# Love my new T5HO bulbs!



## elaphe (Aug 24, 2006)

I finally got around to installing my 2 x 24W T5HO retrofit kit. All I can say is WOW! I went with the Giesemann 6000K Midday Sun bulbs.

First off, I was running a Coralife 65W 6700K CF fixture with a midday burst with a GE9325K bulb. The only time my Glosso would pearl (not really pearl like Riccia, but release oxygen bubbles) was during the midday burst with 120W of CF over the tank. The rest of the time everything just sat there.

Well these two 24W T5's put out as much light as the two CF fixtures did. Not only was my Glosso pearling, but everything in my tank was. The light is also such a nice brilliant, natural white light. Not to green like the Coralife or to pink like the GE (though they did look good together).

I'm just happy that I'm saving energy and the plants seem happy. Fixture and ballast also run much cooler than the CF fixtures.

rayer: Thank you to everyone on here who recommended the Giesemann bulbs and Icecap reflectors. I couldn't be happier!

I'll get some pics of the new light and how bright the tank is in a few days. Have to dig out the tripod and all that... just don't feel like it now.

Brian


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## fishstein (Dec 12, 2005)

Hi Elaphe,

What size is your tank?

And where did you get your retrofit kit? Was it the Sunlight Supply retrofit kit? I have a friend that is looking for a smaller T5 retrofit kit as well.

I've heard nice things about the bulbs you got.


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## Newt (Apr 1, 2004)

Good for you for dumping the Coralife. All of their bulbs emit a strong green hue and this does zip for photosynthesis. Giesemann recommends mixing the Midday with the Aquaflora (their plant bulb). Their bulbs have very nice looking spectral outputs that benefit both plants and the human eye for viewing. The red region of the output could be higher but has a typical 625nm emission that most bulbs in this category have except the Sylvania GroLux which has a 660nm output emission.


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## elaphe (Aug 24, 2006)

I got the retrofit from reefgeek. Quick shipping and very good packing!

I did lower my photo period to 8 hours. I'm now going to be at 9 hours tomorrow. The plants are growing great and everything is pearling like mad when I come home from work.

I also started the PPS-Pro and reduced my CO2 to around 20ppm about 2 weeks ago. So far, what algae I had is dying back!


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## fishstein (Dec 12, 2005)

Glad to hear your algae is dying back. What's PPS-pro and why did you pull back your C02?

I find that Flourish Excel also really helps control algae. I use it even in addition to good C02. I got rid of a hair algae bloom that came up a few weeks after I ran out of C02 - and with the Flourish and then C02 refill and one physical removal I got rid of it in a week.


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## AaronT (Apr 26, 2004)

Sweet. Thanks for the update on our advice. Almost all of my tanks are T5s now.


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## Left C (Jun 14, 2005)

fishstein said:


> ...What's PPS-pro and why did you pull back your C02?....


Hi Fishstein

I hope Elaphe doesn't mind that I mention this. PPS-Pro is a lean dosing regimen that Edward introduced. It seems to be working quite well for many folks. You use dry ferts and make two solutions that you dose before the lights come on in the morning. One of the solutions uses macro ferts and the other solution uses trace (or micro) ferts. You are able to lower your CO2 concentration if you want. You are also able to do less water changes if you want to do that as well. I've been using it on one aquarium since 4/22 and it's done great, but I like doing weekly water changes.

Anyhoo.....Here's an introduction to it: http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/forumapc/pps-analysis-feedback/39491-newbie-guide-pps-pro.html


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## Jdinh04 (Oct 7, 2004)

Looking forward to seeing the pictures!


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## elaphe (Aug 24, 2006)

No problem Left C.

Yes, I did lower my CO2 more for my fish and shrimps sake than anything else. Plus I don't have to refill my 5lb bottle so much. I use a drop checker and changed the solution in it from 4 dKH to 2 dKH. So now at green I'm somewhere around 18ppm of CO2. Plants are taking it just fine and critters seem to like it too.

I still like doing the weekly water changes though. It's just hard to get out of that habit.

I'll get some pics up early next week when I'm off work!

Thanks,
Brian


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## K20A2 (Aug 12, 2006)

Looking forward to seeing the pics man. 

I'm going HO T5 on my 75G when I set it up and threads like these make me more and more eager to get it going..


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## elaphe (Aug 24, 2006)

*Some pics*

Here are some pics I took today. The water is a little cloudy due to a recent filter cleaning. The Midday bulbs have a good all around color, and the plants really seem to like them.

I tried to get some good pics of my Green Fire Tetras, but they wouldn't hold still. I did get a decent pic of one in the last pic of the Flame Moss.

Thanks,
Brian

Here's some pics:


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## Newt (Apr 1, 2004)

Really nice, really nice!
Splendid job.

Can't wait to upgrade myself.


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## K20A2 (Aug 12, 2006)

I really like the color, it has a nice crisp glow to it instead of the washed out green look that certain bulbs give. 

