# T-5 bulbs.... what do you like?



## spypet (Sep 15, 2006)

http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/lighting/24819-6700k-10000k-bulb.html


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## epicfish (Sep 11, 2006)

I had 50/50 6700K and 10000K bulbs and it looked great to me. =)


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## Betowess (Dec 9, 2004)

epicfish said:


> I had 50/50 6700K and 10000K bulbs and it looked great to me. =)


I like this combo best too. Ioved the look of a pair of Aquamedic Plantas with Current-USA 6700, but the Plantas got dim pretty darn fast. Apparently the AM Plantas sold in the USA are manufactured in Asia and aren't the same quality as the AM European variety. I like the Current USA 6700 and their 10000K together.


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## crazy loaches (Sep 29, 2006)

Spypets link has some info in it. Atleast near the end - the Dark Cobra guy kinda nails it. Flourescent bulbs k ratings arent very accurate - and there not actually k ratings, there CCT or correlated color tempeture, because flourescent lights spectrum is far from 'natural'. A true k rating of say 5500 like natural daylight will look like a lump peaking around 5500. But a flourescent will have tall narow spikes at specific frequencies with only small amount of output between these spikes. The given k rating is basically just to give us an idea about what the bulb will look like but doesnt tell you much about the spectra except perhaps where its averaged at. 

There also plain ol innacurate anyhow - atleast between different manufacturers. I have a 6500K and a 12,000K bulb that you cant see any difference. The only thing that shows the 12000K bulb a little bit bluer is when I take a high shutter speed photo of it.

Here is an accurate graph of what the K rating is (if your monitor is properly color balanced, etc.)








Based of this, one cannot blame the K rating when they say they dont like 6500K flourescent lights because they are too yellow. Your bulb may look yellow to you but dont blame it on the kelvin rating. Any bulb that doesnt produce a color similar to the chart, like pink, doesnt even come close to resembling the spectra of a black body radiator and probably shouldnt be assigned a K rating. Thats my $0.02 anyhow.


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## Betowess (Dec 9, 2004)

Its common knowledge that GE 6500K "Starcoats" made in Hungary have the brightest lumen of any T5 on the market, but that they look quite yellow. 10000K Aquamedic or Currents help a lot if run in tandem. But I really like the 6700K Current as an alternative to the GEs (run with equal number of 10,000Ks).


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## dogdoc (Feb 26, 2006)

Yep, that's what I'm running right now. 4 Starcoats. Guess my common knowledge base was a little low when I got the light. I really didn't like the color. But they were available and (relatively) cheap.

Maybe I should replace all 4???


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## ianmoede (Oct 1, 2004)

I like the mix also between 6500 or 6700 and 10000. It's what i'm currently running and am very happy with it.


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## windsurfer (Mar 8, 2005)

I highly recommend the Giesmann 6000K midday sun.

much whiter than the GE starcoats. These definitely look yellow

-jd


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## Wasserpest (Jun 12, 2003)

My current favorites are Coralife bulbs, NO overdriven to HO, 6700K and 10000K mixed. They are cheap, bright, and keep their good looks.

My ideal bulb combination is this: Some pink plant growth bulbs in the back (they make dark green/bronze plants look really good), 10000K bulbs in the center, to make red and green plant stand out, then some 6700K bulbs in the front, for those lighter green foreground plants.

Of course that doesn't work if there is only one lighting strip over a narrow tank.


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## Momotaro (Feb 21, 2003)

I like the Starcoats. 

They really make the greens pop!


Mike


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## crazy loaches (Sep 29, 2006)

I am really debating on T5 HO for my next tank - but has anyone seen any of thier spectral plots anywhere? The starcoats look to be a good deal, and I am also interested in the URI aquasuns and actinic whites, but I hate getting anything that I cant see some type of spectral graph. Havent found anything on google myself.


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## Betowess (Dec 9, 2004)

I believe the Giesemann 6000K is quite a bit dimmer than the starcoats. But what the heck, these lights are prolly too bright anyhow, seeing how the target market was reef/marine. 

