# which type of lighting to chose?



## hi-revs (Nov 3, 2010)

Thinking of picking up a lighting fixture when i get my new tank.

Just wondering if anyone has experience with any of these fixtures. And the pros and cons of each.

LED VS fluorescent: (specifically these 2)

Coralife 48 Inch AquaLight T5 HO Fixture (2-54W)

Marineland Double Bright LED Light Fixture (36-48 Inch)

I like the idea of LEDs and consuming power and whatnot. But how are its actual lifespan when in daily use? Im guessing that LEDs cant be changed? And might be pricey to do so? Correct me if im wrong.

What sorts of water effects can i expect with each? And what is good for what tank set up?
Sand would most likely be the substrate btw.


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## jkam (Apr 21, 2010)

It would depend on what you want to do. If you want to grow low light plants or just light up the tank to see the inhabitants, I'd get the LED. 
It also has a really cool shimmer effect and I know people who keep it on for days at a time. 

If you want a high tech planted tank, I'd get the T5HO but I'd get the Hagen GLO fixture instead as it has a better reflector. I personally don't like the coralife fixtures as they're cheaply built.


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## spit.fire (Jan 3, 2011)

jkam said:


> It would depend on what you want to do. If you want to grow low light plants or just light up the tank to see the inhabitants, I'd get the LED.
> It also has a really cool shimmer effect and I know people who keep it on for days at a time.
> 
> If you want a high tech planted tank, I'd get the T5HO but I'd get the Hagen GLO fixture instead as it has a better reflector. I personally don't like the coralife fixtures as they're cheaply built.


arnt double bright leds sufficent for most plants?

also i agree with jkam on the not going with coralife fixtures, i have 3 of them at home... sitting here broken


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## crazy72 (Apr 22, 2010)

I have the Marineland LED fixture. I have it on a 33 Long (shallow, only 12" high) and it works great there. But I tried it on my 60 high (25" high) and it wasn't enough light in my opinion. Even regardless of growing plants or not. Just not enough light to see everything. But again, it's perfect for a shallower tank as long as you don't want to grow too many plants. One thing that I think is too bad with the Marineland one is that you can't have the moonlights on a timer (unless you're a DIYer and you hack it). There's only one switch with 3 positions: all lights (white and blue) on, blue only, or off. That is really too bad I think.

I agree with the previous answer though. The first thing is for you to figure out whether you want to do a planted tank or not. The two fixtures you mention there are very different in this respect. 2x54W T5HO is wayyyyy more light than the LED fixture.


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## hi-revs (Nov 3, 2010)

I dont plan on going the "heavily" planted route or anything to that extreme.
Maybe just some low-light plants like hornworts and mossballs, perhaps moss(?) plus inhabitants. (turtles, different bottom dwellers and tropical fishes)

I havent bought the tank yet (75g- 48x18x21). Just looking into lighting first as i wont be getting a tank with a canopy.
It'll be a 20 or 21inch high tank so i'd want the light to be able to light up the lower portions of the tank.

Judging by some of the comments im assuming that the LED fixture should do the trick?

EDIT: its a 21high, but because of the turtles its more or less going to filled 18inches tops.


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## hi-revs (Nov 3, 2010)

Crazy72- im assuming you meant that i cant have the timer set so it switches from just white to just blue? But i can still have it ON a timer just having to switch manually from one lighting to another.


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## crazy72 (Apr 22, 2010)

hi-revs said:


> Crazy72- im assuming you meant that i cant have the timer set so it switches from just white to just blue? But i can still have it ON a timer just having to switch manually from one lighting to another.


Yes that's what I meant.

And yes I personally think that the Marineland fixture will do the trick for your tank if you go with low-light plants. If you haven't chosen your substrate yet then you could also try and choose something light in colour and it will help make you tank brighter.

I personally think that LEDs are great. I love the shimmer effect, algae isn't an issue (or not as much) and many fish feel more comfortable than with super-bright lights. Plus they don't use much power and the life time is a lot longer. All good stuff as long as you're not big into planted tanks.


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## jkam (Apr 21, 2010)

the LED fixture can only have all the lights on, only the moonlights on or everything off. No option of switching unless you do it manually. 

I think you'll be fine if the tank is 18" high but I'd be more worried about depth. I find that the light isn't bright enough for my 90g. If I was to do it on my 90g I'd have to get 2 of the LED fixtures in my opinion. 

I wrote a brief review about them in another thread. The jist of it is that if the tank is less than 18" deep and less than 24" high, it's a great light. If it's bigger than that you'd need two. 

The fixture itself is great quality though. I dropped it in water and it was still working in the tank (for the brief 5 seconds it was in there)


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## crazy72 (Apr 22, 2010)

jkam said:


> the LED fixture can only have all the lights on, only the moonlights on or everything off. No option of switching unless you do it manually.
> 
> I think you'll be fine if the tank is 18" high but I'd be more worried about depth. I find that the light isn't bright enough for my 90g. If I was to do it on my 90g I'd have to get 2 of the LED fixtures in my opinion.
> 
> ...


I agree. Good quality fixture. And it looks sleek too, if you won't have a canopy.


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## hi-revs (Nov 3, 2010)

sounds like i'll be picking one up tomorrow


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