Best Viv Lighting (Florescent-T5-PC)

Knoxter · 06-06-2009, 12:25 AM

Sup Guys and Gals,

I have PC's on almost all my tanks now, getting ready to convert to T5's (in the mail). I am curious to see if there is a difference in how my plants react to the different light source. Since I have converted from florescent tubes (plant & aquarium bulbs) to PC's, one thing is for sure....the PC's really bring out the color on all my plants, especially the broms!. But the heat they put out is ridiculously high. Most of my tanks are 24" tall and temps on the floor are almost 80, while at the top of the tank temps reach 82-84. A little too high for me. I like my temps to be 74-78. Plus the heat from the lights dry out the coco fiber on the background near the top of the tanks; Even with heavy misting.

I would like to know what lighting source you prefer to use to light your PDF tanks.

Thanks

socaled · 06-06-2009, 03:40 AM

Yup that's why I use F. tubes less heat given up.... I thing your plants should be fine when you switch over and if you do see stress let us know... but from my experience with CP to FT they don't mind unless a lot of light spectrum is being loss...

-Angeles

Socalsam · 06-06-2009, 05:48 PM

I don't think you will notice anting different other than the heat that produced from the light. Oh and the electricity bill. I have noticed plants stretch to wards the light if it isn't bright enough. It causes them to grow taller and not bush like. I have used t5's and they grow plants great. Just my 2 cents

Sam

JustinF · 06-06-2009, 09:18 PM

I don't like HO T5 because they get hot, I prefer NO T5, which I use on all my Vivs.

Knoxter · 06-07-2009, 03:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JustinF

I don't like HO T5 because they get hot, I prefer NO T5, which I use on all my Vivs.

Where do purchase NO T5's?

joshsfrogs · 06-07-2009, 03:32 PM

Here is a comparison of the different lights: Josh’s Frogs How-To Guides Blog Archive Terrarium Lighting Options Compared

Quote:

There are a lot of different kinds of lights used in the Poison Dart Frog Hobby. All have their pros and cons. AJC talked abut the different types in his podcast here: AJCs Virtual Frogroom: Vivarium Lighting
AJC summarized his podcast on Frognet by saying:
Quote: In summary: Comparison of lumen/watt (very rough):
T5 90
T8 80: 20% of the input energy converted into light
Metal halide 60
CF 50
Mercury vapour 40
LED 25: Modern lamps over 100 but these are very expensive
Halogen 20
Incandescent 15, depending on power (7 for 15W, 20 for 300W):
Typically 5% of the input energy converted into light
So T5’s are brighter than T8’s but they are only slightly more
efficient, mostly because they pack more power into the same tube
length.

Leuc Skywalker · 06-07-2009, 03:34 PM

I just use standard plant and aquarium florescent tubes. The plants are green and grow ok, but I know the broms do not get all the light they can use because the colors are green and they never turn the purples and reds they are supposed to. Based on the previous post I guess the T5's really do put out more light than florescent tubes? But will it bring oout the colors in my plants?

Knoxter · 06-07-2009, 03:45 PM

Josh,

I am having the same problem as Luke. I used to have plant grow bulbs on all my tanks, but the plants only got light green at best. I knew I wan not getting all the color out of them, and I knew it had to be the lighting. So, I tried the PC's which gave me great results. But the heat is too much. I want the high light output, without the heat, and it seems like the T5's will give me that. I will see next week when my new T5 fixtures come.

Not the greatest pic, but here is how my broms look under PC's. The reds and spots have started coming in beautifully compared to before.

JustinF · 06-07-2009, 07:54 PM

I went with Coralife T5 fixtures, my install on them looks like this...

As you can see I used 2 fixtures, so 4 bulbs in total. They are very cheap, and replacement bulbs are also very cheap. The 6700k has an amazing spectrograph, with a spike between 420-430 and tons of output around 620 through 640 which should keep all your plants happy. Just a matter of keeping the intensity high enough to make colors come out. That being said, they are only 21W on my 36" bulb, and they are a couple inches off my vivs, I do not measure even a 1 degree difference between inside and outside the viv. EDIT: Added spectrograph so you can see what I mean.

They install nice and clean as well.

jpg · 06-07-2009, 08:15 PM

I voted T5 HO . I run GLO T5 strips over my top tanks in my racks and get great results . But I also have CF over 4 tanks and they are very comparable . Its a toss up for me but I lean T5 just a bit .

