Retrofit T5 fixture with LED light strip?

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cubequeen

cubequeen

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I have a planted tank with t5 HO lamps I haven't replaced in 2 years. I know it's time, but I'm also wondering if I'm going to spend a bunch of money on new lamps, should I consider replacing them with LED lights? Are they good enough for planted tanks yet? My T5 fixtures are not very old, so I was wondering if there is such a thing as LED strips that fit T5 fixtures without re-wiring, just plug in like a T5. A Google search turned up a couple of things, but I didn't find anything 18 inches long and am not sure anything is available in the US.
 
FreshyFresh

FreshyFresh

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cubequeen

cubequeen

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I was mistaken about the size my fixture takes, it is a 24-inch fixture that takes a bulb that is about 22 inches long.

What I had in mind was something more like this:
https://orphek.com/new-product-t5t8-led-tubes/
but with a spectrum with less blue, better suited for a planted tank.

Although not specifically for aquariums, I thought the sixth item down on this page looked promising:
http://www.slimfluorescent.com/led.php
Then I noticed that it requires a separate purchase of a LED power supply.

Looks like any way I go LED is just out of my budget right now and I just don't trust the output for planted tanks yet. I think I'll be sticking with regular T5s for a while.
 
FreshyFresh

FreshyFresh

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cubequeen said:
Looks like any way I go LED is just out of my budget right now and I just don't trust the output for planted tanks yet. I think I'll be sticking with regular T5s for a while.
Click to expand...
Not sure what you're basing this fear of LEDs for planted tanks from. There's thread after thread of happy planted tank owners who uses them on this forum and others.

I even experimented at the El' Cheapo end of the spectrum with a 48" ~35watt 6500K LED fixture from Aquatraders. It works beautifully. When I got it a year ago, it was ~$60 shipped.

There's nothing wrong with T8 or T5 fixtures, aside from heat they can add to the system (when you may not want it) and the fact it's kind of wasteful, having to replace lamps yearly simply because of color/temp shift and some PAR/PUR reduction as the lamps age.
 
Andrewtfw

Andrewtfw

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I don't think the conversion bulbs like the one in your link are designed for t5ho fixtures. I don't think they'd do the job you want anyway.
I really like the finnex ray2 led for my 40b planted tank.

Sent from my VS985 4G using MonsterAquariaNetwork App
 
FreshyFresh

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Right, it just seem super odd they'd be designed to fire-up off a T8 or T5 ballast, that's designed to light-off a fluorescent tube.

I've never heard anything bad about Finnex fixtures or heaters.
 
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