# T5 for 200 gallon



## vincel892 (May 23, 2012)

Hi, 
I am thinking of switching from MH to T5 lighting for my 200 gallon with dimensions ~ 7' x 2' x 2'. The only reason I am currently on MH is because my dad used these for his saltwater set up (my freshwater tank is very new). I was thinking of getting this home depot T5 fixture https://www.homedepot.ca/en/home/p.4...000732913.html which fits 4 bulbs. However, I am unsure whether a 4 foot fixture is sufficient for a 7 foot tank. I'm also unsure of how many, and what watt T5 bulbs i would need. I am looking to grow high light plants as I am currently fert dosing and injecting CO2. Any help would be appreciated. I am open to other suggestions as well. (I am also on a budget so anything cost effective would be good)


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## BillD (Jun 5, 2006)

If you are trying for high light, I would suspect the 4' fixture will be insufficient, to properly cover the tank and the regular tubes may not provide sufficient light intensity.


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## vincel892 (May 23, 2012)

BillD said:


> If you are trying for high light, I would suspect the 4' fixture will be insufficient, to properly cover the tank and the regular tubes may not provide sufficient light intensity.


Im planning to use 2 four feet fixtures. That would probably help a lot. Are you familiar with what wattage i need for 6500K bulbs?


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## c31979839 (Nov 26, 2014)

vincel892 said:


> Im planning to use 2 four feet fixtures. That would probably help a lot. Are you familiar with what wattage i need for 6500K bulbs?


If they are T5 bulbs, get the High Output bulbs. They should be 54W each. These are pretty standard wattages for T5 bulbs and you shouldn't have a problem finding a light fixture to match them.

If you're looking for more than 4 bulbs per fixture (I think home depot only have fixtures that go up to 4), then you should be able to find 6 and 8 bulb 4ft fixtures from an electrical distributor like Wesco, Necdo, Gerrie Electric etc.


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## vincel892 (May 23, 2012)

c31979839 said:


> If they are T5 bulbs, get the High Output bulbs. They should be 54W each. These are pretty standard wattages for T5 bulbs and you shouldn't have a problem finding a light fixture to match them.
> 
> If you're looking for more than 4 bulbs per fixture (I think home depot only have fixtures that go up to 4), then you should be able to find 6 and 8 bulb 4ft fixtures from an electrical distributor like Wesco, Necdo, Gerrie Electric etc.


Thanks for the info. Would 8 bulbs total be good for high lighting in my 200 gallon that is 2 feet deep? PLanning to hang 6" above the surface.


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## c31979839 (Nov 26, 2014)

vincel892 said:


> Thanks for the info. Would 8 bulbs total be good for high lighting in my 200 gallon that is 2 feet deep? PLanning to hang 6" above the surface.


I wish I could answer that question as well. I am just in the lighting industry, so I'm very familiar with light fixtures / bulbs, but not so much lighting a planted tank.

8 x 54w bulbs = 432w 
2 x lighting fixtures = 864w

Depending on the bulb you get, you can get around 85 lm/w (lumens per watt). Therfore at 864w of lights, you would get approximately 73,440 lumens into your tank.

With a 200G tank, that's about 367.2 lumens per gallon.

Maybe someone else can chime in and let you know of that is overkill or not. But it seems like a lot to me.


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## vincel892 (May 23, 2012)

c31979839 said:


> I wish I could answer that question as well. I am just in the lighting industry, so I'm very familiar with light fixtures / bulbs, but not so much lighting a planted tank.
> 
> 8 x 54w bulbs = 432w
> 2 x lighting fixtures = 864w
> ...


Thanks for that. Although I have no idea what the numbers mean haha. Im hoping someone will let me know if its enough or too much. Thanks!


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## default (May 28, 2011)

Is there a particular reason for switching the MHs out?

I think it'll be difficult to provide sufficient lighting to the bottom of a 2' tank using T5/T5HOs. You would have plenty of light at the top of the tank which could be troublesome, but you won't get much at the substrate - so you won't really have fun growing stems or foreground plants. Also, purchasing 8x 48" bulbs that are correct in colouration will not be cheap, you'll be looking for almost ~$30/bulb - so unless you're going for all hydroponic 6500K bulbs, you'll be spending roughly ~$240 for just the bulbs..

So, why don't you just swap out the SW bulbs on the MH for some 6000-7000K ones? Sure they cost more in energy and heat, but you can then save up for some nice LEDs. OR if you're DIY savvy, try making your own LED system - it would be much better than T5s and cost less to do too!


