maran

Before you buy T5 over T8, have a look at this article. It says for 25C temp, they are the same efficacy. Given T8, you can find more of the colours you would want.... Think about it. http://www.lrc.rpi.edu/programs/nlpip/l ... t5/pc7.asp T5 high output (T5 HO) lamps have greater luminous flux per unit length than standard T8 lamps, but the light output of standard T5 lamps per unit length is almost identical to the standard T8 lamps. If, however, this question requires a more precise answer and lamp efficacy needs to be taken into account, several factors affecting the light output-and therefore efficacy—should be considered. One of the most significant factors affecting lamp light output is ambient temperature. Table 1-7 summarizes light outputs and efficacies of nominal four-foot standard T5, T5 HO, and standard T8 lamps. Manufacturers usually provide light output data at the optimal temperature for each lamp type in their catalogs: 35°C (95°F) for the standard T5 and T5 HO lamps and 25°C (77°F) for the T8 lamps. Light output data for T5 lamps at 25°C (77°F) and for T8 lamps at 35°C (95°F) are also available from manufacturers, however. Table 1-7 shows that, at 25°C (77°F), the light output of T8 lamps is higher than the standard T5 lamps. At 35°C (95°F), however, the standard T5's light output is higher than that of the T8 lamp. With respect to lamp efficacy, the standard T5 lamps are more efficacious than the standard T8 lamps at 35°C (95°F), but the two types of lamps are nearly identical at 25°C (77°F). The lamp efficacy of T5 HO lamps is higher than the T8 lamps but lower than the standard T5 lamps at 35°C (95°F), and it is the lowest at 25°C (77°F). ( all of the above is from the metnioned website, lighting reasearch center)

From what purple cat said, instead of having a 6500K light, I could have a 1800K light which emits yellow red spectrum, and a 10000+ K light which will emit blue/violet colour. Both colours will supply enough light in the spectrum for chlorophil A and B to absorb! Do people mix the 1800K colour and 10000K colour instead of trying to find ONE light at 5000-6500? Another link for interest. http://www.topbulb.com/find/cri.asp

Coming back to Kelvins and CRI: My understanding is the Kelvin of a Tube light is the peak of the spectrum it emits ( Example is a 6500K tube light emits light ranging from 1000K to 20000K, but most the colour it emits is at the colour 6000-7000). CRI is the how close it resembles the true sun light! Is that right? From above I would presume, that a light with 6500K ( apparently closest to normal day light colour) and CRI of 965 (96.5% comparable to day light sun light), would be emiting nearly "true" sunlight, with the peak colour of 6500K. Is that mean even normal sunlight we get at noon has a widespectrum of colours, but mostly concentrated at the middle (6000-7000). Correct and explain if I am wrong. I might be way off the truth! More questions will come after I get above sorted :roll:

It is 150cm by 60cm by 60 cm.

Whats moonlighting? Is it to leave the light on at night? I also heard that plants like 2 different spectrums of light (photosynthesis happens best at these 2 spectrums-so one is 7000K. What is the other?)

I have 2 double tube light holders at the moment. I am wondering of mixing up the colours to get the best. What should I go for. ( I think I got somethink like 14000 K colour ones with the light when i bought it, but not happy with it ( I have a fresh water tank) I know 6500-7000 daylight white is good for plants. so i am planning to get 2 off them. Still 2 more speces letf. Any other colours good for plants. Colour that best shows fish colours?

I recenlty bought a Jebo 819. By far the best deal for the money you or I would spend. I bought it for 150 at Hutt Pets.

I recently bought a 5' by 2' by 2' tank. It was good advise from the forum members, cos if i bought anything bigger, it would have been too heavy to lift and move. If it is any bigger, it is bit too hard to get a good grip of the tank. I wish we could have handles for the tank .

I got a 5' by 2' by 2' tank recently made. The polystyrene I got for it bit smaller. About 6 cm narrower (length is fine but the width is narrow). By putting it in the middle, it give 3cm of "no polystyrene" base for the tank front and back. Is it fine to use the polystyrene like this or do i need a full size, covering all of the base for the tank to sit on? I want to set up the tank tonight if I can ( cos I just got to wellington from Gizzy and my fish will get cold if I dont ), So if any body knows, could you reply sooner please. In the meantime I am gonna fill the tank to a quater with the smaller regiform underneath and put the fish in.

thanks guyz, I went to All except the bird barn. Geez, They got so many fish! I did nt buy anything except bottle of plant food. They didnt have any onstock Jebo cannister filters. I shall get it later. I heading to Gisborne tomorrow and then clearing one of my fish tanks and moving them to Wellington on Friday. poor fishies-long trip for them.

