# High light fluorescent bulbs for 10 gal?



## Boshia (Aug 14, 2014)

I'm looking to upgrade my lighting situation. I have a hood right now that houses one long 18" fluorescent lightbulb. It is medium light at the moment. I am looking to upgrade to high light. I have no idea how I would even start to look for something like that, so I was hoping you all have some suggestions for me? 
Thank you very much!


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## Boshia (Aug 14, 2014)

Or can you guys give me hood+lighting pairs for a 10 gallon high light tank?


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## andakin (Aug 10, 2009)

High lighting is overrated in my opinion. I have both a high tech and low tech tank and much prefer the low-lit one because of how little maintenance is required.

If your mind is set on higher lighting and florescent style, you might be limited to dual or quad T5HO. I don't know what makes one fixture better than another.

Have you considered LEDs? I will always suggest anyone in the market for a new fixture to go LED. It's becoming more and more popular and will soon be the norm.


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## Boshia (Aug 14, 2014)

Why is LED so popular? And I want high light so I can have more red plants and so the plants I have grow bushier, not taller.


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## andakin (Aug 10, 2009)

LED technology has greatly improved and arguably better than traditional fluorescents. High lighting can still be achieved with LEDs. So the option is always there.

A lot of people are often overwhelmed and are not well prepared when they enter the world of high lighting. If not done properly, the battle with algae can be very exhausting. It's hard to get away with not using a pressurized co2 system.


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## BettaMummy87 (Jul 26, 2014)

I have a twin T5HO system, and do not run CO2. I try to dose daily with liquid CO2 but it doesn't always happen. This week it has been dosed once. D: 

But, get enough plants in there for a happy betta sorority (so, _heavy_ planting) and algae ceases to be an issue. That said, I didn't have an awful lot of issue with light-related alage until very recently. But my floaters arrived a week after the green hair algae and 3-4 weeks on, there are so many Dwarf water lettuce the hair alage can't get a hold anymore 

But pp is right, T5 will make things grow faster, and if you cannot find the balance algae is an issue. And you have to have more time for plant maintenance. Not o bad in a sorority tank as 'jungle' is pretty much the target, but if you want it clean and tidy it is weekly trimming and propogating/removing.  

I have a massive issue with algae in my LED tank, though. Personally, I am not going into LEDs. I like my flourescents.  I am not sure about where to get the hoods, though... I just bought a kit for mine, and drilled new holes in the existing hood. :/ 

I have seen 20" ones that sit on the glass of the tank, with an 18" light... What are your tank dimensions?


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## Boshia (Aug 14, 2014)

Yes, mine is 20" long. I was doing some research and found these two lights:
http://www.amazon.com/Aquatic-Life-2-Lamp-Aquarium-20-Inch/dp/B004GX43X2

http://www.aquatraders.com/20-inch-4x18W-T5-Aquarium-Light-Fixture-p/52302.htm
Which one would you guys reccomend? And I can use a glass canopy with these, right?


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## BettaMummy87 (Jul 26, 2014)

Personally I think a two bulb would be better, as four may be too much. That said the two-bulb is more expensive... and that one has better reflectors than the cheaper one, which is sharing one, so the light output may be close... hmm... maybe someone on here has used these?

I cannot see why they cannot be used with a glass cover, so long as the feet can still reach the tank frame to rest on


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## andakin (Aug 10, 2009)

I still don't know what makes one fluorescent fixture better than another. The price tag varies greatly between manufacturers. For the most part it's just a ballast, reflector, and a splashguard.

I agree that a quad fixture might be too extreme for the typical aquarist just starting out. That dual fixture is just overpriced. I have personally owned three of those AquaticLife fixtures in the past and theres nothing special about it. Keep shopping.

Don't let one person's experience deter you from considering led. For that money, I would buy a full spectrum led fixture with all the bells and whistles.


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## BettaMummy87 (Jul 26, 2014)

The bulbs themselves can vary, though not alway by much (except in colour, naturally), but the reflectors alone can make a lot of difference in the PAR readings. As i said in my previou post, I think $99 i pretty high  Especially when that 4 bulb array is less. Are there any cheaper 2 bulbs ones you have found, OP? 

The same one is cheaper on ebay, though. $75 



andakin said:


> Don't let one person's experience deter you from considering led. For that money, I would buy a full spectrum led fixture with all the bells and whistles.


Also, don't let any one person put you off fluorescent systems  I wasn't saying not to use it, just that every time I have used it I get weird brown goop everywhere, which I dont get in the low- or high-tech Fl systems. Each to his own.


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## andakin (Aug 10, 2009)

I didn't mean anything bad by my comment about you and not liking leds. There are lots of people that succeed and fail with both types of lighting.

I have bad experience with water and dust seeping through the ventilation and removable splashguard and coating my bulbs and reflector with gunk.


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## Boshia (Aug 14, 2014)

I'm looking at LED too. I found this, it's cheaper. Is this good high light- a good fixture?
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=28281


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## andakin (Aug 10, 2009)

I can't comment on the quality of ZooMed's led because I have never owned one and it's not a popular fixture that is widely discussed. On paper, it looks like it will do the job of growing most plants just fine. Their prices seem reasonable. Let's just hope it's not one of those, you get what you pay for.

There are better and more popular options out there.


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## BettaMummy87 (Jul 26, 2014)

See, as noone around here really seems to use LEDs I don't have the first clue at all! What LED arrays are good, Andakin? And what are we looking for if buying LEDs? 

