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These are what I used to use - http://www.lampspecs.co.uk/Light-Bulbs-Tubes/Aquarium-10000K. Give quite a purple light very similar to the triplus/triton tubes. HTH James

This is what I'm using except that I've go a Grolux as well to provide a bit of pink which I like. Even without the Grolux those two tubes I think work quite well together with the 840 bringing out the colours of the wood. The last two numbers are the colour figures for the tubes. The 860's are...

Here you go - http://www.ukaps.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=20&t=4878 James

Exactly. Forget Kelvin numbers as they tell you very little to what spectrums the light contains. Nearly all fluorescent tubes contain a variety of wavelengths which is why you can use any old tube to grow plants. Generally speaking plants use the red and blue wavelengths for photosynthesis, so...

Just a guess as there is no real way to compare them as they are different in that T5's have a higher intensity. The WPG rule was initially based on T12's but became popular when T8's were the normal lighting to use, so became the standard. Generally with T8's the rule worked fairly well for...

That would be a BIG YES. Personally I'd go for one tube with CO2 and your current filter may be OK, or if not a small powerhead could be added. This setup should grow all plants. With 2 HOT5 tubes you are getting an equivalent of about 5WPG of T8 lighting which IMHO is asking for trouble. I've...

When I brought my Arcadia second hand it came with the screws but somebody had cut them and they no longer fitted. What I did was to use some wood to wedge next to the glass. I cut the wood the width of the support and had to sand it down a bit to achieve a nice snug fit. Works a treat :D James

Yep, I've used them for years and love em. Not everybody's taste though. These Grolux produce loads of blue and red light but virtually no green light and for this reason the kelvin rating is next to meaningless. Colour wise they are quite pinkish. By themselves they are a bit too much but...

I'm impressed. Well done Sam :clap: James

I heard too that they were going to put a stop to mercury vapour bulbs, but have now idea when or if it is indeed still going ahead. If you already have spare bulbs then you have no worries, that is until you run out. Even fluorescent tubes contain mercury vapour and shouldn't actually be...

Oh, yes I missed that and I think you would be right as well. Two bulbs on that size tank would be nowhere near enough light. People who have used energy saving lights that I have seen have used about 8 on a tank that size. James

On smaller tanks the WPG rule doesn't work very well which means that you need more WPG than you would need on a larger tank to get the same light conditions. Those comparisons you quote are comparing fluorescent lighting with incandescent lighting which is notoriously poor. As we don't use...

I tried an energy saving spiral bulb a while ago and found it to be rubbish. This is the one I used - http://www.lampspecs.co.uk/Light-Bulbs-Tubes/Energy-Saving-Spiral-Daylight/Low-Energy-Spiral-30W-ES-865-Prolight. Gave a very green light and produced poor growth with very little pearling...

Another case of the manufacturer trying to rip the public off again by forcing them to purchase their products. Yes the screws are Torx, but these ones with the pin are Security Torx or Torx TR which are more difficult to get, but I have seen them on eBay. James

Mmmm, dunno. Have you tried gently pulling the tube out? Maybe someone else who has the same unit may chip in later. James

Looks like you undo the four screws and then the tube comes out that way. James

That would help loads. James

The tube should come out. I've never seen what you have so can't help you on this I'm afraid. James

Are these what you have - http://www.lampspecs.co.uk/Light-Bulbs-Tubes/860-865-Daylight_4/PLL-4-Pin-18-Watt-865-Philips James

Same thing happened with my Arcadia. Here's how I fixed mine - http://www.ukaps.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=20&t=4878 James

Mmmm, you have a point there. A bright point source will definetly penetrate further than a larger light source even though the light output might be the same. Be interesting to see what you find out. James

This I don't agree with. Isn't PAR just a measure of the amount of light, the same as lumens is, but over a different spectral range? If you have a light that emits light over 2 squared cm and then you cut the area in half to 1 squared cm but also double the power so twice the amount of light is...

I think we have to be carefull when comparing linear T5's and T8's. As Clive said above they may be twice as bright, but in no way do they give off twice the amount of light. A while ago I compared T5's and T8's in a thread but can't seem to find it at the mo, only a thread where I have...

A very good question and one I don't know the answer to. I'd guess they aren't as there is no mention of HO on them anywhere. Saying that I've been using them in my Arcadia Luminaire with no problems. HTH James

I like the GE Fresh and Salt Aqua Aquarium Lamp - http://www.lampspecs.co.uk/Light-Bulbs-Tubes/Aquarium-10000K. Very similar to the Tri-Plus tubes in that they give off a purple colour. I loved them when I had T8's and plants grew great. Should go well with your 5,200k halides. James

Very good as they offer a wide spectrum. James

For info Dave also did a MKII of his LED system - http://www.tropicalfish.site5.com/tfc/showthread.php?t=83289 James

Can't see anything there that suggests you can grow plants in the absence of red and blue light. James

Or it could be that the red and blue from LED's are the wrong wavelengths. Grolux tubes are basically all red and blue with vitually no green and they grow plants just fine. Indeed that is what Grolux tubes were designed to do. James

I'd be interested too. All the information I've ever read suggests that plants use mainly red and blue light and reflect green light, hence the reason most plants are green. This isn't saying that they don't use green. Amano has a green spike in his metal halide lamps as he says it is needed...

