Picking T8 bulbs?

[MichelleRay]

I played the LED black box game and got sick of dealing with the cheap stuff. Can't afford mega lights and really don't need them anyway right now, so I got a T8 fixture and I love it. I really like the look of the lighting better and I only keep softies anyway. I do have one question though.

My fixture holds 4 bulbs. Right now I have 1 actinic and 1 10000k coralife in there. I would like to add a couple more but I'm not sure which they should be. I would like the lighting to lean to the blue side a bit, but I want to give my coral good lights too. I guess the most demanding coral I want to keep would be Euphyllia species so I want to cater to them. Should I get two more actinic, two more 10000k, or one of each?

 

[Tumey]

If you’re liking the blue I would suggest one of each & place the 10k’s to the inside. If the color isn’t working for you with the bulbs like that try alternating every other one.

 

[MJNTWise]

Remember...Corals only need blue to grow....the rest is just for you eye appeal. I would use all blue bulbs and get led stripts to adjust to your liking....

 

[jda]

It is not true that corals only need blue to grow. Every spectrum from about 350 to 850 has a use from getting energy to processing energy. Full 5500-6500K daylight spectrum, which is also huge in blue, still grows and colors coral the best.

Did you really mean T8, or T5? If you did mean T8, then I guess that you know that you are really limited. If you like the look of what you have, then just buy another set.

 

[MichelleRay]

Yes I meant T8. I spent all my money on faulty LEDs which the company would not refund me for. Had to get something at lowes so my existing coral wouldn't die, and I was so angry about the whole thing I didn't take the time to research if the bulb types made a difference. I think these will be fine for softies though. Just want to make sure I get the right spectrum now.

 

[A. grandis]

Just get a good T5 system like the ATI and be happy forever.
Not worthy to invest anything on T8s anymore.
T5s will give you a lot more.
Grandis.

 

[Hermie]

I figured I'd revive this thread instead of making a new one about T8s...

I had a T8 fixture lying around and threw in a 15Watt T8 Coralife Actinic bulb (the kind they sell at Petsmart); anyone have an idea on the PAR they put out? I'm comparing it to the Moonlights on my LED FW fixture and this is the first "reef" fluorescent bulb I've used. It seems to have a wider spectrum than LEDs, I can definitely see some "yellow" and white in my tank with just the T8 actinic bulb compared to the Blue LEDs. This is mostly for curiosity sake, not for seriously growing anything.

 

[jda]

I am just making a guess, but a 54w T5 on a so-so reflector on a so-so ballasts will be at 60-80 down a few inches. At 1/3 of this wattage, maybe 20-30 PAR? I am making a LOT of assumptions just based a ratio of wattage and using the principle that no light is more efficient than another kind (Tullio Del Aquila's "Facts of Light" video for reference).

The only way to know for sure it to get a light meter and test it.

 

[DesertReefT4r]

T8 is a waste of time and money imo. You can get a cheap T5 HO off ebay, amozon or BRS and be much better off. I bought a 4' 8 bulb high bay T5 HO off ebay for really cheap about 5 years ago and it did its job very well.
https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=m570.l1313&_nkw=4+bulb+t5+high+bay&_sacat=0

 

[A. grandis]

I always tell people how precious are those slot spaces over your system!
Get the T5 going and you will offer much better light to the reef intensity and spectrum wise.