Cool looking tetra as well.


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## Left C (Jun 14, 2005)

WOW! The plants look so healthy. I don't really know what to say about the color unless you could call it "au naturale." The greens aren't enhanced and neither are the red colors. Amazing!


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## niko (Jan 28, 2004)

Haha! 

Giesemann Midday for lights and Aquasoil for substrate - there is nothing that comes even close.

--Nikolay


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## elaphe (Aug 24, 2006)

Well, I couldn't stand it so I just placed an order from Germany for some Geisemann Aquaflora bulbs. Since shipping was kind of steep, and the $ is so low against the Euro I ordered a couple.

I plan on running one Midday and one Aquaflora and see what that gives me.

Yes the Midday bulbs do give a nice, natural light that the plants just LOVE! I'm hoping that I can get even better results from the Midday/Aquaflora combo. The Aquaflora has a pretty similar lighting spectrum to the Midday, but it's peaks in red and blue are shifted just a little supposedly to work better for plants.

It will be a week or two before I get them. I'm going to take some before and after pics. I'll post them up on here.

Thanks,
Brian


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## sean tebor (May 25, 2007)

The amazing Giesemann bulbs . . . read on . . .

I have a tek light (4x54w, T5HO) over a 72 gallon bowfront. The tank has been struggling through the initial months of setup as I try and learn as much of the vast knowledge and methodology practiced by this community as possible. How much of it I can assimilate is another matter . . .  

I started with two of the Giesemann Midday bulbs and two GE daylight bulbs that came with the tek fixture. The GE bulbs had a greenish cast to them that washed everything out. I ordered 2 of the Giesemann Aquaflora bulbs and are now running all Giesemann, two Midday and two Aquaflora.

The Midday bulbs are simply amazing, but I am starting to think that in combination with the two Aquaflora bulbs, there is too much red and blue. My plants (most of them anyway), have slowed way down and stunted. This could be due to other factors I am sure, but when all my R.Rotundifolia turned red, yes, the stalks and all leaves, right down to the gravel, only a few days after adding the two Aquaflora, I began to wonder if this was such a great thing. Even plants that aren't supposed to turn red were. The R.Rotundifolia turned itself towards the gravel and just stopped, all deep red and no new growth. The tank does look amazing with this bulb combination.

Now I am about to try getting two more midday bulbs and try four of them. Or maybe three Middays and one Aquaflora. The midday bulbs are a good mix across the spectrum. I used to calibrate video display systems for home theaters, and light color was our language. It has never made sense to me to do anything above an aquarium with lighting other then to replicate the sun. I know with saltwater tanks things are bit different because folks need to replicate particular water depths, and so there is likely more blue in the spectrum. For aquatic plants, however, most of these kept species live at very shallow depths. Just because the plants reflect a good portion of green does not mean they are not supposed to receive this abundant portion of the most visible spectrum. The Giesemann midday bulbs have enough green to look fantastic, while offering the plants plenty of blue and red in a close enough match to the photosynthetic activity curve.

Maybe once I get the other two midday bulbs I can post some before and after pictures. Thanks for reading . . .


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## elaphe (Aug 24, 2006)

Thanks for the input. I've already ordered my bulbs from Germany, and can't cancel them now

I think I'm going to end up rebuilding my fixture and running 3 x 24W T5's. If I do this, I'll stick with 2 Midday and one Aquaflora.

The light charts (not sure of the correct word) look almost identical for the Midday and Aquaflora on Giesemann's website. The Midday has a little more purple to it and the Aquaflora has more of a blue color. The reds and greens seem to be about the same?

Let me know what you find out when you switch these out. Mine should be here in the next week or so.

Thanks,
Brian


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## sean tebor (May 25, 2007)

Having seen the aquaflora and midday bulbs lit side by side, it is very clear that the midday bulbs cast a more neutral white, where the green is in a ratio with the red and blue to give off something that really does look like average daylight. The aquaflora bulbs are clearly magenta/pink by comparison. If you look at the spectral images for the two bulbs, you can see two significant differences. The blue of the aquaflora peaks a bit higher in frequency than the midday. But the midday has a higher output at a lower intensity across the entire spectrum. It's quite amazing, since the midday is a typical tri-phosphor bulb.

Here are the two spectrums side by side:










Here is a spectral for the sun:










You can see that the blue is slightly higher than the green, and the green slopes gently down to the reds. Aside from the obvious peak on the Giesemann midday bulb in the reds around 640nm, the general shape is the same at the peaks, and somewhat in the lower intensity output, except for some midrange lows in the greens. It seems this is a very good daylight bulb.

If you overlay the Giesemann midday and the sun spectrums, you get something like this:










Today I ordered two more of the midday bulbs, but just for the experimentation, I also ordered an ATI Sun Pro, which has a huge green spike in the middle of an otherwise smooth curve. If you overlay the aquaflora with the ATI, they might really complement each other well. The ATI might even work well with the midday bulbs, since the green is a bit lower than what the spectrum for the sun shows.

