t-8 setup

skelator

hello i have a 46 gallon with a few large plants in it. my lighting fixture is a t-8 with a 17 watt 6500k bulb.

i keep reading that planted tanks need way more wattage for the plants to do well.
i was looking at different fixtures online. are any of the ebay t-5 fixtures any good? is there anything i should look for n these things? thanks

Byron

First thing is that watts is not a reliable guide to light over a tank, not these days with the newer tubes that are more energy efficient (more light for less watts) and such. But before looking at another fixture, let's see if the one you have might work with a good tube. What is the tank length, and the length of the fluorescent tube itself.

Byron.

skelator

my tank is 36" and the bulb is only 24 inches. im using a phillips brand 6500k bulb/ it looks way better than the bulb i had in there before. that bulb didnt have any markings on it so i dont know what it actually was.

Byron

I would tend to stay with what you have for a while and see how the plants do...but what plant species are in your tank? This might make a difference.

My 36-inch tank has a 30-inch tube over it, which is a bit better, but with the newer T8 tubes that are more efficient the difference might be negligible. I have the 24-inch tube (same type, a Life-Glo 6700K) over my 30-inch tank. Both tanks have good plant growth, but I am not attempting light-requiring plants, they are low and moderate light species.

Byron.

skelator

i have a large Ozelot Sword, a few small Lutea Crypt plants. i also just got a pretty large aponogenton, im not sure of the exact type. the leaves are really green and they have spiral twists in them. i really like it alot. i also have a pothos roots hanging in the top of the tank.

Byron

The crypts will be fine with the present light. The sword and aponogeton might as well. If not, moving up I would first look for a single-tube T5 fixture. These are not easy to find, and definitely do not get a dual-tube T5. If a single T5 is out, then a dual T8. There is also LED at considerably more expense. But before spending mponey perhaps unnecessarily, I wuld try what's there. A 6500K-range tube is best, which is what you have.

Byron.

skelator

ok ill try what i got for now thanks!