Crazy loaches, I think you will be happy with a 6700K or 6500 with a tandem 10000k. The plants really grow well with these two as well. Seems to be the most natural look I've seen. If one is lucky enough to pop for a six lamp fixture, throwing in a pair of dim Plantas really kicks B. I so wish I had a six tube Tek for that reason alone. But in a 4 tube fixture the Plantas are too dim. The other thing I really liked about the Plantas is it gave an almost actinic glow to fish, especially Neon tetras.


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## crazy loaches (Sep 29, 2006)

If I go the T5 route it will either be with a 6-bulb Tek light or DIY with 4 bulbs overdriven to 85W (ODHO?, lol).

Betowess - do you know where I can order the Plantas online? I havent found em anywhere (in the U.S.).

Anyone ever overdriven T5's? I cant find very much info on the success of overdriving these bulbs. Infact some of the stuff I have read indicates that perhaps only 1 brand (URI's) have succesfully been overdriven. I havent seen a variety of bulbs I like from URI, basically only the Aquasuns and maybe Actinic White.


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## Wasserpest (Jun 12, 2003)

You can find them here. Prices have gone up quite a bit...


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## windsurfer (Mar 8, 2005)

2 x 39W Giesman 6000K definitely does not look dim in my 46 bow with Icecap reflectors and an advance ballast. plants are pearling away like they are happy with it too.

the GE starcoats on my tek definitely look dimmer and much yellower over the 72 bow in the dining room. With the tank located in front of a large window, the yelllow color is really obvious. when it comes time to re-lamp this, I won't be using these bulbs again. I like the look of the TEK pendant, but the Icecap reflectors seem to do a much better job of putting the light into the water. still, 2x54 from the Tek does a nice job making a ricca stone near the bottom pearl. (I only run 4 tubes 1.5 hours/day, the rest of the day is with just 2 tubes)

-jd


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## Betowess (Dec 9, 2004)

On reef forums, a general view is that Starcoats have the highest lumen of any T5. I know on my Tek the Starcoats are visibly brighter than Aquamedic or Current USA T5s. One of our mods reported that the Gieseman's were quite a bit dimmer than a GE about a year back, so that's where I got that info.


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## dogdoc (Feb 26, 2006)

Are the Current or the AM 10000K bulbs better?


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## Betowess (Dec 9, 2004)

About the same?? I wouldn't be surprised if they are both made by the same Asian manufacturer. However, I really like the Current-USA 6700K, so I'm probably going all Current 6700K/10000K on the next tube order for my Tek.


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## milkdud (Jan 1, 2007)

windsurfer said:


> I like the look of the TEK pendant, but the Icecap reflectors seem to do a much better job of putting the light into the water.
> -jd



Are the Icecap relectors actually better than the ones included on the Tek pendant? By what amount? If so, since my tank is 30" deep, would it be a good idea to sell my new 6 tube Tek and build a DIY 6 Tube with Icecap reflectors?


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## AaronT (Apr 11, 2004)

I'll chime in regarding the AM bulbs. I've had the same experience as some others on here. Mine became very dim after only 6 months of regular use. Regular use in this case was 10 hours a day in a Tek 4x54 watt fixture. Needless to say I wasn't too happy that my $70.00 worth of bulbs burnt out that quickly.

I'm now using Phillips 5,000k bulbs I got from the local hydroponics store. The color is pretty good, especially the greens and the price wasn't bad at $15.00 a piece.

Someone already stated this I believe, but you can also use the Coralife bulbs in a Tek fixture. Even though they are technically NO bulbs they will put out 54 watts when put in the Tek fixture. The wattage coming from the ballast determines the wattage in the bulb. They should still last about 12 months this way.


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## Betowess (Dec 9, 2004)

milkdud said:


> Are the Icecap relectors actually better than the ones included on the Tek pendant? By what amount? If so, since my tank is 30" deep, would it be a good idea to sell my new 6 tube Tek and build a DIY 6 Tube with Icecap reflectors?


Not by very much. Just individual instead of the rolled wrap of our Teks. I doubt it would make much difference IMO.


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## dogdoc (Feb 26, 2006)

I'm leaning toward the 6700/10,000K combo. I took some recent pics of my tank with the GE's and it looks horribly yellow. Amazing what our eyes will adjust to. It doesn't look that yellow to me.

Any benefit to doing something like 1x6700K, 2x10,000K, and 1xPlanta or Colormax tubes.


