Is this light enough?

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shewolfgeo

shewolfgeo

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So my 12g is up and running, I have a t12 or t8 light fixture that is 18 watts currently on it. I was looking at ebay and came across this t5 fixture,

Solarmax brand (I have a light fixture of this brand already, and they are ok so far) 20" light fixture with one 8w T5 bulb, at 10k.

Do you think it would be a better light.. Would the t5 8w bulb produce the same as the 18w I have or more? The substrate is about 10-12inches from the top of the tank, and the fixture would be sitting on my glass canopy like my current one..

Tell me what you all think.. I could buy it and use both fixtures.. Or that may be pushing it. I was going for a lowish-med tech tank, but closer to a med tech.
 
jpappy789

jpappy789

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A T5 is definitely going to produce higher quality light than a comparable T12/T8, but whether it is going to be better than that particular T12/T8...I'm not sure. Not something I would think could really be known without testing with a PAR meter.

What plants are you looking into getting?
 
T

tolawdjk

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Wattage is just such a poor comparison across the different types when trying to determine useful light to the plants.

The short answer is, yes, that should be more than enough light, and your shouldn't have to use both lights on that tank.

However, the better way to look at this is...how is your tank doing right now with the light you have? Is your growth sufficient for the look you are wanting? Could you add CO2 (DIY on that size will be more than sufficient) or are your dosing ferts yet?

Light isn't the end all be all. While it might be the simplest addition, its usually the last one you want to add because it can't be finetuned. It is either on or off, and suffer the results.

Light should be added when you have a sufficient nutrient load that the plants can handle the additional energy. Cause if the plants can't handle then energy, algea will handle it, and then no one wins.

That's not to say you shouldn't get it. If the price is good, and it will be used, I say get it.
 
shewolfgeo

shewolfgeo

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At the moment the tank has

anubais
marimo moss ball
stargrass (just trying a few stems to see if they'll grow)
micro swords
baby tears (not dwarf, any trying a few stems to see if they'll grow too)

That is it. I was wanting to get the baby tears and stargrass to grow in the tank. That is why I'm testing them now with the fixture I have. Of course I want the micro swords to stay as low as possible. I was looking through ebay and saw that light fixture, and thought that may be better to have.. I wanted to see what you all thought.
 
shewolfgeo

shewolfgeo

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tolawdjk said:
Wattage is just such a poor comparison across the different types when trying to determine useful light to the plants.

The short answer is, yes, that should be more than enough light, and your shouldn't have to use both lights on that tank.

However, the better way to look at this is...how is your tank doing right now with the light you have? Is your growth sufficient for the look you are wanting? Could you add CO2 (DIY on that size will be more than sufficient) or are your dosing ferts yet?

Light isn't the end all be all. While it might be the simplest addition, its usually the last one you want to add because it can't be finetuned. It is either on or off, and suffer the results.

Light should be added when you have a sufficient nutrient load that the plants can handle the additional energy. Cause if the plants can't handle then energy, algea will handle it, and then no one wins.

That's not to say you shouldn't get it. If the price is good, and it will be used, I say get it.
Click to expand...
I haven't seen much growth from the plants. I use ferts/excel and rootmedic tabs in the tank.

The stargrass was only added a few days ago when I trimmed from my other tank, the baby tears have been in there around 3 weeks. I haven't seen any new growth from the micro swords. Nor the anubais which is a slow grower anyways.

The light fixture is 32 dollars and free shipping. I'm thinking I may get it. Even if I don't use it for this tank, I can for one of my many others that still need to be set up, lol.
 
shewolfgeo

shewolfgeo

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