Hahah, i know, sorry, typing all in a rush today. That wasnt meant to sound 'off' or anything, just a comment. ^-^


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## andakin (Aug 10, 2009)

I'm by no means a lighting expert. I'm quite the sheep really. I just look at the popular options and follow. I have used both styles of lighting enough to know that I will never want to go back to fluorescents.


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## Boshia (Aug 14, 2014)

Okay so I decided to go with that Zoomed lighting, my lfs uses them and her tanks look great, they seem to grow the plants OK.


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## andakin (Aug 10, 2009)

Good luck with that fixture. I hope it works out well for you.

If your mind isn't completely made up, I'd like to recommend Current USA's Freshwater Plus from Amazon. I have one and it's a great fixture.


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## Boshia (Aug 14, 2014)

Is Freshwater plus a light that can grow high light plants? And with it do you find it gives off light only to a specific area, or does it spread out to the whole tank?


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## andakin (Aug 10, 2009)

I don't know what the angular spread is on the Satellite+. It's a double strip LED and I think it will have no issues lighting up the back to front of a 10 gallon. I am using a 24" fixture on my 29 gallon and it works great.

I don't know if it can grow high lighting plants such as low carpeting plants. I am confident it can grow everything else though.

There are so many cool features such as dimming, mixing and matching static colors, and dynamic color changing modes. This fixture will beat that ZooMed hands down.

There are tons of reviews on this fixture on youtube, so do some research. Here is a video of someone using this fixture on their 10 gallon.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LmR8ZsVK0LA

I have posted a few photos of my tank to show the dramatic colors you can choose from.
http://www.bettafish.com/showthread.php?t=480010&page=3#post5339842


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## givemethatfish (Feb 10, 2014)

I use the Current Satellite Freshwater + on two of my tanks. Good price, good light, lots of features, can be used with a timer. They won't give you high light though. They are the right color temperature for plants, but the PAR at 12 inches is only 36, which is barely medium light.


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## Boshia (Aug 14, 2014)

Those light effects are really cool! I really would like high light though...
Going back to this light, would you guys say it is high light?
http://www.amazon.com/Aquatic-Life-2-Lamp-Aquarium-20-Inch/dp/B004GX43X2


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## givemethatfish (Feb 10, 2014)

That should do the trick. Although you do have to beware of algae with high light and no CO2. Or do you do CO2?


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## andakin (Aug 10, 2009)

I have owned several of that exact T5 fixture before making the switch to LED. My opinions of them were just 'meh'. It lights up a bulb, nothing more, nothing less. You can achieve that with any T5 fixture that costs a fraction of that. Visually, they look the same now as they did five years ago. I guess theres very little you can do to _improve_ a T5 fixture.

I wasn't sure what your budge was for lighting. If you are gonna spend that kind of money on dated technology, I would say buy 2 Satellite+ or a single Ecoxotic. That will definitely give you enough light for carpetting plants.

I also own two Ray2 fixtures. Those are high lighting too. You're in a world of hurt if you don't supplement pressurized co2.


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## givemethatfish (Feb 10, 2014)

I have a Ray 2 as well, and it's nice. I have it on a tank that's 36 inches deep though, so the lower plants don't get the highest light. But once they grow up about a foot, they're growing an inch a day. I have to really limit the lighting on that tank to keep algae down because I don't yet have pressurized CO2 in that tank. I don't have pictures unfortunately, but I like the look of the light from the Ray 2 better than the Satellite, but they aren't much different.


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## andakin (Aug 10, 2009)

It's odd to hear someone say they prefer the look of a static 7k kelvin over the customizable spectrum. I have two Ray2s on my 90 gallon and wish I had bought something more dynamic.


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## givemethatfish (Feb 10, 2014)

Well, I never change the lighting on the Satellite. I thought it would be cool when I bought it, but now I can't come up with any good reason to ever change it lol.


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## Boshia (Aug 14, 2014)

Ok I ordered the Finnex Ray2. I looked up a video review of the 18" on YouTube fora 10 gallon tank and WOW it's bright! I plan on leaving the lights on for less than 10 hours to try to keep the algae down. And if I do end up get algae then at least my snail and shrimps will be happy .


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## andakin (Aug 10, 2009)

Not sure if you want to hear this or not, Finnex has plans to release a new line of fixtures in the upcoming months. That's why I didn't suggest any of their fixtures. It might be worth the wait, maybe not. The new Finnex 247 is supposed to be more powerful than the current Ray2 with color adjustments. This is the direction most LED are headed.

Although I own two Ray2s, I'm not a fan of them. Don't get me wrong, they are still good fixtures. I will take this over any T5.


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## BettaMummy87 (Jul 26, 2014)

Liquid Carbon can work, I wont use pressurised C02 until the kids are older. Don't like the risks of it being around hyperactive toddlers. With liquid, its just finding the balance between that, stocking levels, planting levels and photoperiod. :S 

Been away so sorry for not replying to any earlier messages XD

I stil stand by loving my T5s and I only do occassional Carbon dosing. No real algae and I doubt the four sulawesi snails or my ottos are suddenly responsible. XD


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## Veloran (Jun 28, 2014)

Be careful with Excel if you're using it. I didn't read until after I dosed it that it can potentially melt vals. Some people have success, some don't, I fell into the latter category. My jungle val is holding on for dear life, I hope it recovers. It's lucky I didn't do a full dose.


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