[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]
T-8 light suggestions
Chris wrote
>I have a 55 gallon (mid-tech) tank
set-up w/ 2 6500k sylvania t-8 lights.
I need to add either
>one or two more t-8's for the system.
What would people suggest? I am not
sure of the spectrum
>of the 6500k lamps and I would like to
add something that would help balance
the overall
>spectrum
55 gallon tanks are a bit hard to light
because the tank is only a foot wide at
the top. The more lights you cram
together the more they block light from
the bouncing off the reflector.
Hopefully you are using a high light
output ballast otherwise you are
negating the advantages of using T-8s.
Maybe you could run 3 lamps from one HLO
ballast and you would have enough light.
Recently I was made aware of the
existance of Pentron high output T5
lamps made by Sylvania one of these
could double your light output depending
on what type of ballast you are using
now. I am sure they quite expensive but
I also think that a lot of people will
start using them as they become more
available. They are just a straightened
PC so it is nothing revolutionary but
they sure look like they would be handy
for lighting for lighting 4' tanks. They
also come in 5' lengths. I'm one of
those people that believe just about any
lamp will grow plants so I think that
the 5000 K version of this lamp should
work very well.
Wayne Jones
Wayne's DIY Aquarium Setup at
http://www.mnsi.net/~waj