T5 Lighting For A 48 Inch Tank

[scotty]

i currently have t8 bulbs for my tank and want to change to t5's what size should i get and what kind,i believe i need to change the starter unit too.

cheers

scott

 

[minnnt]

36" ?

What kind of volume are you dealing with?

 

[scotty]

the t8's i have just now are 42inches long,the tank is 48L X18WX24H

thanks

scott

 

[minnnt]

So roughly 90G then? (87UK)

How about something like this...

x2

Click here

 

[scotty]

So roughly 90G then? (87UK)

How about something like this...

x2

Click here

thanks for the link they look good,what kind of starter unit would i need for them?

thanks

scott

 

[minnnt]

If you have 2 then you would need a double t5 starter unit that was rated at 54w or above i believe. If the T8 lighting is built into your hood though then it will be a pig of a job i think.

Any reason you want to move away from T8's?

 

[scotty]

the t8's are not built into the hood,so should be easy to remove,the last tank i had t5's just thought they made the tank look better and also the t8s do not seem to be lighting the bottom of the tank very well,maybe because it is 24inch deep


scott

 

[minnnt]

Yeah T5's do tend to have weak penetration in deeper tanks.

If you think it will be an easy job the go for it.

Considered LED's?

 

[scotty]

never gave leds a thought

 

[minnnt]

If you do... Don't ask me

 

[scotty]

will this starter unit be ok for the bulbs that are in the link you gave

starter unit


cheers


scott

 

[minnnt]

Yep.

 

[scotty]

well hopefully the sale of my co2 kit will pay for my new filter,and then hopefully i can sell my fx5 to pay for new lighting

 

[minnnt]

Should be fine mate, fx5's go for a decent amount!

 

[scotty]

Should be fine mate, fx5's go for a decent amount!

really don't care,enough to get my lighting would be fine by me