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## AaronT (Apr 11, 2004)

Stick with the Current bulbs. The plantas are worthless.

Mixing 2 x 6,700k and 2 x 10,000 k should look really nice.


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## crazy loaches (Sep 29, 2006)

dogdoc said:


> I'm leaning toward the 6700/10,000K combo. I took some recent pics of my tank with the GE's and it looks horribly yellow. Amazing what our eyes will adjust to. It doesn't look that yellow to me.


And amazing what the camera will adjust to. I have found that using faster shuter speeds taking pictures at the lights really brings out thier shade of color alot more than the human eye can see. And depending on the camera settings it can shift the color as well (not to mention your computer screen, etc. etc.). I wouldnt say the Plantas are 'worthless'.


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## AaronT (Apr 11, 2004)

crazy loaches said:


> I wouldnt say the Plantas are 'worthless'.


I'm just sharing my experience with them. There are a few older threads on here where people had the same problem. Maybe we got a bad batch, but I'm a little jaded now as you can see.


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## Betowess (Dec 9, 2004)

crazy loaches said:


> And amazing what the camera will adjust to. I have found that using faster shuter speeds taking pictures at the lights really brings out thier shade of color alot more than the human eye can see. And depending on the camera settings it can shift the color as well (not to mention your computer screen, etc. etc.). I wouldnt say the Plantas are 'worthless'.


Or white balance or color balance etc. yadayadayada. AM Plantas look Great, at first. But fade fast. I have heard that American sold Plantas are not made in Germany, but rather in Asia and aren't the same quality as the Euro offering. I loved my Plantas, but they got really dim in a few months. My plants loved them at first. If I had a six tube Tek, I would still stick two of them in there in a heart beat.


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## crazy loaches (Sep 29, 2006)

Betowess said:


> Or white balance or color balance etc. yadayadayada.


Thats what I meant by 'camera settings'.
Check out this pic: http://tristan.homelinux.net/fish/forum/lights.JPG The camera can really bring out the colors in those lights, they dont look quite like that to the plain eye.

Or look at these two 6700K and 1200K lights that look identical to the plain eye: http://tristan.homelinux.net/fish/forum/67vs12k_1.JPG But when i crank the shutter up a bit more now look you can start to see a difference between them: http://tristan.homelinux.net/fish/forum/67vs12k_2.JPG


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## Betowess (Dec 9, 2004)

Yeah, that is noticeable.The faster shutter speed probably kept the image from being blown out as much so you could see the difference. 
IMO, the most important thing for correct evaluation is to run a colorimeter program such as Colorvision's Spyder 2 Pro for a computer monitor. Unfortunately, they cost a couple hundred or more for the better programs.

And while still available, perferably on a pro CRT such as a Lacie, but soon it will all be on LCDs which do have popping, vibrant colors, but are dicey on resolution for correct image sharpening.


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## Avalon (Aug 14, 2004)

Having the same fixture as Dogdoc, I actually settled on a strange configuration. 2x 10,000K's (Current USA I think), 1x 6500K, and I think 1x 4500K 28w Osram 840 HE given to be by the guy who replaces the light bulbs where I work. This bulb brings out the oranges & reds very nicely and adds a very warm feeling to the tank without being fugly.

But yeah, all GE 6500K bulbs = blah. Definitely go with 2 10000K's with the GE's.


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## tom855 (Jan 31, 2006)

Glad I stumbled on this thread. I put 2 Plantas w/ 2 Current 10000Ks into a new Nova T5 fixture about 8 months ago. The plants took off. Over the past months I had slacked a bit on the EI, and the plant life slowly changed. I assumed it was because I was not as fanatic about my dosing. The E. trianda which had grown to cover the bottom melted away, my compact Hygro shrunk a bunch, my Blyxa Japonica went from spreading to dying, and many others "changed" as well. The tank looked visibly dimmer and I'd even looked in the fixture several times as I could have sworn a bulb was burned out. I knew the discussion about the Planta had floated around out there but since the brightness I see doesn't necessarily match with what the plants see I didn't worry much about it. 

After reading this I have to seriously wonder if my 2 Plantas haven't dimmed to the point where the plants are paying the price. I'm going to order me a pair of Current 6700s, and I'll bet anything the growth takes back off. So much for the "2 year bulb lifespan" claim. I'll try to circle back and report in on how the growth has changed with the new bulbs.


