T5 Lighting Or T8lighting

[Daveuk]

Hi i have two tanks one 7x2x2 and one 6x2x2 I am thinking of,getting t5lighting would one 80watt tube be ok for the 7x2x2 fishtank. or would I need two 80watts tubes. and for the 6x2x2 fishtank would i need one 80watts or Two
and for t8 lighting are they anygood would two58watts be just has good for 7x2x2 tank or 6x2x2 my tank is going to be well planted i keepng goldfish and tropical tank

 

[meguro]

T5 is more efficient than T8. But I can't help you with what would be sufficient lighting or not for those sized tanks. Somewhere around 1.5-2 watts per gallon would be a good bet unless you want a planted tank with CO2 etc.

There are some threads in the planted tank forum section with information regarding lighting.

 

[waterdrop]

Right, I'm just like meguro, can't help you much but can amplify what he's saying.. Once you know which "planted tank" approach you want to persue (a decision you make after studying pinned articles in the planted subforum), for example a "low-light" tank 2.0 watts/USgallon or less as he's said, then you know from the US gallon volume of your tank, what wattage to persue roughly. That wattage calc is going to be more in line with a T8 type of bulb efficiency. A T5 bulb will be more efficient, so you'd want to choose -less- wattage going into a T5 to output the same light, so you'd still be creating a "low-light" environment in your tank. The amount of light is important of course because it pushes everything else and dictates whether you need extra CO2 and more fertilizers.

~~waterdrop~~

 

[OldMan47]

Both of those tanks are in the 200 US gallon range, one a bit bigger and one a bit less. The 2 80 watt tubes would just barely be big enough for either one for low light plants. Anything more than the easiest low light plants will require more than 240 watts for either tank.

 

[Geoff1991]

Just a small comment, i wouldnt go as high as 2wpg unless you use co2 otherwise youll have an algae problem. Id keep it at about 1-1.5wpg max. I wouldnt worry about the wpg rule as its based on T12 bulbs anyway.

For the 7ft tank i would go with around 200w of T5 lighting, and about 150w for the 6ft. As T5 is more efficient and will penetrate deeper into the water you don't need as higher wattage as you would with T8.

With that you have a lot of options, anubias, moss, java fern, most hygrophila stem plants, crypts etc.

Useful links

http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=296418

Also, a list of easy grow plants.

http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?s=&amp...t&p=1382934