Why isn't my hammer bright green like in the lfs?

[MoreDakka]

Originally Posted by mrhasan

That's CFL (compact fluorescent light). T5HO is a whole different level of lighting

Haha...uhhh, goooo LFS bad info again. Weee... I showed the a pic and that is what i was told. No wonder i couldn't find anything that,mentioned t5 on the box...

[MoreDakka]

Haha, omg and the big giant COMPACT FLORESCENT didn't clue me in either...haha.

[Proteus]

Good to see no3 coming down. Just keep up with husbandry and a good cuc and you be good to go.

[DAVE]

Those bulbs were the Sh*t....





....15 years ago

[MoreDakka]

Originally Posted by Hydrologist

Those bulbs were the Sh*t....





....15 years ago

Haha, they were free and ive got two more bulbs left. So you're saying my lights are classic.

[mrhasan]

Originally Posted by MoreDakka

Haha, they were free and ive got two more bulbs left. So you're saying my lights are classic.

Everything other than LEDs are classic CFL is just classic-er

[sphelps]

Here's a pic of my first reef tank, at the time all that was available to me was power compacts and NO fluorescent. I think it had two of those 50/50 34" bulbs and two NO fluorescent 22000K bulbs on a 3 foot 50 gallon. Seemed to work just fine, LPS and soft corals did great, color looks pretty good to.



That said I'd still consider purchasing a new fixture. I've seen plenty of used T5 fixtures sell here with new bulbs for less that what you probably paid for that one 34" CFL bulb. So it's probably cheaper than trying to add more of what you have. A 4 bulb fixture would be ideal.

If you can't justify any of the LED options then don't purchase them and ignore anyone that tells you different. The PAR38 bulbs are an OK option but you'll need a few of them and when you compare price/watt to other options like the D120 they are not overly cost effective. They also usually can't be dimmed and don't offer control of the blue & white spectrum.