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## Betowess (Dec 9, 2004)

AaronT said:


> I'll chime in regarding the AM bulbs. I've had the same experience as some others on here. Mine became very dim after only 6 months of regular use. Regular use in this case was 10 hours a day in a Tek 4x54 watt fixture. Needless to say I wasn't too happy that my $70.00 worth of bulbs burnt out that quickly.


On second inspection I too recently noted my 10000K Aqua Medics were significantly dimmer than some GE Starcoats. That the GEs were brighter in no way surprised me, but, it was a huge difference. Well I ordered 2x 6700K Current and 2x10000K Currents from the Drs. F&S. The 10000Ks were on back order, but I went ahead and put in the new 6700 with the GE Starcoats. Whoo, what a difference.roud: And the 10000ks just came in so I'll soon be running the 6700/10000K combos on both of my T5 fixtures. Definately the best combo I've seen for T5s IMO.


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## tom855 (Jan 31, 2006)

Betowess,

I just read your last post and had to take a look myself. I have 2 Aquamedic Ocean White 10Ks (8 months old) and 2 new Current 10Ks. Two things to note:

1) I hope these spots that are floating all over the room go away soon.
2) There is a visible difference between the two bulbs with the Currents appearing brighter. Could be the age difference of the bulbs of course, or it could be my impression. Or my retinas could have been burning out.

I'm about to press send on an order for 2 Current 6700s from DFS myself. I'll mate them up with the Current 10Ks and will be eager to see how they look. Glad to hear yours looks so good!

Tom 

........darn white spots are still everywhere.........


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## AaronT (Apr 11, 2004)

Sorry to hear you guys have had the same AM woes I experienced. T5 bulbs don't keep all of their brightness for 2 years, but they should retain about 90% of it. The AM bulbs just don't cut it IME.

I'll be looking back here to see how the Current bulbs hold up. Where'd you all order them anyhow? I've been pricing bulbs all over the place for an upcoming project.

I'm thinking of ordering a couple of these to see how they work as grow bulbs. Maxum 5000 47" F54-T5HO Mini Bi-Pin


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## tom855 (Jan 31, 2006)

Can't say it's the best deal (I didn't hunt for long) but Dr. Fosters Smith has them. Prices are good and the customer service is great. The 48 inch version of the T5HO from Current are $16.99 as of today.

Tom


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## Betowess (Dec 9, 2004)

Aaron, I got mine from the Drs.F&S. I have been running two each of 6700 and 10000K over a year in a Current Nova T5 fixture and they are still quite bright. Way brighter than the AM. Very pleased with the look in that tank, a 65 gallon. Nice Ninja, Tom.


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## dogdoc (Feb 26, 2006)

You all were right.

The Drs. delivered my 6700 and 10K bulbs. Definitely an improvement over the GE's. The colors of the tank look much better. Not the washed out yellow that I was used to.

Thanks all.


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## Ryzilla (Oct 29, 2005)

I have used finnex t5's 6500k's I like them alot. I dont have experience with other bulbs to compare them to, but they look good.


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## Martin (Jan 15, 2005)

Betowess said:


> I like this combo best too. Ioved the look of a pair of Aquamedic Plantas with Current-USA 6700, but the Plantas got dim pretty darn fast. Apparently the AM Plantas sold in the USA are manufactured in Asia and aren't the same quality as the AM European variety. I like the Current USA 6700 and their 10000K together.


I have these tubes(AM Planta & AM Ocean White, and live in Europe), and opted for them because of the general concensus here & on other forums: the tubes ROCK..!
well maybo not so much?
According to AquaMedic the Ocean White tubes have a defect that means the tubes burn out rather fast compared to other tubes.
I bought 2 new(1 planta 1 oceanwhite) recently because I upgraded my lights to 6x54W and the difference between the old tubes and the new is amazing.
I thought the old tubes were fine, but damn, they've lost alot of color and intensity.

AM are putting out new tubes at a much higher price, because they've moved their production to a different factory, so perhaps it's time to look elsewhere for the good tubes?

I paid $33(!!) each for my new tubes, and according to the dealer the new price will be about $12 more.

imagine buying 6 new tubes.. you could buy a small house for that amount of dosh!


