Nothing to choose from with T5's

[bavarian3]

I recently purchased a Tek 4x39 watt fixture and the only daylight bulbs available in 36" were the Gieseman, so i picked up 4 of them with the order. The light is nice though i find them to be a bit yellow for my taste and was wondering if anyone knew of any sources to different T5 bulbs available?
Anything else from 6500-10000k would be ideal. It would be awesome to have some 8000k bulbs in T5, im sure someone must have some leads.
Please post with any thoughts or info, thanks.

-Charles

[Lorenceo]

Aquamedic makes a 10,000K T5 Bulb.
People have recomended using it with their planta bulbs at a 1:1 ratio.

[AaronT]

I used to recommend Aquamedic's Planta bulbs, but do not anymore. They grew plants great at first and gave off the nice color that you might get from an 8,000k bulb. However, they grew dim and lost their effectiveness after only 5 months of use. These bulbs were appropriately used (read: not overdriven) in a 48" Tek fixture. Apparently Aquamedic's products that are sold in the USA are not of the same quality as those in Germany as they are made in China.

I would stick with the Gieseman bulbs for now. GE makes a daylight bulb also, but I do not have experience with that one. I thought Gieseman had a 10,000k bulb too? Oh, and for good prices and service try www.reefgeek.com. I hope that helps you some.

[Anti-Pjerrot]

#3 - you got anything too proof that. Im just curious since i got a planta and a daylight form aquamedic... And im definetly hoping that they last longer than 5 months... Havent plugged them in yet.

[Betowess]

Try the AM or Current 10000K and 6500 GE Starcoats. Thats what I'm going to do next as the Plantas are a bit dimmer, mine from the getgo. I think we'll be seeing more choices before to long since so many fixtures (beyond aquaria) are going T5. BTW, Bill Harada posted that the GEs were quite a bit brighter than the Giesemanns at least at first. I haven't heard over the long haul. FWIW, my plants really like the Planta 10000k combo. But I think they stretch a bit since its not as bright and reds are harder to pull out in the plants too.

[Wasserpest]

Keep in mind though that when you compare a plant dedicated bulb, be it Planta or GE 9325 or Florasun and such, side by side to a 6500K or 10000K bulb, the latter will always look much brighter. To us. Maybe not to the plants. That's the point of the plant-specific spectrum bulbs.

If apparent brightness is your concern, then by all means avoid those pinkish looking things.

I like to use them in combination with other bulbs since they counter the green hue of most tanks, emphasize red/pink plants, and (for my taste) make the tank look much crisper and better balanced.

As for the GE Starcoats, they turn dim and yellow on me after only a few months. I am going to avoid them in future, especially now that you can get a 10000K bulb for the same money from the Drs.

[AaronT]

I don't have any documented proof. You'll have to take my word as an experienced grower of aquatic plants. I was having terrible problems with old growth browning around the edges and wasting away. I switched the lighting out and things improved instantly. I did not change any other parameters.

[gbhil]

Speaking from reef experience -
The Starcoats seem to throw out MUCH more PAR than any other bulb I've tried. You can get twice the coral growth using them vs AM 10000k's. Not sure if this has any bearing on using them for FW plants, but I thought I'd throw it out there.

[AaronT]

Originally Posted by Anti-Pjerrot

#3 - you got anything too proof that. Im just curious since i got a planta and a daylight form aquamedic... And im definetly hoping that they last longer than 5 months... Havent plugged them in yet.

Sorry, I didn't catch before that you are in Denmark. My guess is that the Aquamedic bulbs you got are fine because they are likely the true German product. Keep us updated please regarding how they last for you.

[bavarian3]

Originally Posted by Betowess

Try the AM or Current 10000K and 6500 GE Starcoats. Thats what I'm going to do next as the Plantas are a bit dimmer, mine from the getgo. I think we'll be seeing more choices before to long since so many fixtures (beyond aquaria) are going T5. BTW, Bill Harada posted that the GEs were quite a bit brighter than the Giesemanns at least at first. I haven't heard over the long haul. FWIW, my plants really like the Planta 10000k combo. But I think they stretch a bit since its not as bright and reds are harder to pull out in the plants too.

From my understanding GE's will go yellow after some time. Looks like ill stay away from the Planta bulbs as well.
What is this "Current 10000k"? I have not heard of them but im interested! These would be perfect to mix with the Giesemanns. Let me know, thanks everyone for all the input keep it going.

-Charles

[Betowess]

Originally Posted by bavarian3

From my understanding GE's will go yellow after some time. Looks like ill stay away from the Planta bulbs as well.
What is this "Current 10000k"? I have not heard of them but im interested! These would be perfect to mix with the Giesemanns. Let me know, thanks everyone for all the input keep it going.

-Charles

Its an interesting debate. Maybe 10000K is the way to go. I sure like the AM 10000ks so far, but those coupled with the Plantas don't get the bright reds on my Ludwegias that I use to with straight GE starcoats. Maybe its insufficient iron and too much NO3. I haven't tested enough to really know. I don't think that is it because I pretty much follow the same routine. I think it is because the GE starcoats x 4 were so blasted bright. I couldn't look at the light and built a screen because of it. Yet now I can look at the fixture with the dimmer Plantas with AM10000ks. So I've lost some color, but the plants are growing great and it looks nice. My L. aromatica grew a lot faster once I added the Planta 10000K combo too. Who knows??

Here is the link to the Current USA 10000Ks. I think they are pretty good, but I wonder if the US delivered AMs are made in Asia, if they might be the same lamp with a different label?? http://www.drsfostersmith.com/Produc...&N=2004+113907