Replacement 48" T5HO lamps..

[Greggz]

More than likely the reason your stem plants melted is that your bulbs have lost so much of their power. I have found Coralife bulbs in particular lose par value more quickly than most. Be careful, you might find that new bulbs could be much, much brighter and start an algae farm. You may need to pay close attention to your lighting schedule for a little while.

My own personal preference is a mixture of 10K & some type of plant bulb. Right now I use Zoo Med Ocean with True Lumen Flora Pink. IMO both good quality for the price. I like the way it brings out the color of the fish and plants. To me 6500k bulbs make my tank look too yellow. But that is to my eye. It's a matter of personal taste.

As far as LED goes, I've got no clue. Read millions of threads on them, contemplated them, almost pulled the trigger on them, but haven't switched over yet. My concern is that while in theory the bulb life is very long, I have read tons of post where the fixture fails. I'm also waiting for them to be perfected. Fully automated control is getting better, but I imagine before long they will all come with computer based software to fully tune the lighting cycle to your own needs. At least that is what I am waiting for.

 

[FreshyFresh]

.. Do you run CO2? Everything run smoothly? Most importantly...Where are the pictures!? lol I looked through your threads and didn't see any picture/journal threads.

I've only run glutaral products for CO2, plus some Seachem trace and Seachem comprehensive. I've really slacked on root tabs for the Amazon sword.

Gregg, I like your idea with a lamp mix. I may go that route just for a change!

Below is the 55g in question. Pic one was the original setup, Pic two is more recent.

 

[FreshyFresh]

Wound up ordering a pair of Zoo Med lamps from the Docs. One "Flora Sun Maximum Plant Growth" 6000K lamp and one "Ultra Super Daylight" 6500K lamp. Supposedly made in Germany. $8.79/ea, ~$25 to the door.

 

[myswtsins]

Good for you, I can't bring myself to pay that much for 2 light bulbs. lol But I bet they work out great for you! I would have chosen a pink bulb to pair with a daylight bulb myself. Had that mix in my high tech setup and loved the colors. Make sure you change one bulb at a time for your plants to adjust and post comparison pictures.

 

[FreshyFresh]

UPS dropped the new lamps off today. I had forgotten how involved the packaging is for two 48" lamps! One big rectangular ~4ft box LOADED to the gills with packing peanuts. Buried in the packing peanuts is two ~4ft cardboard tubes with plastic end-caps taped on like CRAZY. Each tube containing a Zoo Med box wrapped in foam sheeting. You could about run over this box with a UPS truck and not break the bulbs. I bet the packaging alone would be over $10 for an individual to buy.

Some definite misinformation on the Docs side. The Flora Sun Maximum Plant Growth lamp says 5000K on the box, not 6000K like on the Docs website. No biggie for me given the plants I have.

The only disaster is, all the clear plastic clips that hold the lamps in place in the Odyssey fixture broke into pieces as I removed the old lamps. The plastic had yellowed and turned brittle. :bang: The lamps are just kind of resting on the slide-out plexiglass lamp cover now.

We'll see how it goes. I may reduce the lights on time from the normal 8hrs for awhile given the new lamps..

 

[myswtsins]

Emotional roller coaster there for me. Just seeing the thread I was hoping for pictures, no pictures. Then well packaged, then broken clips... lol

Like I said above I would only replace one bulb at a time to let the plants adjust, then change the other in a week or so.

 

[FreshyFresh]

Lol! The setup is the same as the above, 2nd pic, aside from some additional crypts in the rear corners. New lamps are indeed brighter, and the 'plant' lamp is a pink/rosette. I'll get an updated pic on here when I can.