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## helgymatt (Dec 7, 2007)

I thought I would try to start this thread up again. Are there still the same problems with the Aquamedic bulbs as there was a year and a half back? I'm going to be getting a 4 bulb 48" TEK and I'm thinking of getting 2 aquamedic plantas with 2 GE middays. I am also considering the Current 6700/1000K combo. Are there any new words on these bulbs?


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## Martin (Jan 15, 2005)

Hi Helgymatt.

The production of AM tubes have been moved to another factory, and the problems should be fixed, and the bulbs should be better.. and more expensive..

I've since changed my mind quite a bit about bulbs in general.
Maybe someone disagree or have other points of view I haven't taken into consideration but..

When combining tubes in a fixture you do it to give the plants a good dose of the different pro's of each bulb. You combine Grolux, planta or whatever with a higher kelvin tube to give the plants as much 'umpf' as possible, and to combine colors to get the most pleasing light to your eye..

Now you can never have reflectors that reflect and distribute the emitted light of each tube so much that it simply pools together and hits all plants distributed in your tank with equal amounts of each type of light.
I thought, in the beginning, that combining tubes would, roughly spoken, end up with a good mix of light, giving the plants all the goodness they need.. 

but no...

In theory, and to paint in bright colors, if you have a 4 tube fixture, and use 4 different tubes, you would have to have 4 rows of plants, that you know would distinctly benefit from each different type of tube you've placed in the fixture.
for instance, the tube furthest in the front, would hardly even reach any of the plants at the back of the tank. Even the next one removed from the front won't really give anything to the back row plants... a little but not much... 15%? 10?
so what's the point?

Why not look at kelvin, RA, CRI, and quality of light. Then find the tube that rate hightest in your research and use that in all 4 positions.

For instance, I've chosen a philips 54W T5 965. You can see the light in action on this webpage: http://www.theplantedtank.co.uk/lighting.htm

the specs etc. are on this webpage:

http://www.voltimum.co.uk/catalogue...LTL5/TL5HO9&catalogType=P&brand=PHU&universe=

To me this makes more sense.

As far as I know, and I only discovered this recently, Grolux and similar tubes were created and designed to help plants grow and form buds, not for anything else. It was used by gardeners for this purpose only, and as such, have no meaning in a planted tank.
Correct me if I am wrong.


My advice is to look at your local supply of tubes, and get the one with the best spectrum, RA etc.

There's a small list on my website here:

http://www.akvarieplanter.dk/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1682

language is in Danish, but numbers are universal.


Kindest,

Martin


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## helgymatt (Dec 7, 2007)

Thanks for the update Martin. SO if I have a four bulb TEK I would likely run the middle two bulbs for the majority of they day...one bulb 6700K and the other 10,000K. Then I would turn on the two outside bulbs for a ~2 hour burst in the middle of day. Again, one would be 6700K, and the other 10,000K (or something close to these ratings). Bulbs would be arranged in this manner - 6700K, 10000K, 6700K, 10000K. IMO this would provide relatively even light and combine the two bulbs fairly well??? I very much want to hear others opinions on how mixing bulbs requires "rows" of plants! 


Oh and about local supply of HOT5 bulbs....I live in Iowa, not a chance in hell I'm going to find anything like that. About all I can find right now is flooded steets and angry farmers....Maybe some can relate.


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## AaronT (Apr 11, 2004)

IMO you're best off to spend a little bit more per bulb and get 4 Giesseman Midday 6,000k bulbs. They aren't yellow at all like other daylight bulbs. They're the best bulbs I've owned to date hands down. I've had mine running for over a year now and I'm sure they'll last at least one more year. www.reefgeek.com has a good price on them.


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## Martin (Jan 15, 2005)

helgymatt said:


> Thanks for the update Martin. SO if I have a four bulb TEK I would likely run the middle two bulbs for the majority of they day...one bulb 6700K and the other 10,000K. Then I would turn on the two outside bulbs for a ~2 hour burst in the middle of day. Again, one would be 6700K, and the other 10,000K (or something close to these ratings). Bulbs would be arranged in this manner - 6700K, 10000K, 6700K, 10000K. IMO this would provide relatively even light and combine the two bulbs fairly well??? I very much want to hear others opinions on how mixing bulbs requires "rows" of plants!
> 
> 
> Oh and about local supply of HOT5 bulbs....I live in Iowa, not a chance in hell I'm going to find anything like that. About all I can find right now is flooded steets and angry farmers....Maybe some can relate.


