ive just done a upgrade to T'5 lights and below is before and after shots for everyone to see the big difference ..... the before pic is with 4 x 4ft normal lights and the after is with 2 x 4ft T'5 lights (you could get some plants growing under these lights)....i didnt relise i had so much algae on the back glass until i put the new t'5 on ..... i bought the T'5 ballasts and endcaps and build the hood and mounted them into the hood and i made my own reflector and it works very well as the pic shows (poor pic as my camera sucks)....

BEFORE PIC

AFTER PIC

funny thing is i bought 4 x t'5 to use and only use 2 and now im glad as the fish would have needed sunnys 8) if i had of used 4 bulbs

WOW big difference.

now could u tell me what the difference is in the T'5 then regular tubes? they're still fluorescent light right?

yes they are still fluorescent .... the difference is the amount of lightthey put out (4ft t'5 is 54watts) and the bulbs are thinner ..... im not a expert o them i bought them for a marine tank im setting up and the changed that to MH so thought i wouldnt waste them and use 2 on my freshwater setup.... and now im glad i did.. :bounce: :bounce:

hey stompa, looking good.

What is the fish in the bottom pic, top left?

do you mean the white one where the water is trickling into the overflow ??? beachy

yea, just out of curiousity

is a large albino cory (very big one) hard to get to this size so the others dont eat it and the pic is blurry which does not help

cool thanks, great looking setup 8)

Did you have a light hood with a good reflector with the T8s or are you not comparing apples with apples. Also how old were the "old" tubes.

yes weka the old lights were 2 x double 4ft 40watt bulbs aquaone light units (with reflectors) and bulbs where about 2 months old when first pic was taken..... so yes im comparing apples with apples

Are those pictures using the same iso, aperature and shutter?

Judging from the massive blurring of the brighter "after" picture compared to very little blurring of the darker "Before" picture, I'd say at the very least the brighter one has a much longer shutter which seriously skews the comparison of brightness in the picture.

same camera..... blurry as i moved i think.....at the end of the day anyone that seen the tank before and then seen it today can see the massive difference in the amount of light..... and at the end of the day im very very happy with the change.....

Most of the blurring is from the movement of the fish, not movement of the camera.

I to think the camera has distorted the actual improvement. In the first shot a flash was used. The fish eyes and the front bottom edge of the aquarium frame shows the flash.

However here are some links to T5 tubes quiet interesting

First page

http://www.lrc.rpi.edu/programs/nlpip/l ... t5/pc1.asp

this pages compares T5 T5Ho and T8. T5 = T8 < T5HO

Thttp://www.lrc.rpi.edu/programs/nlpip/ ... t5/pc7.asp

Maintain good output

http://www.lrc.rpi.edu/programs/nlpip/l ... t5/pc9.asp

Comparison page of 3xT8 tubes to 2xT5HO

http://www.lrc.rpi.edu/programs/nlpip/l ... 5/pc11.asp

Interesting web site

Prices for lamps

http://www.thornlight.co.nz/default.asp ... n=products

starcoat T5

Also need to change ballasts and end caps

Cheers

Very nice set up

In the first pic you posted, what is the red guy peeking out of the ornament on the right side?

its a parrot fish caper..

Are those pictures using the same iso, aperature and shutter?

am i blind am i.....

I to think the camera has distorted the actual improvement. In the first shot a flash was used. The fish eyes and the front bottom edge of the aquarium frame shows the flash.

camera used is a cheap crap one so was trying to show (what i can see in real life) that 2 x t'5s can be brighter than 4 normal t'8 bulbs..... yes ive worked on and built a good reflector for my hood and this probly does help slightly .... but as your links show 2 x t'5 are better than 3 t'8 bulbs so im not sure why my thread is getting pick apart...... what im learning out of this is i just wont bother doing a thread on things i learn anymore.... cos im not fussed either way....just thought some people may have been intested.....

Hey dont spit the dummy Stompa

I think a few of us thought it was too good to be true!!

I am in the process of setting up a hood with provision for up to 6 x T8

I would be interested to know what you have done for your reflector.

I was going to line the inside of my hood with the reflector sheeting they use for hydroponics.

HI Stompa... dont worry about it! Some people just get a bit pedantic.

However something to point out to the camera enthusiats.

The two bulbs that have been taken out from the tank are i suspect the two offered for sale on trade me 'rated' at 10K and 15K respectivly. NOw regardless of the accuracy of these 'ratings' I can assure you that interms of visible light that humans can see ( and automatic cameras repsond to?) the HI K bulbs are actually appear dimmer that a 'daylight' tube because the eye ( and the camera?) only pick up the useful light.

Anyway, thanks for the pics Stompa, I think it shows the difference between old and the new setup quite well.

I want to improve my lighting but am restricted because it is an aqua one hood. When I saw your lighting I thought yea thats me. And so I did some research hence the links on T5. Just like Co2 we all want it but it comes at a cost and is the cost justifable.

If your camera was distorting the final effect or rather enhancing it. I could go out and buy $200 dollars of light and have no gains. Because T5 output the same as T8 it is the T5HO(high Output) that makes the better output. But then you have to get the correct Kelvin lamps.

I see some nice systems in the US that are not available in NZ as we are to small of an consumer. I have looked at compact lighting also only to find the availabilty of parts in NZ lacking.

I do not doubt that your lighting has improved. Other information that people require when producing something like this is actually measurements before and after or even links to web pages showing the difference (like I supplied) and then showing your photos.

Could you give us more info on your system like the lamp details (Watts, Colour,)Are your lamps HO lamps

Because I think its a new system and worth learning more about. The thing that sticks with me is the life of the tube and the fact the output stays above 90% for a very long time and so the costs of the tube are beneficial.

What was the cost of the system are more kits being imported or is it specialized to aquarium usage only. Can you get replacement lamps and what cost.

We are a nation of doing things on the cheap and prefer to make sytems by sourcing our own parts to keep costs down or improve on systems that already exist.

Dont take the comments as negative but people seeking understanding. Cameras can distort pictures and may influence others less informed to go and spend money ( and there are people that want to rip others off)where as others will challenge the results to make people aware that while the results are improved the camera can enhance the results to the unwary.

Thanks Mike

T5 Ho lighting is available at most aquariums stores as arcadia do a unit and i understand that hagen will have a unit out by xmas.

T5 lighting is used in marine tanks for lighting coral so i beleive if it is ok for coral then t5s would be more than enough for plants.

Has anyone seen Hollywoods fish farms plant tank in Mt Roskill?. Sonce they added t5s about a year ago i have seen dramatic improvements in the plants and the tank is looking fantastic to date.

you have to be careful as you get normal t5s and ho t5s, the HO t5s wattge is

3ft 39w

4ft 54w

5ft 80w.