[DaFrogMan]

In light of the thread started a few days ago in this forum by Digitalflipkick I was wondering if anyone out there uses T8's.

I am building a new viv and I'm just wondering if I want to switch to T8's. I don't have the money for HID's. I'm using one double T12 shoplight over two of my 20H vivs right now and the plants look alright... kind of thin though.... so they're nice, but could be better.

My new viv will be around 70 gallons (50w x 20h x 17d) I plan to build multiple shoplights right into the hood (2-3 doubles or 4-6 tubes total.) I've got a bunch of T12 fixtures already, but would the extra brightness be worth the extra money to get 2 or 3 T8 fixtures?

Which fixtures do I want? How many of them do I want for a viv that size?

 

[kleinhanz]

I use T8's. I have a rack system with two 4' shoplights. each shoplight contains 2 T8's at 32 watts each and 6500K. They are very bright and do not heat up.

 

[Scott]

T8's - no comparison.

s

 

[geckguy]

I have been slowly switching to t-8s and they are brighter. The t-8 daylight bulbs put out 2800 lumens using 32 watts, and the t-12's emit 2350 lumens using 40 watts, so per watt the t-8s produce 87.5 lumens, and the t-12s produce 58.75 lumens per watt. So the t-8s do produce noticeably more light. The daylights have the biggest difference between the lumens produced, but all the t-8s produce more lumens per watt than t-12s.

 

[dmartin72]

Scott said it all! Brighter, smaller and create less heat. What more could you want. I also use and love the philips deluxe daylight 6500K bulbs.

T8's - no comparison.

s

 

[kyle1745]

T8's more light, less power...

 

[rmelancon]

If you are going with T8s I highly reccommend the GE Ultramax ballast. It is what is known as a "Super T8" ballast. Runs MUCH cooler than other electronic ballasts and when combined with "Super T8" bulbs you can get 100 lumen/watt.

 

[Guest]

Where can you get thoose ballast at? Does Lowes or Home Depot carry them?

Mike P.

 

[kleinhanz]

Home Depot carries a brand of shop lights with higher quality ballast already in them. They are about twice as expensive as the regulary shop lights but may be worth it if you are running high quality bulbs. The brand name is "lightning" something-or-other. You'll see them there....

 

[rmelancon]

My Lowes does not carry them but my Home Depot does. They are 19.99 for the 2 bulber and 29.99 for the 4 bulber GE Ultramax. These are just the ballasts. Although I'm sure they exist, I don't know of any prefab fixtures that use the "Super 8" tech. There are other ballasts that are "Super T8" but I don't remember the names, there is a link on another thread. What makes them "Super T8" is basically the efficiency.

What I did is bought 2 of the 8$ 4ft. shop lights that had the ballast that could be switched out. Bought a 4 bulb GE ultramax and wired it to the two fixtures so the ballast is remote.