It's up to you what you want to try. Your solution could work as well as my suggestion. I would agree with Aaron about the Giesemann. They're a bit more expensive, but look at the Danish link and see the spectrum analysis.

I have no idea what selection you have in Iowa, or anywhere else in the States.. I live in Denmark...


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## helgymatt (Dec 7, 2007)

I would say the majority of folks end up buying their Giesemanns online. Maybe they are available at local shops here an there in large cities?


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## AaronT (Apr 11, 2004)

helgymatt said:


> I would say the majority of folks end up buying their Giesemanns online. Maybe they are available at local shops here an there in large cities?


Yes, one shop near me in Baltimore carries them for a great price. I usually buy online though since gas is so incredibly expensive now.


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## CmLaracy (Jan 7, 2007)

how about 2 Giessmann middays and 2 starcoats? 

in a 6 bulb fixture I'd do ^^^ plus two coralife colormax, they really make everything pop, great reds and dark greens. All three of those bulbs in tandem would make a beautifully lit tank. I myself am a bit jealous of all you guys with T5's and their color combos... I'm stuck with an 150w 8000K ADA HQI lol. No combos for me...


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## Gilly (May 26, 2004)

*tek fixtures*

this is a great and timely thread for me

i'm in the process of setting up a 96 x 30 x 24 braceless glass tank and was advised to get T5 HO fixtures . On one end of the tank is an wall overflow into a "sump" area, that takes up 1 foot and wont require lighting necessarily (unless i hang house plants over the side and use the roots as nutrient sinks). 
I'm setting it up ADA style and with moderate - high lighting plants most likely , 
i like the tek fixtures , as seen on reefgeek. Here come the questions..

Is that the best place to buy them?

Given that the tank is 96 " but only 84" of it will have aquatic plants, should I get 1 48" fixture and one 36" fixture or just get 2 x 48" ones and cover the top of the overflow area so un-needed light doesnt get in?

Should I get 48" fixture with 6 bulbs or 8 bulbs. The dimensions of the 8 bulb fixture are 47.0" x 20.0" x 2.5" (L x W x H) and these are 54 W 
and for the 6 bulb fixture , the dimensions are 47.0" x 16.0" x 2.5" and these are 54 W

Does it matter if i get a 8 bulb 48" and a 6 bulb 36" (39 W, 35.0" x 16.0" x 2.5") ? 

I guess I am concerned about getting the best lateral light spread evenly to the front and back of the 30 " width of the tank. 

Do I need to get the hanging kits separately and are there any other "accessories" required for these tek fixtures such as acrylic covers, longer power cords, etc

thanks all

GM


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## ColeMan (Mar 9, 2008)

I'm really happy with my geisemann midday's. I'm hoping that by supplementing them with the geisemann aquaflora bulb I can create an even more natural light.


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## Martin (Jan 15, 2005)

I'll be testing the midday tubes at some point. I just replaced all my tubes with phillips HO 865's. Had I thought about it, I'd have gotten the midday's.

oh well.

Does someone have photos to compare?


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## CmLaracy (Jan 7, 2007)

CmLaracy said:


> how about 2 Giessmann middays and 2 starcoats?
> 
> in a 6 bulb fixture I'd do ^^^ plus two coralife colormax, they really make everything pop, great reds and dark greens. All three of those bulbs in tandem would make a beautifully lit tank. I myself am a bit jealous of all you guys with T5's and their color combos... I'm stuck with an 150w 8000K ADA HQI lol. No combos for me...


Anyone try this, or have any opinion's on how it would look?


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## Martin (Jan 15, 2005)

I'd still say that you should consider the same bulb all the way through.
You may create a visually good combination, but the plants won't really benefit because each different bulb will only reach some of the plants.

with G. middays you get--in theory-- a higher peak of each wavelength alround, compared to most other bulbs.

All we need now is a "normal" manufacturer of bulbs to start producing similar bulbs 'not' designed for aquariums thus making it rather more affordable.


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