# new T5 luminaire on its way - thankyou



## a1Matt (10 Mar 2008)

Hi Guys,

I just joined to say thanks for the forum.  It is really nice to see a UK forum with knowledgable members when choosing equipment.

I spent hours on here over the weekend poring over posts to help me decide what lights to buy for my 3ft tank. (Am currently running 3 x Triplus 25w T8 and love the colour but at Â£15 each am fed up of them burning out after 6 months) 

The time and care taken in people posting pics of different lamps has helped me no end.  In particular this post: http://ukaps.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t= ... olux+osram . James C you are a star!

Then last night I ordered a 3 x 24w T5 unit from a German company off of Ebay. I got it for Â£75 inc. p+p for the luminaire with tubes included.

Can't wait to get my hands on it! ... Then I will buy some tubes and start swapping them around.

I may even post some pics so I can contribute back into the forum


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## a1Matt (10 Mar 2008)

This is the luminaire I ordered:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll? ... :IT&ih=005


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## Themuleous (10 Mar 2008)

Excellent, glad to hear the forum is already meeting the needs of others and people in the UK are finding it useful 

I have that luminary and have to say Im very pleased with it.

Tank sounds interesting, keep us posted on your progress 

Sam


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## StevenA (10 Mar 2008)

I also have a 3x 24w from that company on my 2ft tank. Had it for a couple of months now and it's been excellent. I also bought a 3x 39w one for my Rio 180 about a year ago, and that's a great luminaire too. If you need any new tubes for it then use this company http://www.lampspecs.co.uk/ they are excellent on price and very speedy delivery. 

That company you ordered from on ebay will get the luminaire delivered to you probably by Friday this week if you've already paid for it, they are very good


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## a1Matt (11 Mar 2008)

Thanks guys, it is reassuring that you have the same luminaires and are happy with them  8) 

As I don't actually want any more light output than my T8's provided (I can't keep up with the pruning!) I am going to wait until the luminaire comes in and see how bright the light is compared to my T8's, then make a judgement call on what/how many lamps to buy for it (to replace the naff ones that I am sure will come with it).

When I do buy them it will definitely be from lamp specs and will most likely be a combination of Colour 96, Osram 880 and Grolux. I am thinking maybe 2 of each. This will give me enough to do a good mix and match experiment and keep me in spare lamps for a few years afterwards.


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## Garuf (11 Mar 2008)

Sweet lord that's going to give you Ãºber lighting! 
assuming your running a standard sized tank of 15gallons you'll have 72watts of light, so that's 4.8 watts per gallon!


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## Garuf (11 Mar 2008)

Just read it was for a 3ft tank


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## Voo (12 Mar 2008)

I have a luminaire from these guys, although it was 2nd hand. 
when i got it, one of the hinges was broken. They agreed to send out another hinge for just Â£5. When i got it it was the wrong one, but they sent out the correct one free of charge. 

Nice helpful chaps


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## a1Matt (16 Mar 2008)

I got the luminaire on Thursday and am really pleased with it  

The lamps that come with it are a disgusting blue colour.  Which is pretty much what I was expecting so I have ordered some more off of lamp specs. Delivery expected Tuesday according to the UPS tracker.

@ Garuf - I would love uber lighting    but would need sunglasses to look at the tank with that much wpg   
My tank size is 36" x 20" x 15", which I work out at 160l~35UK gallons~2W per gallon.

I'm off to stare at my fish now


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## Themuleous (16 Mar 2008)

Thats grate, Matt, let us know how the tank does 

Sam


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## LondonDragon (18 Mar 2008)

I also purchased my 4x24w T5 from these guys, I paid Â£38+Del for mine 
Note that the tubes that come with it are all 10k so you will need to change some of these if not all.
After about 9 months one of the tubes stopped working, I took the thing apart and found out that it was one of tha ballasts, I emailed them regarding this and they sent me a new ballast free of charge.
I recommend these guys.


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## a1Matt (20 Mar 2008)

LondonDragon said:
			
		

> I also purchased my 4x24w T5 from these guys, I paid Â£38+Del for mine



Thats a damn good price, nice one  8)  (I paid Â£42+ del for mine to be precise!)

