New Lighting For 55 Gallon

[mancin]

I have a 2nd 55 Gallon tank that is currently cycling. It came with a lighting fixture, but there are some problems with it. 2 of the 4 bulbs are burnt out, there is quite a bit of rust, and the moon-lights are burnt out. There is also no protective cover over the lights. Either I can fix it up and use the current one, or I can just buy a new one.

I found one on E-Bay that I think is a pretty good deal. Click here. It has T6 lights though, which I haven't heard of. I've only heard of T5 and T8. Like my other 55 Gallon, I don't really want to run pressurized CO2 (although I may look into liquid CO2) so I would not run all 4 lights. I'd likely only run 2. However, I do like the fact that if I *wanted* to run more WPG later and do pressurized CO2, that I could. Thoughts??

Edit: Did some poking around and it seems the T6 bulbs will fit into T8 fixtures. Doesn't really matter to me since I'm not buying just bulbs.

 

[mancin]

I went ahead and ordered it. I reviewed several threads on here about T6 lighting and while it's not as good as T5, it does seem at least on par if not better than T8s. That's the best deal I've found so far for the amount of lighting for a reasonable price. There were only 2 left and I would have kicked myself if I passed it up. I'll keep everyone posted to how it works out.

 

[lljdma06]

Not a bad fixture, and if you can run indivdual lights, then it is an option. You can always upgrade later, though I doubt you'll ever run all 216W in a Planted 55g. That would be a lot of light and not necessary IMO, unless you will be going for some of the really light-hungry toninas., which are difficult to keep for other reasons beside lighting. You can run 1 bulb for a very low-light tank with no CO2 and hardy plants, or run two bulbs and consider going pressurized. If you can find the same fixture with only 2 bulbs, that would be better. I just don't see you needing 4 bulbs of HO T6 lighting.

llj

 

[mancin]

If you can find the same fixture with only 2 bulbs, that would be better. I just don't see you needing 4 bulbs of HO T6 lighting.

llj

I completely agree about not needing all 4. Each light does have it's own on/off switch and plug, so I should have no problem running them individually and choosing which 1 (or 2) of the 4 that I want to have turned on. I did first look for a different type of fixture with only a single bulb or two bulbs, but each one was more expensive than this fixture.

I've been looking for a little while as I first considered upgrading the lighting on my other 55 Gallon, but I left it as is and have less than 1 WPG, the plants are doing OK (of course growing extremely slow). This is the first one that actually sparked my interest because of the price, and coming with what it seems decent bulbs. I found many fixtures that were more expensive and didn't come with the bulbs I would prefer for a planted tank. However, it's quite possible I've been looking in the wrong spots and could have found a better deal.

 

[lljdma06]

Where are you?

 

[mancin]

Where are you?

Portland, OR.

 

[lljdma06]

Where are you?

Portland, OR.

Get out! I lived in Vancouver, WA for 13 years. Awesome! Started this hobby while living there. Well anyway, have you tried Big Al's? Another option is hello lights. Both are websites, US-based which is why I asked you where you were. Both websites have a good selection of fixtures. For plants, have you looked into aquabotonic, it is based in OR.

llj

 

[mancin]

Get out! I lived in Vancouver, WA for 13 years. Awesome! Started this hobby while living there. Well anyway, have you tried Big Al's? Another option is hello lights. Both are websites, US-based which is why I asked you where you were. Both websites have a good selection of fixtures. For plants, have you looked into aquabotonic, it is based in OR.

llj

How funny is that! Moved to Florida?? That's a totally different climate! I bet you don't miss the rain, do you? We've actually had beautiful weather for the past 2 weeks. I don't want to get my hopes up, but I think summer might be here!! We sure had a late start last year, so we deserve an early start this year.

Yep, I had checked out Big Al's. They did have a Coralife fixture that was interesting. Also around $100ish. Other than that one, most of them were $150+. Hello Lights I haven't heard of though. I'll have to check that out and bookmark it too. I actually haven't ordered anything from aquabotanic yet, but I believe he's in Salem?? I remember stumbling on his site and thought how nice it would be to support someone local! Of course I found it after I had gotten my other 55 pretty well planted. Plant wise, I haven't figured out what I'm going to be putting in this tank. I have Amazon Swords, Cabomba, various Crypts, some Moss Balls, and some Hygro in the other tank, and I do really like those plants, but I wouldn't mind switching it up a bit.

 

[lljdma06]

I actually haven't ordered anything from aquabotanic yet, but I believe he's in Salem?? I remember stumbling on his site and thought how nice it would be to support someone local! Of course I found it after I had gotten my other 55 pretty well planted. Plant wise, I haven't figured out what I'm going to be putting in this tank. I have Amazon Swords, Cabomba, various Crypts, some Moss Balls, and some Hygro in the other tank, and I do really like those plants, but I wouldn't mind switching it up a bit.

Yeah, I think it's Salem. What's really cool is that he'll host meeting and he brings a lot to the hobby. Might be something for you to try. I've ordered from them before, and I've not been disappointed.

llj