juwanil

What is the difference between the two? what would be best for a 30 gallon non planted? I want to get the most colors out of my fish and not spend alot of money.

Peterpiper

Hi juwanil,
the standard aquarum flouro's will be fine for a fresh water tank, the t5's are for salt water tanks, great for the corals

sirdarksol

Regular fluorescents are cheaper, and the amount of light will be good showing the fish off. Basically, T-5's are only necessary if you're getting plants.

juwanil

Ihave it narrowed down t two lights tell me which one you think would be better.
http://www.petsmart.com/product/inde...ductId=2754543

Or

http://www.bigalsonline.com/edealinv...360&scId=18360

the corallife t5 seems too good to be true. just wanted some input.

sirdarksol

That's a tough call.
For me, I think it would come down to which is more energy efficient (I think that's the T5s, but I'm not sure).

Peterpiper

Just something to think about,
T5's run hotter than standards.. and in summer you may need small fans to keep the tank from over heating

04_si

at work i deal with fluorescent lights all the time (im an electrician) and T5 is basically telling me the size (small)

i use T5 (small ones)
T8 (medium)
and T12 (huge ones haha)

generally the T5s are less Wattage than the others.

however, im not sure if this applies to fish tank fluorescents

David C

My understanding is T5's are 5/8" bulbs and T8's are 8/8" or 1" bulbs and T12's are 12/8". Exactly what O4_si was saying. I don't see how the size of the bulb makes any difference in the amount of light put out, only the number of bulbs you can fit into a hood. Wouldn't a 50w T5 bulb put out EXACTLY the same amount of light as a 50w CFL or am I being stupid again?

clinton1621

I think you're right about two 50 watt lights putting out the same amount of light, but the difference would be the "type" of light each bulb is putting out... a 50 watt actinic light is much different than a 50 watt 6500K light and so on. The T5 bulbs are usually used for higher output because you can put say... two 30 watt bulbs in the same size fixture as you could fit only one 30 watt T8 in.

David C

I agree with you completely, but sometimes I see posts that say CFL won't work because they aren't strong enough, but the same wattage T5 would work, and that's where I get lost. I know there is a much wider variety of bulbs (spectrum wise) available in T5 plus you can get the HO fixtures like I'm using on my 55gal allowing much more wattage in the same space.

defcon11

Well, what does actinic lighting do exactly? I have T5s but I don't really understand what the actinics do.

clinton1621

Actinics are a blue spectrum bulb for saltwater tanks, they mimic the spectrum of light thats naturally in the ocean in deep water

nemo addict

atinics are the same spectrum of light as the moonlight and simulate nighttime lighting and are more for marine not freshwater and t5s have a higher output then t8s with a better lighting spectrum on daylight and night lighting they are more expensive for the bulbs and starters not really needed for freshwater stick to t8s

sirdarksol

Different widths of bulbs will offer different amounts of electrical resistance, different concentrations of the gas that produces the light, etc... so there is likely to be a bit of a difference in the efficiency of the bulb's energy usage. I just don't know which way it swings.
Actinics reproduce the blue light which is the deepest penetrating wavelength of light. They actually don't simulate nighttime lighting, they simulate high-noon daytime lighting deeper in the ocean. They are also in the wavelengths that are very important for photosynthesis. In this manner, they match deeper-water denizens preferred lighting, while still providing enough energy for full photosynthesis, necessary for many oceanic invertebrates.

cpk

Hi I am an electrician as well and t5 relates to size ie diameter they are more compact and also produce a higher lumen output so overall the are a better tube and are available in all temperature ratings this is the colour spectrum that they are designed to operate in and is all about colour they sometimes require a special ballast and are most always electronic.the lampholders are as you may notice are different that is because the pin connections are closer together.t5 tubes are by far the new generation of tube and it is only my personal opinion but the better way to go long term have fun