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## vincel892 (May 23, 2012)

default said:


> Is there a particular reason for switching the MHs out?
> 
> I think it'll be difficult to provide sufficient lighting to the bottom of a 2' tank using T5/T5HOs. You would have plenty of light at the top of the tank which could be troublesome, but you won't get much at the substrate - so you won't really have fun growing stems or foreground plants. Also, purchasing 8x 48" bulbs that are correct in colouration will not be cheap, you'll be looking for almost ~$30/bulb - so unless you're going for all hydroponic 6500K bulbs, you'll be spending roughly ~$240 for just the bulbs..
> 
> So, why don't you just swap out the SW bulbs on the MH for some 6000-7000K ones? Sure they cost more in energy and heat, but you can then save up for some nice LEDs. OR if you're DIY savvy, try making your own LED system - it would be much better than T5s and cost less to do too!


The wattage i have on my MH ballast right now are 3x 225 w (or 250, not sure) and 2x 150 W. I have been told that this is way too much and Id be better off getting a new set up because the only way to decrease wattage is to get another ballast completely. I went for T5 for relatively cheap set up. I am really on a budget. Do you know of any LED setup for a tank my size for medium- high lighting that is under $500? if not, What would be the lowest amount I could pay for a decent set up?

Also, what is the go to place for DIY LED in toronto ?


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## default (May 28, 2011)

vincel892 said:


> The wattage i have on my MH ballast right now are 3x 225 w (or 250, not sure) and 2x 150 W. I have been told that this is way too much and Id be better off getting a new set up because the only way to decrease wattage is to get another ballast completely. I went for T5 for relatively cheap set up. I am really on a budget. Do you know of any LED setup for a tank my size for medium- high lighting that is under $500? if not, What would be the lowest amount I could pay for a decent set up?
> 
> Also, what is the go to place for DIY LED in toronto ?


I see, could you post a picture of how the fixture(s) look? Is it one big fixture, or is it multiple?

I'm not certain about LED shops, I knew a few, but that was awhile ago, perhaps someone more knowledgeable with LEDs will chime in. However, you won't find a powerful LED fixture that's under $500, I reckon for your size tank, it'd be close to $1000 for a decent setup - but, Aqua Inspiration currently has some pendant LED lights on sale that is quite affordable, they're more bulky than other brands, but they seem to produce a fair amount of light. I can't recall completely, but they should be about $250-$300 a fixture, you would probably need three of them, so I'm sure you'd get a better price anyways.


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## vincel892 (May 23, 2012)

default said:


> I see, could you post a picture of how the fixture(s) look? Is it one big fixture, or is it multiple?
> 
> I'm not certain about LED shops, I knew a few, but that was awhile ago, perhaps someone more knowledgeable with LEDs will chime in. However, you won't find a powerful LED fixture that's under $500, I reckon for your size tank, it'd be close to $1000 for a decent setup - but, Aqua Inspiration currently has some pendant LED lights on sale that is quite affordable, they're more bulky than other brands, but they seem to produce a fair amount of light. I can't recall completely, but they should be about $250-$300 a fixture, you would probably need three of them, so I'm sure you'd get a better price anyways.


The MH fixture is one long fixture with 5 bulbs total. I'm currently using the three 225 watts and blocking some of the light using window screen mesh.


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## default (May 28, 2011)

Very nice looking setup, is it acrylic?

That style of fixture would pose an issue especially with that kind of scape layout. What you could do is do a "two island" layout and only use the smaller less powerful lights - you would still get plenty of light at the corners (of course not as powerful or even), but it would still be very interesting to look at.

Are you currently having algae issues? It's hard to tell in the picture.

You could also raise the lights further and create guards to minimize the light spill. MH lights give some of the best looking ripple effects and has lots of penetration for that height of a tank, hanging it higher could be a good option?


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## vincel892 (May 23, 2012)

default said:


> Very nice looking setup, is it acrylic?
> 
> That style of fixture would pose an issue especially with that kind of scape layout. What you could do is do a "two island" layout and only use the smaller less powerful lights - you would still get plenty of light at the corners (of course not as powerful or even), but it would still be very interesting to look at.
> 
> ...


Not acrylic. It's an old glass tank. I just removed the black plastic rim. Hmm. Really don't want to move around the layout  but for sure something to think about in the future. I could increase height but I think the bulbs are the wrong temperature as well. The three I have right now are 100000k I believe. Was used for reef tank before


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