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amteo

By amteo,
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amteo Newbie

amteo

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I'm currently using 2 X 36 watt PL tubes (10000K & Actinic) on my 15 gal nano tank. The tank has two clowns, some mushrooms, an anemony and a colony of sun polyps. Recently, one of the ballast shorted, making this lamp less effective.

Now, there are a few possibilities I could go for.

1. Mod the present lamp with an electronic ballast. Might not look the prettiest, but it is the cheapest option.

2. Change to a T5 HO lamp (2X24W). Price wise is OK, but output might not be good enough.

3. Change to a 75W MH. Should have enough output, but I'm not sure how hot it will get. Vicl*** has a good deal, but theirs has no stand. Anybody has dealings with them before? How are their products? Can someone explain the terminology of MH? SE? DE? etc. Which is better 10KK or 20KK lamps? Or should I change to a 150W MH?

Decisions, decisions, decisions....

What do you guys think? Which should I go for?

Regards

Waste no more time arguing what a good man should be, be one.

Marcus Aurelius

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jesperlam Newbie

jesperlam

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First of all...how much is ur budget?

T5s not as bright or worst than PLs?? I heard that T5s are second to MH in terms of intensity...dont know how true but gonna get it soon! :D

If u're gonna change to MH, do you have a chiller? MH can really produce alot of heat! How many Ks depends on how you want your tank to look like and also its for the growth of certain corals. the k = kelvins which defines the coloration. 20kk being the ultra blue.

Just my 2 cents

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amteo Newbie

amteo

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First of all...how much is ur budget?

T5s not as bright or worst than PLs?? I heard that T5s are second to MH in terms of intensity...dont know how true but gonna get it soon! :D

If u're gonna change to MH, do you have a chiller? MH can really produce alot of heat! How many Ks depends on how you want your tank to look like and also its for the growth of certain corals. the k = kelvins which defines the coloration. 20kk being the ultra blue.

Just my 2 cents

I've not actually seen T5 in action, but from the wattage, the seem to be lower than PL. For example, a two foot PL is 36W vs a two foot T5 at 24W. Or is there something else I missed?

What T5 are you going to get?

Waste no more time arguing what a good man should be, be one.

Marcus Aurelius

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Ekia Newbie

Ekia

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I'm currently using 2 X 36 watt PL tubes (10000K & Actinic) on my 15 gal nano tank. The tank has two clowns, some mushrooms, an anemony and a colony of sun polyps. Recently, one of the ballast shorted, making this lamp less effective.

Now, there are a few possibilities I could go for.

1. Mod the present lamp with an electronic ballast. Might not look the prettiest, but it is the cheapest option.

2. Change to a T5 HO lamp (2X24W). Price wise is OK, but output might not be good enough.

3. Change to a 75W MH. Should have enough output, but I'm not sure how hot it will get. Vicl*** has a good deal, but theirs has no stand. Anybody has dealings with them before? How are their products? Can someone explain the terminology of MH? SE? DE? etc. Which is better 10KK or 20KK lamps? Or should I change to a 150W MH?

Decisions, decisions, decisions....

What do you guys think? Which should I go for?

Regards

MH for a 15g tank might really heat up the tank real badly...

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amteo Newbie

amteo

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in term of wattage t5 is lower, but the intensity is higher, just bare eye can show the difference in the brightness if you compare both at the same time......

Are you saying that the intensity of a 24W T5 is greater than a 36W PL? If so, this really opens up a big opportunity since T5 runs cooler, uses less electricity than PL and initial cost is less!! Looks like win-win! :)

Waste no more time arguing what a good man should be, be one.

Marcus Aurelius

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Zero Oxygen Newbie

Zero Oxygen

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Are you saying that the intensity of a 24W T5 is greater than a 36W PL? If so, this really opens up a big opportunity since T5 runs cooler, uses less electricity than PL and initial cost is less!! Looks like win-win! :)

hmmm the initial cost of t5 is higher..........

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amteo Newbie

amteo

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hmmm the initial cost of t5 is higher..........

I stand corrected. You're right! T5 cost is slightly more the PL, but if more efficient and less heat than PL, still win-win. I might try it out and see if it is really better than PL.

Waste no more time arguing what a good man should be, be one.

Marcus Aurelius

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guppy Newbie

guppy

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Hi, T5 is definately better choice than PL36W, currently mine is 3x2x2 and using

MH 70W (20k-blue) from Vicxxx . I don't have a chiller that's way cannot go for 150W , this MH is to add on to my T5 actinic to give the shimmering effect . I've one fan cooling the MH , so far temp is at 27.5 --28, no problem with heat.

Also bought a Lamp holder from ikea ($12) to hold the MH. During the day i've another set of T5 (10K) to support the LPS.

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Clownfish Newbie

Clownfish

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T5 HO is betta than PL... lasts much longer as well...

somemore is quite affordable rite now... if u decides to DIY of course...

amteo: if ur tank can fit like 2 light housings, wld recommend u to hav 2X24W with bulbs of 6k5/10k (Osram 860 which is 6k/6k5 onli cost u $9) then add ur 1X PL actinic to give ur tank a nice blue look ;)

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amteo Newbie

amteo

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T5 HO is betta than PL... lasts much longer as well...

somemore is quite affordable rite now... if u decides to DIY of course...

amteo: if ur tank can fit like 2 light housings, wld recommend u to hav 2X24W with  bulbs of 6k5/10k (Osram 860 which is 6k/6k5 onli cost u $9) then add ur 1X PL actinic to give ur tank a nice blue look  ;)

Thanks for the feedback. Where do you go to get your T5 tubes? The price is very tempting :yeah:

Waste no more time arguing what a good man should be, be one.

Marcus Aurelius

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Clownfish Newbie

Clownfish

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Thanks for the feedback. Where do you go to get your T5 tubes? The price is very tempting :yeah:

i can PM u the place where i got all my osram eballast n tubes n tube holders n end connectors n single core wire (shld cost less than $100), PM me if u r interested

all u need is an empty lighting hood which has a reflector n which can fit 2 tubes.... n also a 3-pin plug with wiring, the rest is DIY liao...

else u can also hav some other DIY plans which is w/o hood, then u need to get ur own t5 reflectors n waterproof endcaps... ;)

btw, if budget is not tight, u can get reliable brands like aqualight,ati or deltec n save the hassle ;)

tink dr evil helps pple to do T5 fixtures... u can check out with him as well.... :)

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