can look very nice. If you want warmer, more yellow/red tones you'd need to look for a lower colour temp, 2K-3K. Somewhere around 5K is good for plants, if you change your mind on growing them!
 
Hope that is of some help...

 

[Rich309]

Thanks for the reply.
 
It turns out I can swap one of the 10k bulbs for a lower colour temp so I might give that a whirl.