# Switching to T5 lighting... Help!



## WrasseMan (Jun 30, 2011)

Hi,

So I have a "reef" tank with a few soft corals. It has two side-by-side fixtures, one for each half of the tank, each running an 18" t8 bulb. I really want to increase the range of corals that I can keep by upgrading my lighting from t8 to t5 HO. I have very little knowledge of lighting technology, and all of the "retrofit" kits that I see for sale are so frigging expensive! Can anyone give me a general overview of what I have to do? Can I pay someone else to retrofit my light fixtures? How much would it cost me? Thanks in advance!


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## monocus (Sep 27, 2010)

depends on what you want to spend.if you want to increase the range of corals i would go led or metal halide.if you are ever in burnaby you could pop by my house and see various led lighting in the price range of $100-$5000


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## theredben (May 8, 2012)

Unfortunately, high intensity lighting for a 36" tank is always going to be expensive. Retro-fit kits are great, but you need to know how to properly work with wiring, and I would personally never trust a stranger to retro-fit one of my lights (since you are dealing with electricity and water close together.

How deep is the tank?


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## sunshine_1965 (Aug 16, 2011)

I would spend the money and go Metal Halide 250watt with a nice parabolic reflector.


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## target (Apr 21, 2010)

If you want to avoid wiring, why not go with something like this: Hagen GLO T5 Electronic Flourescent Lighting System (2-24W/2-39W)

You can use 36" bulbs with this. Then you just need bulbs and reflectors: Sunlight Supply 36" T5 Fluorescent Reflector


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