I should have bought a 4 way instead of a 3way!  I thought that the unit would be as bright as my 3 x 25W T8's but it isn't.  It is almost as bright, and to the eye that is fine, but I am not getting any pearling at all, whereas I used to get a little bit. I think it is probably the tube combo I have rather than the units per se.



			
				LondonDragon said:
			
		

> Note that the tubes that come with it are all 10k so you will need to change some of these if not all.



Agreed. The lights that come with it are a horrid blue.

Since last posting I have tried out a few tube combos...  I have settled on 2 x Osram 880 tubes and 1 x Grolux. 

I am going to give the tank a couple of weeks to settle (as I had a minor replanting and bought some new fish this week as well) and then if my pearling doesn't come back I will experiment with running T5 and T8 in combination.

It's all good fun, I do like keeping my planted tank


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## LondonDragon (20 Mar 2008)

Glad you got everything ok, a 4x24w would have been ideal you can always get another 2x24w the same size 
Saw a couple sell this week for Â£21+del so might be worth checking it if you need it. All depends on the type of plants you want to keep.
To get mine that cheap I added all their 4x24w to my ebay bid snipper and just left it to do the bidding for me with a max of Â£40, after a couple of months managed to get one that cheap! Was happy about that.


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## a1Matt (20 Mar 2008)

Thats really helpful thanks 

Can you tell me the name of the ebay software you are using?

My immediate reaction is to say that I do not want to grow anything too fancy, but 20 years in and this hobby is still unfolding, so I will most likely end up growing plants that need higher light requirements at some stage    ....


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## LondonDragon (20 Mar 2008)

a1Matt said:
			
		

> Can you tell me the name of the ebay software you are using?


Its called BayGenie ( http://baygenie.com/ ) Its not free, but you if you look around you might get a crack for it


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## a1Matt (20 Mar 2008)

sweet  8)


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## LondonDragon (20 Mar 2008)

a1Matt said:
			
		

> sweet  8)


Just don't go bidding on stuff I am bidding on


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## Arana (20 Mar 2008)

I'm also awaiting delivery of a 4X24w 80cm from these guys, does anybody know what size the tubes are in a 80cm, i'm guessing 60cm but i don't want to put a lamspecs order in until i'm sure


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## milla (20 Mar 2008)

They are the standard 24w T5;s -549mm i think


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## Lisa_Perry75 (20 Mar 2008)

Oooh, I hate people that use that software. Mainly cos I'm too scared to use it!


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## Garuf (20 Mar 2008)

I always get beaten, drives me mental.
I've missed out on 4 in a row now all of them my highest bet has been beaten by 10p within like the last 30 seconds after it looking like I'd won.


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## Lisa_Perry75 (20 Mar 2008)

I know we should all agree to only bid on certain ones each, then we all get them cheap!


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## Garuf (20 Mar 2008)

I doubt they're members buying them.


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## Lisa_Perry75 (20 Mar 2008)

I know... Grrr


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## Garuf (20 Mar 2008)

For example, I lost out on one to "someone" who'd bought nothing but male area enlargement pills, nothing else, until I got beaten by "him" for the luminair. Seriously, who are these "people".


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## LondonDragon (20 Mar 2008)

milla said:
			
		

> They are the standard 24w T5;s -549mm i think


Yes they are. Which is a shame because they could have been the next ones up, some corners end up with less light.
Also one annoying thing to note is that you cannot turn them on two at a time with timers, you can only do all four in one go, you can only turn on two at a time manually.


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## LondonDragon (20 Mar 2008)

Garuf said:
			
		

> I always get beaten, drives me mental.
> I've missed out on 4 in a row now all of them my highest bet has been beaten by 10p within like the last 30 seconds after it looking like I'd won.


Use that software you can make it bid only when there is one second left, doesn't give anyone else a chance 
I win stuff cheap that way hehe


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## a1Matt (21 Mar 2008)

milla said:
			
		

> They are the standard 24w T5;s -549mm i think



All the T5 24W tubes off lamp specs are 549mm as far as I can see, and they all fitted my 3 way luminaire, so I guess that you will be OK.

These are the ones I bought...

Osram 880 - http://www.lampspecs.co.uk/Light-Bulbs- ... am-24-Watt
Navra 965 - http://www.lampspecs.co.uk/Light-Bulbs- ... 65-24-Watt
Sylvania Grolux - http://www.lampspecs.co.uk/Light-Bulbs- ... ia-24-Watt


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