fleshgear Posted September 20, 2009 Report Share Posted September 20, 2009 i have 2 36" coralife light fixtures with 2 each 96watt bulbs. i bought these used, i have replaced the actinic bulb with a 6700k bulb. they cost $80 each. so they worked great i had 1 6700k bulb and a 10000k bulb per fixture. the 6700 bulbs only lasted 8 months and then burnt out. now i need to replace them again i would like to get 4 6700k bulbs but that would be $320 just for the bulbs. that is too much and i think i could switch lighting setups for cheaper. one tank is a 46gallon bow front 36" wide 20" deep. the other is a 77gallon 48" wide 24" deep i can build whatever i need to build, and do my own wiring. i am reading about t5 or t8's but i have no experiance with them i have made up a 48" fixture for a few tanks that are side by side. they are t12's (i think) 40watt 6500k. i bought this a home depot. it was fairly cheap. i know these are not that great for plants. can i do something simaler with t5's and t8's? and what would pricing be like? i would like min 2 watts per gallon 3wpg would be nice depending on price Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fishful Thinking Posted September 21, 2009 Report Share Posted September 21, 2009 Sunblaster T5HO's work well for me. I can't remember what the specific pricing on the 3 and 4 foot lights is, but the 2 foot ones were a good way for me to save some money on my 20 gallon tank. There are a few places that sell them in Calgary: Sunblaster website. HTH. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sean Cassidy Posted September 21, 2009 Report Share Posted September 21, 2009 Try the website fishneedit.com. I have not used them but there were some people on here I believe that have. Prices are good even with the shipping from the states. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gdcox76 Posted September 21, 2009 Report Share Posted September 21, 2009 Another option for either a fixture or a retrofit kit is Catalina Lighting. The bulbs don't ship well but the fixture is great. http://www.catalinaaquarium.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fleshgear Posted September 21, 2009 Author Report Share Posted September 21, 2009 i was hopeing for more of diy project. cheaper. has any one done this before? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jvision Posted September 21, 2009 Report Share Posted September 21, 2009 You can get T8s at Home Depot and do the exactly same thing you did with the T12 system. I was using T12s until earlier this year. T12s are fine for plants, you just need to replace them every 6mos. I shut down my planted tanks this summer, but I was using T5HOs on my last tank. Right now on my Tang tank, I have my 2x50W T5HO running w. just one bulb plugged in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fleshgear Posted September 21, 2009 Author Report Share Posted September 21, 2009 is there a big difference between t12 and t8 and t5 and t5ho? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baos Posted September 21, 2009 Report Share Posted September 21, 2009 is there a big difference between t12 and t8 and t5 and t5ho? The store I bought the 48" t5ho from claimed the light output of a single bulb was the same as two t8s. incidentally it's the sunblasters I'm using. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jvision Posted September 21, 2009 Report Share Posted September 21, 2009 It seems that the smaller the bulb, the better we can direct the light to where it needs to go. Plus, with new technology, they're able to produce more light in smaller sizes. T12s are going the way of the dodo because they're quite inefficient. I used to buy the dual T12 fixtures w. bulbs at Home Depot for $20 ea. Can't do that anymore. But, the price of T8s has come down because they're used more often; however, I think T5 is becoming the new industry standard, which means they'll be a lot more available and less expensive in the future. FYI, every once in a while, you can get a SunBlast-like fixture at Princess Auto for between $5-10. Then you can just get the color temp bulbs you need from a SunBlast dealer. Although, the SunBlast fixtures aren't that expensive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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