T5 Lighting

[fishingjedi]

Im thinking of setting up a new 4ft tank with T5 lighting, as I want to plant it reasonably heavy, but I think MH's would be a bit of overkill. Any suggestions on lighting & were to buy from would be greatly appreciated. I live in the Sutherland Shire in Sydney's south.
Duck, if you read this I know your the man on this forum for planted tanks, any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Tank specs are 48x14x20.
Thanks in advance.

[duck]

It really depends on how far you want to go with it.

I would aim for around the 150watt's with CO2,That would give you around the +/- 3WPG.
If you are a DIY i would source out some Eballast and tulip leads, clips and Daylight globes 6500K,Don't think to much about the spectrum, colours of the globe's,Then hit the hydroponic's shop's for some Mylar or something on the same lines,TinFoil is not a good reflector.

[fishingjedi]

Thanks mate, its going to be a DIY setup, including Co2. I';; start searching.
Thanks again.

[duck]

At 150 watt's with DIY CO2 you could have more problems than you want.
Go with 80-100watt's with DIY CO2.

[fishingjedi]

Duck, just wondering what your thoughts are on this unit. Im having a hard time finding stores where I can buy all the components seperately. Ive tried Auslec & Turks. Any ideas.
http://www.reefculture.com.au/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=45&products_id=217&osCsid=dad07e12eb3981e9ee62d083da5373c9

[dreamer]

try to get 6500k tubes which i believe is better for plants growth. another online retailer is www.reduced.com.au not everything is available on the site but you can ask them what you want.

[duck]

I really couldn't help much in were to go in sydney for lighting all icould suggest is look in the yellow page's under lamps,They be fine but i think they would come with 10000K globe's you really want 6500K,Try the link dreamer has posted.

[ellwa]

Hi Guys,

I am also in the process of re-starting my aquarium.
Long story short, had a leak, sent tank off to be repaired, and now I am almost ready to get it up and running as soon as the tank gets back from dalbarb.

It is a 40G corner tank, pentagonal in shape.

about 50cm deep.

It was planted when it went down, with DIY CO2, but it wasnt going so well.
I attribute that mostly to the poor gravel[just used plain old aquarium gravel from the LFS] and the poor lighting, 30W, total.

The way I see it, I need at least 80W of light, so I've been looking at getting a double 24" with two 55W lamps in them.
First of all, I want something that I can fit in the hood, its in mums sitting room, and it looks great with the hood on.
SO first off I would like advice on the right lighting
then I would like some help with the substrate.
I've got Co2 organised, and it will be running a Fluval 405 canister filter, and Cold Cathode based night light, as well as undergravel heating cable.

Suppliers either in sydney, or online are prefered.
I've been trying to find other lighting suppliers, ie, not the lfs, but I dont even know what to look for.

thanx
elliotonholidays :)

[endless]

T5's are really cheap these days. In Melbourne you can get 5 foot twin globe T5 lighting for only $66. Thats cheaper than most fluros.

[jim]

Where can I buy T5 lighting in Syd??
Whole kit for 4 ft tank.. not sure if I need 3 tubes or 2 tubes??
Thanks..

[Proteus]

what sort of budget are you looking at Jim

[jim]

maybe around 300 - 400..cheaper the better...

[dreamer]

T5's are really cheap these days. In Melbourne you can get 5 foot twin globe T5 lighting for only $66. Thats cheaper than most fluros.

is this high output t5 80wx2? if so ...its dirt cheap !!! the e-ballast itself probably cost about that price

[Proteus]

heck, the tubes usually cost that amount

[endless]

nah the're just normal output... total of 70watts for the two tubes

[Proteus]

That sounds more like regular T8 tubes.

(@36w x 2)

[endless]

it says t5 on the tubes though, but your right they are pretty low output