I hae been wanting set up one like that for a wee while. Aftaburn, you think you can draw a picture on what your set up like. My small brain cannot fgure out fully what your set up is like ( so I can copy it ). I was more leaning toward a overflow system. Only trouble is finding a valve that regulates inflow reasonably accurately-you know any place where I can by one and what is it called?

Hello all, I am visiting Auckaland for 3 days and staying in Avondale. I am looking for a LFS around ehre, pref close by to where i am staying to check out. Esp to look for a Jebo 819 cannister filter. My usual retaile rin Gisborne cannot get hold of it for a while as his supplier is out of stock. I know there is a pet shop in Great north road, avondale, I dont know whther they have fish stuff there. Any thing else? Thanks Maran

I am sorry mate. Have you figured out what might have gone wrong?

sounds even better then. Jebo it is then

Self priming thingi is the one u push up and down to started the water going through the system-bit like a manual pump. Esp if the hose is bit long, the pumps struggle to get it going. I knwo fluval 104 and 204 got one-labeled as "start".

Hey all, esp the ones using jebo 819, Caryl and Mystic, I am going to buy one for a 540L tank. Does Jebo have a self priming thingi, so I dont have to suck the hose from one end to make it going again. If you u have an electronic version of the manuel, I would love to read it first.

I am a fan of having UGF in all my tanks as a back up. So have a canister filter, but just in case it stops working, there is always the UGF keeping the good bugs safe and alive. I say that cos I read somewhere that if the filter stays in a large body of water, then even if the power is out for few hours and filter doesn't work, the bugs stay alive for a wee few hours in it.

BTW how much does a 500L tank made of 10mm glass weigh?

Thank you all for your good advice. I am most likely to take your advise and get a 500-540 L tank. IOU1-any advise is taken and thanks. I have not thought about stairs all this time. I will note that ( Yes I have a note book where I am writing down all the points and issues) MyticVampire-I understand it is far better to get a tank after knowning which house Im going to but. But the issue is, I want to move most of my fish gradually from Gizzy to wellington. So if I can establish a tank first in wellington/Hutt, Then I can move the fishies bit by bit (My fiance is going to be in gisborne longer, so I can leave the fish behind and move them little by little.) I am looking forward to joining one of the clubs, most probably the upper Hutt one. On a funnier note, my fiance already calls me a "fish geek" for joining the FNZAS forum; wonder what she will call me when I join a club :bounce: BTW if the Wellingtonians want to know more about myself, I am only a year into fish keeping. Started as somebody gave me a free tank, got hooked and now I have 2 130L tanks and 1 hexagon 80L tank. I rather like community tanks with many plants. At the moment I have Kribs, Platies, Bristle nose, Tiger barbs, neons and guppies (in a seperate tank). Kribs have done well and there on their 3rd batch of babies ( having to give away some of the fish as they grow since no room . I really have no idea on what else to add. Probably not many more. Thank you again for all the advice and if others have a different or new view, keep posting.

Hello all, I am putting this thread to weed out few bugs before i buy my next tank. At the moment I have a 100cm by 30 by 50 tank ( also have couple others, but this is my favorite). Now i am planning to move to Wellington in couple of months and I want to get a bigger tank. I am looking at 500-1000L tank. Now my query is what demension is the best in terms of moving it between houses ( I am likely to move atleast once within Wellington in the next 2 years), Putting in a place in the house without tank running across a door or judding through a door etc. Initally i thought of getting a 300cm by 50cm height by 50-100cm depth. But 300cm is fairly long and I might struggle to find a free enough strech of wall in the house to put it. When moving it inside the house, I might be impossible to move through a corridor or a entrance with surrounding walls ( as typically found with some townhouses. Other issue is if the tank is too fat, if I could say it that way(i mean the depth is too much), it might not fit through the door to start with. Next thing is transporting it. In my brothers 8 seater, I could put a tank 180cm long. Ofcourse I could find a bigger vehicle, but another thing to consider. My initial conclusion is the the tank may need to be shorter, may be 2.4m and depth of 70cm (door frames are usually 75cm in my present house) and a height of 60cm or so. What are your experiences on tank demensions and ease of transporting it, moving it, and placing it in the house? Any bugs you came through, what did you do to get around it etc? Looking forward to your advices. Maran

out of curiosity; how did your tank overflow?

whats the cost with this guy on average per litre. lets say how much it would cost for 500L and 1000L tank? I guess i could ring them and ask, but asking here is much easier;) Presently I got a offer for 400$ for 500L tank.

Hello all, I am new this place, so I hope to post this reply in the right place. I have used compact flouros and they seem to work great with the tanks I got. I have used a 50 watt one (equivalent to 300w) on my main tank, and the plants have grown into a nice bush now. also have used the budget ones for my hexogan tank with good effect. For the price its worth it. 50 watt one was bought on a specialist light shop in the inroads of Petone for 30 odd dollars. cheers and go for the Compact flouros