new equipment / plants

[Shekoi]

i'm trying to change my tank into a fully planted aquarium. so i decided to buy some more lights for the tank as i only had 1.25 WPG.

at the LFS i told them what i wanted they said that instead of buying the same as i've got i should add a interpet High power T5 compact lighting 36W.
so i brought one.

once fitted i noticed it hardly makes the tank any brighter, and it makes some of the tank look in shade. will the plants be helped by adding the T5 or have i just wasted money???

See 40g tank link below for equipment list etc.

cheers shekoi

ps does any body have any pictures of echinodorus macrophyllus, i want to check the plant i've brought is what i asked for, i only had a diagram and it's hard to tell.

 

[happychem]

Well, I'm afraid that this won't be terribly satisfactory, but the best answer is another question: how are the plants doing?

It looks like you've got a decent amount of light over the tank. As a rule the T10 bulbs (***-glo bulbs) put out more light per watt than a standard T12. Ditto with T8's.

I don't know anything about T5's, heck, even T8's are just starting to gain widespread use. I can only assume that T5's also put out more light/watt than T12's, probably more than T8's as well, if the trend holds.

I'm not familiar with the 'interpet' name either, but as far as 'high power' fixtures go, I tend to steer clear. More specifically, I try not to lock myself into any hardware that will force me to buy a proprietary replacement, or one that is so hard to come by that they are the only convenient source. Replacement bulbs are the reason I didn't go PC when I built my new hood.

I don't think that you wasted your money and I'm certain that it will work out well (your tank looks gorgeous btw). My only negative comment is about the availability of replacement bulbs, and maybe T5's aren't tough to come by for you.