T5Ho vs CFC

839 Views 5 Replies 4 Participants Last post by xmas_one, Jul 10, 2012

bornscorpio30

Discussion Starter · Jul 9, 2012 (Edited)

Hi Gurus
I have set up 36 l x18 wx 15 tall tank.
It is all planted tank, and I want to set up ground cover with DHG and HC.

The question is will CFC do the job.. I was told it will not since the depth is more then 15 inchs the penetration is no good.. rather use T5Ho,
Eithere
http://www.amazon.com/Odyssea-Aquar...UTF8&colid=YOPBLSIIOPJH&coliid=I21CA96XZ6DW7T

or
http://fishneedit.com/3ft4bulbs-with-l34.html

36 inch 4x24w t5ho should do it.. now the question is what kind of bulb to use, 6700K, 10000K or 12000K ?

Please advice

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steven p

· #2 · Jul 9, 2012 (Edited)

I have a 6500k NO flouro over a 48 inch standard 55 gallon, it gets the low light job done, while still looking nice. No ugly purple halo...

Over my 36 inch 65 gallon, i use the same bulbs in a shop fixture. They are wired ODNO. Lilaeopsis M. Had visible growth in less than two weeks before i transplanted it to a DSM tank. Lights are snug to the tank, and we actually use the light splash(since the bulbs are a foot wider than the tank) as the rooms light until the timer kills the power at 11:28 pm Cst.

i have no experience with the two plants you mentioned, hopefully someone can drop knowledge on us.

Edit: what i was really trying to get at is that you can make do with whats readily available and cheap and not have to drop that kind of cash. I chose the shop fixture because it was cheap and available. 36 inch bulbs are a pain to find here.

Edit 2: wiring up overdriven lights isnt much hard than bridging stereo speakers. Click into the articles section of the site if you're interest.

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xmas_one

· #3 · Jul 9, 2012

CF bulbs are pretty much just bent t5ho's. They are slightly less efficient due to restrike, but they work fine. Whoever told you that is trying to sell you a new light. What is your existing CF setup?

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Hoppy

· #4 · Jul 10, 2012

By far the biggest problem with power compact bulb lights is the terrible reflectors most of them have. When they have a reflector as good as the good T5HO reflectors, in other words an AH Supply reflector, they produce almost as much light as T5HO, but while using more electricity. For example 55 watt PC bulbs are about 22 inches long, so it takes two in a row to cover a 4 foot aquarium, or 110 watts. But, a 4 foot T5HO light requires only 54 watts, and produces a little more light than the PC bulbs.

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bornscorpio30

Discussion Starter · #5 · Jul 10, 2012

so bottom line is I can use any of the above to grown plants.. as I said mine is 40 gallon tank, and is 14 inches tall.. can i use t5s to get good light to create a carpet of Dwarf Hair grass and Dwarf Baby tear?

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xmas_one

· #6 · Jul 10, 2012

bornscorpio30 said:
so bottom line is I can use any of the above to grown plants.. as I said mine is 40 gallon tank, and is 14 inches tall.. can i use t5s to get good light to create a carpet of Dwarf Hair grass and Dwarf Baby tear?

Yes.

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