Needing advice re lighting on 2nd-hand Rio 350

[GRSEDI]

Hi everyone. Basically the story is I bought a secondhand Rio 350l tank, that comes with the standard T5 lighting. I have absolutely no idea what tubes are in there at the moment because any kind of writing or engraving has faded away. Since I have bought it, I have read all over the Internet that Juwel designed their light units so that you would have to use their own tubes, although I don’t know if that is still the case? It appears that the Rio 350 takes a T5 sized at 1047 millimetres according to their literature.

I have seen the thread pinned at the top of the page about cheap T5 HO tubes, I found it quite interesting because originally I wanted to do something like a Grolux tube with another more natural, white light like the Osram lumilux or the Philips de luxe pro. I did find a Grolux in 1047mm here http://www.cp-lighting.co.uk/Grolux-54W-1047mm-T5 (it’s not cheap though) but I am having difficulty finding a natural T5 in this size. Like I said, I liked the look of some of the tubes in the other thread, but I can’t seem to find any of them in that length. Does anyone know of any cheap white/natural T5 tubes good for plant growth that will fit my tank, or am I going to be stuck with a HiLite tube? Any advice is welcome since I am new to Juwel tanks.

 

[sparkyweasel]

iQuatics have a Juwel compatible range if that helps. eg:
https://www.iquaticsonline.co.uk/bu...s/54w-t5-1047mm-42/54w-juwel-t5-tropical.html

 

[alto]

iQuatics economy is really centred around their Buy 2 Get 1 Free ... which isn’t really all that useful (from my perspective) as I don’t have a 3 lamp T5 System, they’re all 2 or 4 lamp units (if I had a 6 lamp luminaire I’d possibly be thrilled )
BUT
then there’s no spectral data, or lumen output or Kelvin or CRI listed (maybe I’m just crap at finding those details on their website )

One Juwel UK retailer lists 1047mm T5 series at 18£ ... I’d trade iQuatics Free tube for CRI,K,lumen options

My preference with T5 is combining lamps to produce an overall appearance I like while also selecting lamps that promote certain types of plant growth, fortunately my T5 luminaire is a stock 60cm so I can just buy Giesemann flourescent tubes: not the cheapest but high intensity phosphors and very good CRI - though I just checked their website and like others, they’re now supplying minimal lamp details and have reduced their tropical & planted tank offerings while marine is still strong
Unfortunately this trend seems unlikely to reverse, most tropical fish and planted aquariums have gone over to LED - I bought my first Kessil when I realized that T5 selection had virtually disappeared from local aquarium shops and I travelled some distance to a marine specialist shop for replacement T5’s (Giesemann lamps which were also much cheaper ... local non-aquatic shops offered 3-4000K normal intensity lamps)

All meandering aside (at last!) you might contact Osram, Philips etc about T5 availability (I suspect you would need to buy case lots directly, but they should be able to suggest some local sources)