# Lighting and bulbs



## Kimchi24 (Mar 22, 2013)

I have two dual t5ho over my 46 gallon bow and they are Odyssea and Coralife. i plan on converting this tank to a lowlight landscape nature aquarium rather than a med light dutch hybrid. Which fixture would give me the best lighting possible? I hear odyssea is cheap but good for its price and coralife is reliable. No information on whats really better.

Also, i need to get some bulbs. I went to Big Al's North York and they didn't have any 36 inch t5ho (surprising). they said they can order some but it'll take a week and a half. So i don't think i want to buy from there. Is there any other place i can buy bulbs? What brand of bulbs should I get? Is there a less expensive alternative to GE, hagen, or coralife, bulbs?


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## pyrrolin (Jan 11, 2012)

Phillips are cheap if you can find that size


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## Kimchi24 (Mar 22, 2013)

phillips makes t5hos?


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## pyrrolin (Jan 11, 2012)

probably make them


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## default (May 28, 2011)

Hey there's nothing wrong with that odyssea! 
Well to be honest, neither of those fixtures would get you what you want in a 46, sooo tall .
You could give the Coralifes a go, and if not enough start adding a bulb at a time with the odyssea fixture.
In regards to bulbs, I like aquatic life and or geissemen - however even though they state they last upwards of ~a year, I get much different results within 4-6 months running at half their time. My lights are on 4-5 hrs and within half a year the bulbs feel depleted.
I'm stuck in a dilemma myself as whether continuing to pay for expensive bulbs are worth if, I like the premium bulbs as they have colour choices - but if the longevity of the bulbs are this crumby, I might end up going back to get hydroponic 6400-6500k bulbs at around $12 a bulb.


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## Kimchi24 (Mar 22, 2013)

hydroponic bulbs? what kind of bulbs are these?


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## default (May 28, 2011)

Kimchi24 said:


> hydroponic bulbs? what kind of bulbs are these?


Sunblasters, not a favorite colour as I'm into rosette and midday mix.
But does the job and plants like it.


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## TorontoPlantMan (Aug 16, 2013)

I'm a bit confused..If you're trying to go with low light then why T5HO's? You might as well just get a T8 fixture and save yourself some money. 

But in regards to the bulb (T5HO), if it's a common size like 24" 36" etc you can usually find them at your local hardware store, home depot, rona etc. I cannot guarantee that they are HO but i know they are T5. 

I have a coralife 30" fixture that takes 30" bulbs and are basically impossible to find unless you're at big ale but last time I bought one from them it came close to $29 for one bulb...I now buy my bulbs from Angelfins as it's only around $12 a bulb and I just pick up whatever I need for the year then. If you don't see something on Angelfins website I'd e-mail them, they can pretty much order whatever it is you're looking for.


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## charlie1 (Dec 1, 2011)

http://www.kensfish.com/aquarium-supplies/aquarium-lighting/zoo-med-ultra-sun-t-5-ho-bulb.html
Best bang for the buck bar none, even with shipping cost.
Various spectrums


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## Kimchi24 (Mar 22, 2013)

charlie1 said:


> http://www.kensfish.com/aquarium-supplies/aquarium-lighting/zoo-med-ultra-sun-t-5-ho-bulb.html
> Best bang for the buck bar none, even with shipping cost.
> Various spectrums


Is this 36 inch? It doesn't specify on the web page. It seems like the bulbs here are super awesome. I'll find out the shipping costs and compare them to angelsfins. I like angelfins, they were quite nice to me when they made a mistake with my first order.



TorontoPlantMan said:


> I'm a bit confused..If you're trying to go with low light then why T5HO's? You might as well just get a T8 fixture and save yourself some money.


I have two t5ho dual light fixtures on top of this tank and want to reduce it by one, thus achieving low light. I want to do a low maintenance slow growing dutch so less trimming is involved and i can explore crypts more as my crypts finally started to grow. I have the t5ho's available and id rather use them than buy another fixture (considering i just bought my second t5ho lol)


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## charlie1 (Dec 1, 2011)

http://www.kensfish.com/aquarium-supplies/aquarium-lighting/zoo-med-ultra-sun-t-5-ho-bulb.html
Angelfins is great, but I don`t think they carry the Zoo Med bulbs, which in my experience rivals some of the better brand name bulbs out there, infact they are made by the same factory that makes one of the leading Aquariums bulbs which is triple this zoo med price in the US, unfortunately we in Canada have to pay as much as triple the US price.
Regards


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## Kimchi24 (Mar 22, 2013)

dang, the price is good on those bulbs but the shipping is 30-45 bucks. even for just one bulb. If i were to get 4, id be paying double the bulb amount... so about 20 bucks a bulb lol.


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## charlie1 (Dec 1, 2011)

Kimchi24 said:


> dang, the price is good on those bulbs but the shipping is 30-45 bucks. even for just one bulb. If i were to get 4, id be paying double the bulb amount... so about 20 bucks a bulb lol.


