[a91turbotalon]

Question

I have an old odyssea t5x4 light I have been useing for about 10 years. Nothing wrong with it it works great.

Do people even really use t5s anymore or is just better off switching to LED

To bring up my main question lighting witch has always been my most misunderstood thing on my tank What light to use.

I am using 4 t5 5000k bulbs I run 2 bulbs for 3 hours then run 4 for 2.5 hours then back to two for 3 hours then off.

For some reason I feel like maybe my light is just not tuned in correctly yet. Does this light set up seam ok. was thinking about switching to a 6500k but witch ones who knows.
Do you run a mix of bulbs or all the same kind.

Thanks for the help. Next we can figure out what oil is best to run in my truck. or what tire size wheel and tire will fit on a stock Hight super duty.

Tank set up

Tank: 55 gal
Lights: Odyssea T5x4
Filter: FX6
C02: Yes With and inline diffuser running through an old canister filter as a reactor its what I had laying around
Milwaukee m122 controller and regulator on a 20lb bottle.
Dosing: Yes Use a auto doser to dose Easy Green and Easy Iron
Plants: Will list later
Heater: Hygger 800w
Fish: 5 Denison barbs, 8 rummy nose tetras, 3 rainbow fish, and 4 SEA's that are fat and lazy.
Water: wet kind
Substrate: play sand using easy green root tabs

 

[jeffkrol]

Do people even really use t5s anymore or is just better off switching to LED

To bring up my main question lighting witch has always been my most misunderstood thing on my tank What light to use.

I am using 4 t5 5000k bulbs I run 2 bulbs for 3 hours then run 4 for 2.5 hours then back to two for 3 hours then off.

For some reason I feel like maybe my light is just not tuned in correctly yet. Does this light set up seam ok.

Lighting choices may be the most misunderstood aspect.
For plants there is mostly just intensity.
For you there is visual appeal, functionality.

Simplistic I know and yes there are err subtleties to consider.

Lighting

The 2Hr Aquarist's definitive planted aquarium lighting guide, covering T5 vs. LED, K ratings, PAR values and spectrum charts. And, how to leverage lights for your aquascapes.

www.2hraquarist.com

Success just involves managing to balance light, nutrients, and CO2.

Oh and picking plants that like you..

 

[szarlej_]

As written above. Plants don't care if you have T5 or LED or if you have T5 850 or 865. The main point is visual ascpect of tank. Some people like LED, some preffer T5. For plants your lighting is good enught now, but you can switch T5 5000k to 6500k (i have only t5 865 at this moment in my tank), your tank should look more natural. For now it seems little to yellow. You can also mix 865 with 830, 850 or some red "plant" bulbs. But 6500k as a main base of your lighting it is good idea. Search for option that will be best for you. Be careful before replacing T5 with LED, many cheap LED lamps have poor quality of light (for plants it is sufficient but it looks worse than T5). Before you buy LED ligt, see it in real live over some tank. Photos in internet can be deceaving. Im not sayng that there is no good LED lighting, it is just not easy to find one, as it seems. And replacing T5 with bad choosen LED can be dissapointing.

 

[rzn7z7]

Question

I have an old odyssea t5x4 light I have been useing for about 10 years. Nothing wrong with it it works great.

Do people even really use t5s anymore or is just better off switching to LED

To bring up my main question lighting witch has always been my most misunderstood thing on my tank What light to use.

I am using 4 t5 5000k bulbs I run 2 bulbs for 3 hours then run 4 for 2.5 hours then back to two for 3 hours then off.

For some reason I feel like maybe my light is just not tuned in correctly yet. Does this light set up seam ok. was thinking about switching to a 6500k but witch ones who knows.
Do you run a mix of bulbs or all the same kind.

Plenty of people still use T5s (and swear by them) and I suggest you read this forum to help sort out what combo to use

Share Your Bulb Combo

 

[Greggz]

Many in the hobby still use T5. Looks great and flat out grows plants.

 

[prjct92eh2]

I actually had this same debate with myself after setting up my 65 gallon after it being dormant for 9 years. I had a very similar Odyssea T5 x4 fixture on it. It never produced the most efficient PAR since it didn't have individual reflectors for the bulbs and on a tank this tall I felt like I needed a bit more PAR for the carpeting plants and to get good reds. Plus the bulbs were who knows how old. Ultimately I decided to treat myself to a new Chihiros WRGB II 90 cm fixture. I've been very happy with it. More PAR (as far as I can tell without a meter), less energy consumption, a phone app to tweak RGB blending for the desired look and being able to ramp the lights up and down is nice.