View Poll Results: Which Vivarium Lighting source do you prefer?
Florescent Tubes	3	15.79%
T5 High Output Bulbs	11	57.89%
Power Compact Bulbs	4	21.05%
Other Lights	2	10.53%
Multiple Choice Poll. Voters: 19. You may not vote on this poll

06-06-2009, 12:25 AM	#1 (permalink)
Knoxter Administrator/SiteOwner Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: USA Posts: 430 Real Name: Marc Knox	Best Viv Lighting (Florescent-T5-PC) Sup Guys and Gals, I have PC's on almost all my tanks now, getting ready to convert to T5's (in the mail). I am curious to see if there is a difference in how my plants react to the different light source. Since I have converted from florescent tubes (plant & aquarium bulbs) to PC's, one thing is for sure....the PC's really bring out the color on all my plants, especially the broms!. But the heat they put out is ridiculously high. Most of my tanks are 24" tall and temps on the floor are almost 80, while at the top of the tank temps reach 82-84. A little too high for me. I like my temps to be 74-78. Plus the heat from the lights dry out the coco fiber on the background near the top of the tanks; Even with heavy misting. I would like to know what lighting source you prefer to use to light your PDF tanks. Thanks __________________ Marc My frogs- Vanzolini, El Dorado (ong&gold), Cayo de Agua, Almerante, Gold Dust, Yuris, Imis, Inters, Taras, O Lamasi, Iquitos Vents, Varis, SI. I appreciate everyone here. Without you, there would be no DFF. Thank you for your support.

06-06-2009, 05:48 PM	#3 (permalink)
Socalsam Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Murrieta, Ca Posts: 431 Real Name: Sam Cavoulas	I don't think you will notice anting different other than the heat that produced from the light. Oh and the electricity bill. I have noticed plants stretch to wards the light if it isn't bright enough. It causes them to grow taller and not bush like. I have used t5's and they grow plants great. Just my 2 cents Sam __________________ A few frogs.

06-07-2009, 03:34 PM	#7 (permalink)
Leuc Skywalker Member Join Date: Mar 2009 Posts: 42	I just use standard plant and aquarium florescent tubes. The plants are green and grow ok, but I know the broms do not get all the light they can use because the colors are green and they never turn the purples and reds they are supposed to. Based on the previous post I guess the T5's really do put out more light than florescent tubes? But will it bring oout the colors in my plants? __________________ "I am your father!" 1.0.2 Luecs (Someone's calling) Last edited by Leuc Skywalker; 06-07-2009 at 03:39 PM.. Reason: typo

06-07-2009, 03:45 PM	#8 (permalink)
Knoxter Administrator/SiteOwner Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: USA Posts: 430 Real Name: Marc Knox	Josh, I am having the same problem as Luke. I used to have plant grow bulbs on all my tanks, but the plants only got light green at best. I knew I wan not getting all the color out of them, and I knew it had to be the lighting. So, I tried the PC's which gave me great results. But the heat is too much. I want the high light output, without the heat, and it seems like the T5's will give me that. I will see next week when my new T5 fixtures come. Not the greatest pic, but here is how my broms look under PC's. The reds and spots have started coming in beautifully compared to before. __________________ Marc My frogs- Vanzolini, El Dorado (ong&gold), Cayo de Agua, Almerante, Gold Dust, Yuris, Imis, Inters, Taras, O Lamasi, Iquitos Vents, Varis, SI. I appreciate everyone here. Without you, there would be no DFF. Thank you for your support.

06-06-2009, 03:40 AM	#2 (permalink)
socaled Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2009 Posts: 350	Yup that's why I use F. tubes less heat given up.... I thing your plants should be fine when you switch over and if you do see stress let us know... but from my experience with CP to FT they don't mind unless a lot of light spectrum is being loss... -Angeles

06-06-2009, 09:18 PM	#4 (permalink)
JustinF Member Join Date: May 2009 Location: Port Moody BC, Canada Posts: 34 Real Name: Justin Fournier	I don't like HO T5 because they get hot, I prefer NO T5, which I use on all my Vivs.

06-07-2009, 07:54 PM	#9 (permalink)
JustinF Member Join Date: May 2009 Location: Port Moody BC, Canada Posts: 34 Real Name: Justin Fournier	I went with Coralife T5 fixtures, my install on them looks like this... As you can see I used 2 fixtures, so 4 bulbs in total. They are very cheap, and replacement bulbs are also very cheap. The 6700k has an amazing spectrograph, with a spike between 420-430 and tons of output around 620 through 640 which should keep all your plants happy. Just a matter of keeping the intensity high enough to make colors come out. That being said, they are only 21W on my 36" bulb, and they are a couple inches off my vivs, I do not measure even a 1 degree difference between inside and outside the viv. EDIT: Added spectrograph so you can see what I mean. They install nice and clean as well. Last edited by JustinF; 06-07-2009 at 08:12 PM.. Reason: Spectrograph

06-07-2009, 08:15 PM	#10 (permalink)
jpg Member Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Webster MA. Posts: 92	I voted T5 HO . I run GLO T5 strips over my top tanks in my racks and get great results . But I also have CF over 4 tanks and they are very comparable . Its a toss up for me but I lean T5 just a bit . __________________ Red vents , Imitator, Intermedius , Leucomlas , Auratus , Mint Terribilis.

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