wrong T5 package

1802 Views 13 Replies 9 Participants Last post by Church, Oct 29, 2009

Green024

Discussion Starter · Oct 16, 2009

needless to say, i purchased the wrong t5 light setup for my 30 gallon planted tank.:icon_conf The 2X24" watt came with a 10,000k sunlight bulb, and 460 nm Actinic bulb. I imagine the actinic bulb is useless in my case. But is the 10k bulb useless as well for my plants? if not what bulb should i get to replace the actinic one? If they are both useless and they will not take the light back to replace it with the freshwater setup(which is what i hope they will do for me), where would you recommend i get a pair of the lights i need for my plants?

Heres the link to my failed purchase. While going through with the purchase i did not see any place to choose from one of the three setups they have listed at the bottom.
http://www.premiumaquatics.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=CU-USA01124&Category_Code=Current-T5

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Green024

Discussion Starter · #2 · Oct 16, 2009

did a little bit of searching and what i saw was the freshwater setup comes with a 10,000k bulb and a freshwater bulb, which puts off a pinkish color? is this right? If so i geuss im going to order one from
http://www.lnt.com/show_product/50203/?utm_source=froogle&utm_medium=datafeed&utm_term=50204
if this is a bad idea, please let me know if i am mistaken. cause i usually am....

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zzyzx85

· #3 · Oct 16, 2009

The freshwater set with the 10000K and "pink" bulbs is fine. I think the general consensus is that the pink bulb makes plants and fish look nice. In the future, you will want to replace the pink bulb with a 6000K-10000K bulb.

the one thing that bugs me about the Current 30" T5HO fixture is that it uses 24" bulbs and not full length 30" bulbs, which leave the ends dimmer.

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Green024

Discussion Starter · #4 · Oct 16, 2009

zzyzx85 said:
The freshwater set with the 10000K and "pink" bulbs is fine. I think the general consensus is that the pink bulb makes plants and fish look nice. In the future, you will want to replace the pink bulb with a 6000K-10000K bulb.

Well i havent bought the "pink" bulb yet, I just thought it was what i needed because it comes with the t5 freshwater setup. I was going to order one tonight, so your saying i should just go with a second 10k/6k bulb? I just want what best for the plants, not for the overall look of the lighting in the tank.

Thank you very much for the fast reply zzyzx85!

this T-5 HO Freshwater SlimPaq 6700°K would be the bulb to fit my fixture correct? I seem to allways order the wrong stuff, hahah
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=13823

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Chasintrades

· #5 · Oct 16, 2009

off topic
zzyzx85 is your name Dave?

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captain_bu

· #6 · Oct 17, 2009

Color temperature doesn't make any difference to the plants. Buy what makes the tank look good to your eyes. As long as the Kelvin rating is between 5- 10K your plants will be fine.

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justin182

· #7 · Oct 17, 2009

I have the Current 2x24w T5HO freshwater. The pink freshwater bulb doesn't really make my tank look pink or anything. It does look dimmer than the other 10000k for sure.

But I'll say if you replace it with 6500k or 10000k, your tank will feel brighter and clearer.

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FSM

· #8 · Oct 17, 2009

If you can return it, return it. Otherwise just get another bulb to replace the actinic.

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Green024

Discussion Starter · #9 · Oct 18, 2009

Thanks for the input, they weren't to keen on the return idea, so i ordered a 6,700 k from DrsFosterSmith. I doubt i can find some one who needs the Actinic bulb though, oh well, not the first time I've done that with a online purchase :icon_redf

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rich815

· #10 · Oct 18, 2009

6700k and 10000k will be a very good combo.

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zzyzx85

· #11 · Oct 18, 2009

Sorry, my name is not Dave. Must be another zzyzx.

yes, the 10000K will result in much whiter light in your tank. 6700K is a little more yellow. but probably more so than the pink freshwater bulb.

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anastasisariel

· #12 · Oct 29, 2009

My light

I had a freshwater coralife dual 18w t5 no fixture and a saltwater version. The freshwater version had a 6700 and an Aquglo. The saltwater had a 10,000k and an actinic. I took the 10000k and 6700k and put them in the same fixture. They look great together, and I think my plants appreciate it too. I don't ever use the Aquaglo or actinic any longer. I did like the blue but you can get some blue from the 10,000k.

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rich815

· #13 · Oct 29, 2009

anastasisariel said:
I had a freshwater coralife dual 18w t5 no fixture and a saltwater version. The freshwater version had a 6700 and an Aquglo. The saltwater had a 10,000k and an actinic. I took the 10000k and 6700k and put them in the same fixture. They look great together, and I think my plants appreciate it too. I don't ever use the Aquaglo or actinic any longer. I did like the blue but you can get some blue from the 10,000k.

If you mean Hagen Aqua Glo lights those are 18,000k.

I use a combination of 18,000k Hagen PowerGLO and 6700k LifeGLO T5 lights on my 72 gal. It's a great combo I think.

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Church

· #14 · Oct 29, 2009

Dave's not here, man.

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