I need help choosing new light tubes

[ginaekdal]

Hello,

somehow the light tubes in both my tanks have blown at the same time. One is currently empty and can wait at a push, the other holds eleven P. titteya. I am in a desperate hurry to replace the lighting as I have major surgery coming up in two weeks and the tanks will have to get by with easy maintenance while I recover.

I am located in Norway so it would help if any suggested tubes are well-known brands and/or go-to alternatives.

Tank one is a 63 litre Juwel, single tube, never changed since purchase. The tube that needs replacing is a Juwel DAY-LITE, 438mm/15W, T8. I have found a source for this exact tube, however I never felt it encouraged proper growth. Are there any better alternatives that are compatible with this tank, before I order the same one?

Tank two is a secondhand 115 litre of unknown making, never changed since purchase. It runs two light tubes, one of the daylight variety and one red(?). I will be replacing both now at the same time. They are the same size as my T8 Juwel tube, eg. 438mm, but I can only make out the written specs of one tube as the other print is faded. The one I can make out says "OSRAM L 15W/827 RELAX Warmwhite". Are there any safe, easily accessible alternatives I can safely order for this tank or will I have to provide more detail? I want light that combined encourages plant growth in a low-tech setup but mostly what I need for this tank is to get light back on as quick as possible.

Any advice appreciated, I know next to nothing about aquarium lighting and am not in a position to read up on it at the moment.

 

[ginaekdal]

PS. Are the T5 and T8 tubes interchangeable?

 

[StandbySetting]

T5 and t8 are not interchangeable, specialist planted tubes are a rip off, it's true that they have peaks in the red and blue spectrum but the real life difference they make on aquatic plants doesn't justify their high price point (tried and tested amongst the planted community) you can replace them using any brand of tube you like provided the power and fitting is the same - personally I prefer something around the 6000-8000 kelvin mark which is a cool day light sort of colour, the lower the colour temperature the warmer and more yellow the light will be.

I've always used Osram tubes but Phillips make them too, any decent hardware store should stock them, take your existing tubes down and ask them to show you like replacements, tubes in the hardware store cost a fraction of their aquarium branded counterparts despite being very similar products.

 

[ginaekdal]

Brilliant, thank you so much. They might not be as much hassle to replace as I thought.