Or you can get a group order & split the shipping= everyone benefits.
I hope Ken is reading this & forward my commission accordingly


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## solarz (Aug 31, 2010)

Go to Aquainspiration, they sell 48" T5HO bulbs for 20$.


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## charlie1 (Dec 1, 2011)

solarz said:


> Go to Aquainspiration, they sell 48" T5HO bulbs for 20$.


Go to Home Depot & pay $9.00 for 48 "T5 HO daylight
- Cheaper & better


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## AquaticPulse (Jun 19, 2011)

charlie1 said:


> Go to Home Depot & pay $9.00 for 48 "T5 HO daylight
> - Cheaper & better


+1

can't beat his logic


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## solarz (Aug 31, 2010)

charlie1 said:


> Go to Home Depot & pay $9.00 for 48 "T5 HO daylight
> - Cheaper & better


I've never found T5HO bulbs in any Home Depot in the GTA. T5 bulbs, yes, but not T5HO.


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## pyrrolin (Jan 11, 2012)

they might not say ho, but if they are 54 watts and 48 inches, they are t5ho


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## coldmantis (Apr 5, 2010)

Just make sure its at least 6500k if you get 4100k and under you will have a yellow looking tank

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 4


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## Kimchi24 (Mar 22, 2013)

Lol if I get a 48 inch light I will keep that in mind. would they have the same thing in a 36 inch variety?


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## coldmantis (Apr 5, 2010)

I remember seeing 24 and 36 t5ho at home depot but they are either 4100k or 3100k no 6500k maybe around 7-8 bucks each

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 4


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## Kimchi24 (Mar 22, 2013)

Looks like I'm going to need to make some phone calls


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## charlie1 (Dec 1, 2011)

Kimchi24 said:


> Lol if I get a 48 inch light I will keep that in mind. would they have the same thing in a 36 inch variety?


 I knew you were looking for 39 watts T5 HO 
Was just offering a better quality & price to Solarz AI option 
The ONLY T5 HO bulb Home Depot is the ( 48 inch )54 watt Daylight 6400 K, all other T5 @ HD is Normal output.

I have seen T5 HO 24 watts @ Rona in my neck of the woods , but the OP is looking for 36 inch 39 watts


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## Kimchi24 (Mar 22, 2013)

I'm actually waiting for Black Fridays and cyber Monday sales to really get looking. I don't know if kens fish will do a sale of that kind. I'm assuming mostly big box companies will do it so I'll have to look around


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## charlie1 (Dec 1, 2011)

solarz said:


> I've never found T5HO bulbs in any Home Depot in the GTA. T5 bulbs, yes, but not T5HO.


Op apologies for thread jacking, but I though this info can be a valuable for our plant loving friends
The T5 HO daylight lamp @ HD is as follows
sku#746575 @ 9.44, *these bulbs are 4100 K & not 6400 K as I previously indicated*


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## solarz (Aug 31, 2010)

Kimchi24 said:


> Lol if I get a 48 inch light I will keep that in mind. would they have the same thing in a 36 inch variety?


Sorry, I thought you were using a 48" for some reason. They have all the sizes. 36" will probably be a bit cheaper.


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## Kimchi24 (Mar 22, 2013)

charlie1 said:


> Op apologies for thread jacking, but I though this info can be a valuable for our plant loving friends
> The T5 HO daylight lamp @ HD is as follows
> sku#746575 @ 9.44, *these bulbs are 4100 K & not 6400 K as I previously indicated*


There is a version that is 6500k as far as I remember. I saw t8 like that, not sure of t5hos


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## charlie1 (Dec 1, 2011)

Kimchi24 said:


> There is a version that is 6500k as far as I remember. I saw t8 like that, not sure of t5hos


Yes there is the # for the 6500 T5 ho 54 watt is - 54 T5 / 865 /HO/Alto, unfortunately HD does not carry that one.
If you search hard enough at the specialty lighting stores, you can find the other lengths/watts T5 HO [email protected] approx. the same price or less that HD price for the 54 watt 4100K
Regards


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## charlie1 (Dec 1, 2011)

charlie1 said:


> Yes there is the # for the 6500 T5 ho 54 watt is - 54 T5 / 865 /HO/Alto, unfortunately HD does not carry that one.
> If you search hard enough at the specialty lighting stores, you can find the other lengths/watts T5 HO [email protected] approx. the same price or less that HD price for the 54 watt 4100K
> Regards


Something to keep in mind when buying bulbs for planted tanks - all bulb are not equal, more so the cheaper ones.
Which is why I said the Zoo med bulbs made in Germany at the same factory as one of the premier brand bulbs @ US prices is the best bang for the buck.
as far as Canadian availability, the Phillips Alto although not as good as the Zoo med is probably the best bang for the buck where quality & price is concerned.
Regards


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