which tube,s ???

[peter senior]

Hi All,
I,m new to the forum and would like some help in choosing the right fluorescent lighting
the tank i have measures 815mm long x 400mm front to back x 525 top to bottom capacity is 150 litre,s
the 2 tubes that come with the set up are 600mm x26mm,
the type of plants i would like to grow would be amazon swords and maybe crypts when the tank mature,s
what tube,s would you recommend and where,s the best place to buy them online
any suggestions on plants would also be welcome
thanks Pete

 

[Henry]

What are the tubes that come with it? Do they have any writing on them? They may well be adequate for growing Crypts and swords.

 

[Balik1]

i would recommend this site ordered from them before pretty good stuff and good deals

Aquarium Lighting | Metal Halide | T5 Fluorescent Bulbs | Aquarium Filter Media | Aquarium Heaters | T5 Electronic Ballasts from iQuatics
i use a combination of daylight tubes 🙂

hope this gets you started

 

[ceg4048]

..the type of plants i would like to grow would be amazon swords and maybe crypts when the tank mature,s

what tube,s would you recommend and where,s the best place to buy them online

any suggestions on plants would also be welcome

Hello,
Amazon swords and crypts do not really care what kind of lighting you use. In fact, there aren't any plants which care. What plants care about is that whatever light you choose, that you do not use too much, otherwise they will suffer radiation poisoning.

When you think about lighting, you should always consider what looks good to you ONLY. Nothing else matters. In this lighting section there is a sticky with photos of the aesthetic effects of various color T5 bulbs. The same holds for any type of bulb. Cheap HO T5 fluorescent tubes - Update with photos | UK Aquatic Plant Society

Cheers,

 

[peter senior]

Hi thanks for your,e imput
i read the post cheap t5 fluorescent tubes
the tube colour i like is the phillips 965 de luxe pro
i need the T8 which comes at 18 watts that will give me 36 watts total will this be ok for the plants i have in mind
thanks Pete

 

[Martin cape]

Are there tubes out there that I can fit into my juwel light unit? Currently I have 3 T5's and they are 45w each. Could do with a bit less wattage I think.

 

[peter senior]

Hi Martin
if you read the reply from ceg4048 there,s a link for cheap HO Fluorescent t5 tubes
the prices on there are very good hope this helps
Pete

 

[ceg4048]

Hi thanks for your,e imput

i read the post cheap t5 fluorescent tubes the tube colour i like is the phillips 965 de luxe pro i need the T8 which comes at 18 watts that will give me 36 watts total will this be ok for the plants i have in mind..

Hi,
Again, the plants won't be too fussed. If the amount of light is low they will grow more slowly. If the amount is medium they will grow at medium speed. As long as you are not over the top with lighting intensity, the health of the plants will depend a lot on the other things that you do, i.e, whether you use CO2 enrichment, filtration and flow distribution if enriching CO2, whether you fertilize, how your water changes and maintenance practices are and so forth. Don't get too hung up on how many watts you have - unless you have too much.

Are there tubes out there that I can fit into my juwel light unit? Currently I have 3 T5's and they are 45w each. Could do with a bit less wattage I think.

Hi Martin,
It's not clear if the Juwel fixture will accommodate these standard bulb lengths. Best to check the lengths and compare with the specifications of the fixture.

Cheers,

 

[foxfish]

I think I read somewhere that this years juwel light fitting will take more standard length tubes but anything older wont. (I might be wrong)
Generally speaking you need to match the bulb wattage to the stater unit although some starters will operate different wattage bulbs it is not something I would recommend doing!

 

[peter senior]

Hi ceg4048 and thanks for the info ,im going for the phillips tubes, that sorted i can now post in the substrate section and get some info there
thanks Pete