I'll second that. I find 6,500k tubes too green just by themselves. 865's are very green. 965's are a bit better. With that many tubes I'd mix and match with some 4,000k and grolux. Grolux's really bring out the colours in fish like cardinals. James

Not sure TBH. Never paid much notice to it before. Think it may be just the way Osram code their tubes. I'm just interested in the Kelvin and colour rendition values. James

First two are the same: HO - High Output FHO - Fluorescent High Output FQ I've never heard of. Where did you get it from? James

As a rough guide T5 tubes around the 18 Watt figure are about 35% more efficient than equivalent T8 tubes. But at around the 54 Watt mark this figure comes down to about 15% more efficient. Reflectors don't come into it as it's total light output that is measured and not how it is reflected...

Early Interpet PC connectors suffered badly from this and they would replace them FOC if you had the receipt for them. Thought they had fixed the problem though. James

Some people I know of use actinic lighting to great effect over a planted tank. Kelvin (K) rating often has no meaning at all to what the light output actually looks like and so you shouldn't go by this figure alone. Some of the best tubes I've ever used are 10K tubes from GE -...

Don't get too hung up on Kelvin values as you can't tell what a bulb looks like from just looking at this figure. You can get 2 different 6,500K tubes and both can look completely different in regard to their colour. Some of the best tubes I've ever used for growing plants are 10,000K from GE...

Thanks John for the kind words. Since I first wrote this article I have been changing the combinations and noting the affects on the plants. Currently I'm running 2x Osram 840 and 2x Osram 880. This I find gives me great pearling and plant colour without too much green. If you like more green...

I like the GE 10,000 K T8 tubes. They are very similar to the Interpet Triplus tubes - http://www.lampspecs.co.uk/Light-Bulbs- ... ium-10000K. I like the 840 tubes to come on first thing and off last as they are a bit orangy and give the effect of sunset and sunrise. I find the Osram 865's are...

As far as I know all linear T5 fittings are the same so any of the T5 28W tubes should fit fine. James

It's up to you at the end of the day but I'd advise strongly not to use different wattage bulbs and controllers. Fluorescent tubes are very different in the way they work compared to normal incandescent lighting. Using a lower wattage bulb will most likely cause the bulb to run a lot hotter and...

I would only use 54W tubes with a 54W controller. Forgotten why but there are good reasons for this. I'll see if I can find something. James

Hi Ray, Didn't actually find a study so to speak. Just searched the web for Lumen figures for the same type of T5 and T8 tubes and then worked out the Lumen per watt figure for each. May not be the most accurate but gives you a rough idea I think. I always recommend putting heaters and CO2...

No idea about the reflectors. Probably not as reflectors can give odd results depending on the parabolica of the reflector. The evidence I've seen suggests that watt for watt linear T5's are better than PC T5's. It's easier to cram more wattage of PC T5's in under a hood than T8's which may...

My last comment about T5's and T8's got me interested so I went off to see if I could find any tests that had been done. Found some interesting results. Seems as though it depends on how long the tube is to how more efficient the T5 is over the T8. The shorter the tube the more efficient the...

I've never really been that convinced that the light output from a T5 is that much greater than a T8. Yes they are more intense, ie look brighter, because the surface area providing the light is a lot smaller. Back to your question though. Yes I would think 1.5wpg is probably OK but others may...

Er, you started the sentence by stating for growing plants and then mentioned how much light produced in lumens. How is that eficiency measured? All the figures I've ever seen using PAR or PUR measurements put Grolux's fairly high in the list, but using Lumens they come at the bottom. I did...

Just like to pick up on a couple of points which I don't agree with Lumens is only a measurement of the yellow/green part of the spectrum which our eyes are most sensitive to. It does not measure the red and blue spectrums which are mostly used by plants. The reason Grolux's have a rubbish...

Without a light meter it's very hard to tell how light levels drop with time. With T8's I always replaced them after nine months only because the ends got quite black. May be able to last a bit longer. When compared with a newish tube they did look quite a bit dimmer to me. A new tube when first...

I couldn't see any either in the Compact Fluorescent range. The linear T5's seem to have far greater choice. James

Thanks everyone. The 880 and 840 mix does give some some very bold greens and is the combination I've been using for the last week. One interesting thing I've noticed after having another look at the photos is the tube at the back left of the tank is white but shows the colour of the fluorescent...

This is an update to a thread I posted earlier about HO T5 tubes I brought from the Lamp Specs website. This is the thread - http://www.ukaps.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=523. Since I posted the earlier thread I have also purchased some Grolux's. Decided to have a bit of fun tonight and took some...

Just a bump to say that I've added some spectra for the different tubes. Lamp Specs also sell T5 Grolux tubes which I may test next time I place an order. They didn't have any in stock when I placed this order. Grolux's are quite a pinky purple colour but are supposed to be good for plant...

Having decided to upgrade my lighting from T8 to T5 I treated myself to a secondhand 120cm T5 Arcadia Luminaire off ebay. It came with used marine tubes so I ditched those. Next was to purchase four 54 watt T5 tubes for it. Looking at the £15 plus for a single tube from online aquarium shops...