T5 Lighting

[Lithril]

I'm looking at buying another lighting unit for my 3' tank to take it above the 2w per gal. Not sure which system to go for although it will probably a twin light system any ideas which to go for? Is the new T5 model worth the money (damn expensive)???

 

[ste2k3]

if you want good plant growth etc, then I would recamend T5's although they don't look any brighter than normal tubes.

 

[aquamanis]

Isn,t T5 just the size of the tube? Like T12 is normal 1 and 1/2 inch tubes, T8 are slimline at 1 inch. What are T5's , are they smaller again? If thats the size, surely the wattage and spectrum are more important.

 

[denbob]

I read somewhere that T5 tubes were mainly for marine setups

 

[ste2k3]

T5's are for freshwater and marine, you just need the correct bulb.

T5 does refer to the diameter of the bulb. although they are smaller, they are a high intensity bulb and so are better than T8's.

 

[Ob1]

Lithril

3' tank to take it above the 2w per gal

I understand the 2w/Gal is for US gallons and not UK, i noticed you are based in the UK?

I just worked out that i would now need 239watt for my 100uk gallons i currently have 144watts

I was hoping grow some plants do i need t5 lamps and a couple of extra tubes?