The ATI Sun Pro bulb:


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## elaphe (Aug 24, 2006)

Great info Sean.

I just wish you would have posted this before I ordered these bulbs 

It does look as if the Midday is the ideal bulb. Like most everyone else in our hobby, I was just looking for the next "best" thing. I was also looking for something to bring out more red, since all the fish and shrimp have red in them. The Midday really does bring out the reds much more than the old Coralife PC that I was using before.

I'll probably keep my two Midday bulbs and maybe add an extra bulb and put an Aquaflora in there. I'm just getting so much great growth out of my two Midday bulbs, I would hate to mess that up!

Thanks for the great info and advice,
Brian


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## sean tebor (May 25, 2007)

Don't feel bad. I just wish I had figured this out before I bought the aquaflora bulbs! I am also, and far too often, a sucker for the latest and greatest gadgets.

To recap, I think the Giesemann midday bulbs might be the easiest and best choice. I know folks get great results from using a combination of bulbs, emitting various portions of the light spectrum. I wonder what the composite spectrum would be for such a setup, and if the plants do well then so what, right?

In a purist sense, it makes sense to put the closest thing to sunlight over the tank and get the chemistry right (which I am struggling with at the moment, as I sit here and watch my tank slowly refill from a nearly 100% water change). Adding more or less red or blue, and deviating from nature may benefit the reds or the perceived color of the inhabitants of the tank, but something tells me that the DNA language of plants and fish states clearly that the closest environment to their natural habitat is of first order.

Maybe we can't replicate this in a closed environment, especially with species from all over the planet, but it sure is amazing to try. I just wish I could get my system stable!


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## Newt (Apr 1, 2004)

An aquarium is hardly a "natural environment".

Sean: I seriously doubt its the aquaflora bulbs as the culprit. It has less energy output than a GroLux in the blue and red and I don't have any problems like yours. The Midday and Aquaflora are both tri-phosphour bulbs.

Red pigmented plants use a less efficient carotenoid pigment to trap light energy than green chlorophyll pigment. To compensate for the lack of red light (that they can't absorb because its reflected) the plant must recieve greater quantities of blue and other areas of the spectrum. Some plants can change the pigment used for photosynthesis depending on light conditions. So red pigmented plants will turn green if the lighting is not adequate ans some green-leaved plants will produce red leaves towards the top of the plant (closer to the light source) or in overall bright lighting.




























Have you removed the aquaflora bulbs to see if your 'condition' reverted???
Have you looked for other possibilities as being the problem???
Is your lighting level and/or photo period too long???
Iron levels???
Etc.


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## sean tebor (May 25, 2007)

I didn't mean that the aquarium will ever be a natural environment, but I personally wonder how close we can get to an average that works for many varied species from different latitudes.

Two days before I did my big water change, I had been running the two aquaflora bulbs for an hour in the morning without the midday bulbs, in an attempt to have a more purple sky effect of morning. Then the midday bulbs would turn on and all bulbs would run into the evening, when I would turn off the midday bulbs again and simulate a sunrise effect with the aquaflora bulbs until lights out, another hour or so.

I admit that any number of other things could have been contributing to my stunting, but two days ago I switched the bulbs in the fixture so one each of the midday and the aquaflora turned on together in the morning, then the other two at noon, and so forth. Immediately the plants changed. My R.Rotundifolia sprang new green/red leaves, and started growing, leaving the all red parts of the plant behind. They needed the full spectrum obviously enough, and when they had the straight red/blue color, something was missing, whether it was sheer intensity or color or both who knows.

So if the aquaflora and midday bulbs are so similar in spectral output in the three peaks, it is the fuller (low level) output across the spectrum that makes the midday bulbs look neutral compared to the aquaflora. It is this full spectrum in higher output I am interested in.

I realize different plants render the sun's light differently, but it's the sun none the less. I know the sun appears differently across the sky and at different latitudes, under a myriad of atmospheric conditions. Fortunately many of the species we keep come from similar latitudes, and so having a light source close to the sun's "lightprint" makes sense.


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## dobie832 (Aug 4, 2007)

Giesemann bulbs are very popular in Europe and are used by many planted tank keepers. I know of no issues with the aquaflora. I use them along with the midday and my plants are very healthy.


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## Aen (Jul 24, 2007)

I just got 2 Giesemann Powerchrome Midday 6000K after reading this. I'm loving it!! The lit tubes looks yellower than my Hagen Life-Glo but the color it produces in the tank is very natural.


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## elaphe (Aug 24, 2006)

Aen said:


> I just got 2 Giesemann Powerchrome Midday 6000K after reading this. I'm loving it!! The lit tubes looks yellower than my Hagen Life-Glo but the color it produces in the tank is very natural.


They are great bulbs!


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