Advice: lighting units for 4ft x 2ft x 18.5'' set up

[st.john]

Hello! Advice required please!
I am doing a slow set up on this tank as it's my first proper tank - as in i'm doing it slowly and getting it right! I want to have the tank up and running and plants/fish happy within 3-4 months.

I am obviously new to this size set up. I am supposing that i will need at least 350w of lighting. I don't really mind if it's LED or T5. It will be around 1/2 to 3/5 planted (i want some open water space as i believe it adds depth and space to the look). It will be a natural set up using mainly wood as hardscape to simulate root structures etc. Budget wise i want to keep the INITIAL setup prices as low a possible without skimping on quality.

1/ LED - pro's/cons and what sort of power (lumens) are we looking at here?
2/ T5 - the 6 tube setups look good - again - pro's/cons.

obviously you get more control with LED regarding dimming/sunset etc.. i like the sound of this. Am i correct or totally wrong? Led replacement tubes for T5 units - are they worth it?

Money is not a real issue as i am serious about doing this correctly BUT i am guessing (as any hobby) the marketplace is a minefield of tat and needlessly over the top items. I'm not driven by the latest all singing all dancing bluetooth controlled blah blah blah but cannot handle things that do not work properly and are flimsy etc!!! (i'm a tad ocd!).

Your thoughts are really appreciated!

 

[Chris Jackson]

Hi, well I suggest that T5's still have a great deal to offer and with a six tube fixture you can run pairs on different timers to create a mild dimming effect. 4 tubes should give plenty of light for most needs however but having six is good for photos and maybe adding a blast of midday sun... In my opinion T5 give a nicer colour rendition per £ spent than LED's at this stage of development. On my 4ftx2ftx2ft tank I have 4 T5's that have been running great for years and years. Running costs are higher with T5's of course....

I am using Giesmann Pulzar LED's with a bluetooth controller on my small 2ft tank which gives a fantastic level of control and great lighting but is certainly not a low cost option and the units aren't particularly pretty.

I'm sure you'll get some good suggestions from this thread but as with most things you do tend to get what you pay for cheap is cheap for a reason

 

[st.john]

Thank you! I have been looking at 6 tube t5's actually. Has anyone used one's designed for hydroponics? I have seen a susspended system that is significantly cheeper than and aqua-specific one?

 

[ian_m]

Hydroponic lights generally are aimed at maximising the plant mass per watt hour electricity ie grams pet penny electric. Great but the plants in your tank will grow wonderfully but look absolutely cr*p.

So you need lights that make your plants look good so aqua specific lights it is.

 

[dw1305]

Hi all,

I have been looking at 6 tube t5's actually. Has anyone used one's designed for hydroponics? I have seen a susspended system that is significantly cheeper than and aqua-specific one?

They are fine, the units don't have the finish that you would get from an aquatic fitting but they grow plants fine.

I've got these <"8 tube 4' "lightwave" arrays">, with 6500K tubes, in the glasshouse at work.

One advantage of a 4' fitting is that the (1149mm) 54W T5 tubes are a standard size used in shops etc. and both the tunes and the electronic ballasts are really cheap to buy.

cheers Darrel

 

[st.john]

Hydroponic lights generally are aimed at maximising the plant mass per watt hour electricity ie grams pet penny electric. Great but the plants in your tank will grow wonderfully but look absolutely cr*p.

So you need lights that make your plants look good so aqua specific lights it is.

Yeah, for sure, but surely just a swap out of the tubes used is all that is needed yeah?

 

[st.john]

Hi all,They are fine, the units don't have the finish that you would get from an aquatic fitting but they grow plants fine.

I've got these <"8 tube 4' "lightwave" arrays">, with 6500K tubes, in the glasshouse at work.

One advantage of a 4' fitting is that the (1149mm) 54W T5 tubes are a standard size used in shops etc. and both the tunes and the electronic ballasts are really cheap to buy.

cheers Darrel

Yup, that's this sort of thing. With a swap about for the tubes the saving is looking pretty good.