# T5 HO Bulb ideas



## Bryeman (Aug 24, 2009)

I have a 8x39 watt T5 HO light system currently and I'm looking to buy about 4 new bulbs to have on hand to replace older bulbs. Here's the bulbs I currently have.

4x Giesemann Aquaflora (these were supposed to be the bees knees back in the day, are they still?)

2x 700+ nm (aquatic life)

2x 6000k (aquatic life)

I have a 125g tank, run 4 bulbs for 3 hours, then all 8 are on for 4 hours, then back to 4 bulbs for 3 hours. total of 10 hours of light (10am to 8pm my time). dual CO2 cylinders, two Eheim 2078's, and two Koralia that I use to spread the co2 bubbles coming out of the diffusors around (shoot back towards substrate and around tank). I have a ton of different plant species from easy to more difficult. The plants are growing fair to excellent so far (mostly excellent, but A. Senegalensis is just now starting to slowly show steady growth).

Just wondering what some of the "good" bulbs are today and what some of the theories are today with regards to brands, spectrum, etc. 

Thanks!


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## countcoco (Dec 28, 2010)

Geissmans are great. I use both the aquaflora and the midday tubes. They're pricey though and a slightly cheaper bulb that I really like is the Hagen Life-glo.

I wouldn't use the 700nm bulbs; reef tank lighting is kind of useless for planted tanks.


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## Newt (Apr 1, 2004)

Aquaflora/Midday combo


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## Bryeman (Aug 24, 2009)

Thanks for the input. The 700 are the oldest bulbs too, so it will be easy to replace them!


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## Left C (Jun 14, 2005)

I have a mixture of Giesemann Midday 6000K, Aquaflora and Current USA 10,000K T5HO's on my tank. I like these fine.

When I order some more bulbs, I'm going to get some GE Starcoat 6500K's too. I've read good things about them and they are cheaper than the Giesemann's. Be sure to check out the shipping instructions for important information so that you don't get hit with extra shipping charges. http://www.aquariumspecialty.com/lighting/t5-lamps/other-t5-brands/ge-starcoat-6500k-t5-ho-lamp


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## niko (Jan 28, 2004)

If you know how to run a planted tank the bulbs really do not matter. As long as the light is strong at least for a few hours a day.

I'm one of the first people to push the Giesemann bulbs because they are out of this world. But that does not change the fact that I I just stated above.

--Nikolay


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