# looking for a new light



## chinamon (Jun 16, 2012)

so, as some of you already know, i have a marineland double bright LED for my 30gal breeder tank. its a nice light but i plan on doing some photography with that tank so i would need some more overhead light. ive been looking at the aquatic life 30" dual t5 fixture (comes with 6000k and roseate bulbs) but would this be too much light for the tank? all i have in the tank are some pygmy chain sword, dwarf hair grass and anubias nana.

if this is too bright, what would you recommend? i dont want a ghetto looking setup either. a light that has legs is preferred.

another light i was looking at is the coralife aqualight t5 (normal output) 30" for freshwater but i cannot seem to find a canadian retailer for this.


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## randy (Jan 29, 2012)

I have a coralife 36" and a 24" T5 normal output lights, they are great for shrimp tanks as they're bright but not insanely bright. You can always lift it off the tank to reduce light or use some floaters to block some. 

I got mine from some US sellers as I couldn't find a Canadian seller with a good price.


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## chinamon (Jun 16, 2012)

randy said:


> I have a coralife 36" and a 24" T5 normal output lights, they are great for shrimp tanks as they're bright but not insanely bright. You can always lift it off the tank to reduce light or use some floaters to block some.
> 
> I got mine from some US sellers as I couldn't find a Canadian seller with a good price.


What American seller would you recommend? Do they have reasonable shipping?

Another light that has caught my eye is the Hagen Glo 24" single t5 HO with a 6700k bulb. I can get that locally.


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## MananaP (Jul 6, 2012)

chinamon said:


> What American seller would you recommend? Do they have reasonable shipping?
> 
> Another light that has caught my eye is the Hagen Glo 24" single t5 HO with a 6700k bulb. I can get that locally.


I have about 3 glo fixtures, i highly recommend it in comparison with coralife. The only thing is it doesn't come with on off switch BUT it does come with a timer where you can plug it, also it comes with legs and hanging kit. I have the double t5 HO ones and i'm pretty satisfied.


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## chinamon (Jun 16, 2012)

MananaP said:


> I have about 3 glo fixtures, i highly recommend it in comparison with coralife. The only thing is it doesn't come with on off switch BUT it does come with a timer where you can plug it, also it comes with legs and hanging kit. I have the double t5 HO ones and i'm pretty satisfied.


would you recommend that i get a double or a single for this tank?


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## randy (Jan 29, 2012)

I chose T5NO after a lot of thoughts. My tanks are mostly 12" and 1 with 14" deep. I chose T5NO over T5HO because 

1. I didn't think I need the output from HO for shrimp tanks.
2. T5NO is the most efficient lighting (output/cost).
3. I have a source where I can buy very affordable T5NO bulbs for replacement.

I thought about single T5HO but couldn't find a low cost fixture. The dual 36" coralife I got was less than $50, and the 24" was less than $40, free shipping to the states, I picked them up on my family vacation trip so no extra cost for that.

Would T5HO work better in shrimp tanks? Maybe but I don't have experience in that regard. I don't know much about plants, I had good moss growth in a 20G with just a 13w CFL, so I'm pretty sure it can be done with the T5NO I have.


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## chinamon (Jun 16, 2012)

i just ordered a hagen glo dual t5ho 24" with 6700k bulbs (along with a glass scraper and some ehiem 2213 media) from petsandponds. free shipping ftw.


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## MananaP (Jul 6, 2012)

chinamon said:


> i just ordered a hagen glo dual t5ho 24" with 6700k bulbs (along with a glass scraper and some ehiem 2213 media) from petsandponds. free shipping ftw.


Good choice, you will enjoy that light as i have. It will grow moss and other plants without co2 so you shouldn't have any problem at all.


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## chinamon (Jun 16, 2012)

MananaP said:


> Good choice, you will enjoy that light as i have. It will grow moss and other plants without co2 so you shouldn't have any problem at all.


good to know. thanks!


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