What Do T5 And T8 Lights Mean?

[eddyg]

what is the difference between T5 and T8 light bulbs? and what does it mean?

also can anyone recommend any particular brand of light bulb for a planted aquarium?

cheers

 

[iSnail]

I'm no good with my aquatic plants but hope this link helps I'm sure the green-fingered experts here will come along and give you some good recommendation soon.

[URL="http/www.arcadia-uk.info/product.php?pid=15&mid=11&lan=en&sub=&id=4"]http/www.arcadia-uk.info/product.php?pid...p;sub=&id=4[/URL]

 

[DevUK]

T5 means 5/8th of an inch, T8 means 8/8th of an inch (or, simply 1 inch). It refers to the diametre of the tube. T5 tubes produce more intense light which is why they are prefered for planted and marine tanks, more "bang for buck", or at least more light from the same length tube.

As for brands of light, don't worry to much about that. You need to worry about what spectrum/temperature the tubes are. You want a full spectrum tube (asin, it gives off red, green and blue more or less equally), and a colour temp around 65000K (kelvin) is usually recommended.

 

[BINKSY]

Have a look here for more info on T5 lighting.

Cheers Gordon