# higher watt bulbs?



## padlock (20 Jun 2009)

hello everone. i have juwel rekord 600 tank with the original t8 tube in it, i also put another spare t8 starter that i had into the tank to give me 30 watt total, my question is, is it possible to get higher watt t8 bulbs that are still big enough to fit into this hood? would t6 be an option? the "new" starter was running a 40 watt 48" tube before so i know it can handle the extra power, however, the light flickers as it turns on in the new starter, it doesn't in the juwel light fitting though. I really hope someone can help me with this

Thanks, Paul


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## padlock (24 Jun 2009)

HELLO??HELLO??HELLO??HEllohelloooo???

can anyone help? are 18" tubes which are above 15 watt available?


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## Steve Smith (24 Jun 2009)

My understanding is that T8 tubes should only be used with the stated starter unit.  You may find a higher wattage tube will work, but I believe it can lead to them burning out quicker etc.

To get more light in in the same amount of space you'll need to be looking at T5 or Compact T5.  You could get a 18/24/36watt Power compact that should fit into that space.  You can get dual 36watt power compact units too, though that might be a bit overkill.

You could look at T6 tubes, as they are designed to (with a gasket) fit T8 starter units.  I've never used them before so can't really comment.


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## padlock (27 Jun 2009)

i will look into t6 tubes as i can't really change o t5 now, thanks for the reply


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## Themuleous (28 Jun 2009)

Yep, all stripling as far as I am aware come in standard sizes.  I.e. for a given length of bulb you get a set wattage.  As Steve says T5s are higher wattage for a given length but you have to change the ballast for those.

Could you add a third bulb?

Sam


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## Sarutobi (12 Aug 2009)

So are you saying that T5 lights give off more light but with the same wattage and kelvin rating??


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## GreenNeedle (12 Aug 2009)

T5 are the same wattage for the length (roughly) as T8 as are T10 etc.  There is no difference in reality between the wattages and the lengths.

They guys above are talking about T5HO which is more powerful per length and CF also use bent T5HO lamps.

As per the original question the 40W starter may run a 15W tube but it would overload it and gradually burn it out quicker than you want hence the noticeable flicker.  If the Rekord actually doesn't flicker it is using a different type of ballast or it is not a noticeable flicker.  I would guess the latter.

If you buy T6 tubes (actually T6HO) they will be thinner and avoid some restrike but it will not make the 40% difference that is stated.  It says they are 40% more powerful than standard T8 tubes.  Not doing the maths here I guess but if a 24" standard T8 is 18W and theT6 is 20W that makes it 11% more powerful.  What they don't tell you is that T8HO is 20W anyway  You will gain minimal light from the restrike gain but without a 20W ballast you will still only get 18W wether it be a T8HO or T6HO

So as stated above if you want more power then you need to buy new ballast and tubes to do so.

30W over a 125USG tank sounds tiny to me.  Are you sure it only had a 15W tube in it before?   or are we talking about a Rekord 60.  If so 2 x 15W T8 should be more than enough.

AC


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## Sarutobi (14 Aug 2009)

SuperColey1 said:
			
		

> T5 are the same wattage for the length (roughly) as T8 as are T10 etc.  There is no difference in reality between the wattages and the lengths.
> 
> They guys above are talking about T5HO which is more powerful per length and CF also use bent T5HO lamps.
> 
> ...


Sorry I'm a little lost on what you stated xD


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## ceg4048 (14 Aug 2009)

Sarutobi said:
			
		

> So are you saying that T5 lights give off more light but with the same wattage and kelvin rating??


Here's the easy version: Essentially, yes. One can generally expect, for example that a 30W T5 bulb at a given Kelvin rating, being driven by it's native electronic ballast will produce more light than a similarly Kelvin rated 30W T8 bulb being driven by it's native magnetic ballast. Since the quality, configuration and spectral abilities of bulbs vary widely it's difficult to quantify exact values, but the claims have been by as much as 20%-30%. Adding reflectors may produce even greater differences.

Cheers,


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