# Lighting Question?



## thundergolf (Mar 13, 2009)

Im looking to purchase new lighting for my 72x24x24 aquarium. I dont currently have any plants but i may have some low light plants in the future. 
I almost bought 2 36" fixtures from a guy on craigslist, they were 96w power compact for $140. Then i realized that the bulbs were like $50/bulb to replace. 
I am now leaning towards a nice t5 setup or the Marineland LED fixture.
Does anyone have experience with led or could recommend a nice t5 setup?


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## jp80911 (Apr 3, 2008)

for T5 you can look into www.fishneedit.com and www.catalinaaquarium.com
catalina has more options and they make all the lights in house in the US so you can custom your light without much extra cost. ie how man on/off switches, each switch control how many bulbs, which bulbs, how wide you want the housing to be, etc.


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## thundergolf (Mar 13, 2009)

Thinks for the information! I was looking at t5 lighting from those places, but im actually leaning towards the leds for some reason.
Do you know how they would compare? Marineland has single bright or double bright setups.


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## jp80911 (Apr 3, 2008)

no idea about those marineland leds, never used them. don't think they will be bright enough.
if you can make a canopy you can go with this led http://www.ledwholesalers.com/store/index.php?act=viewProd&productId=684
or you don't mind the look of them sitting on you tank.
here's thread about them
http://www.piranha-fury.com/pfury/index.php?/topic/196410-10-watt-led-light-modules-are-awesome-for-piranha-set-ups/page__p__2631255__fromsearch__1#entry2631255


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## JoeDizzleMPLS (Nov 5, 2007)

The Marineland LED fixtures would not be enough for plants, they basically provide just enough light to light up your tank and give it a nice shimmer effect. If you are wanting plants down the road, I'd probably look at T5s for a big tank like that.


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## CLUSTER ONE (Aug 2, 2006)

JoeDizzleMPLS said:


> The Marineland LED fixtures would not be enough for plants, they basically provide just enough light to light up your tank and give it a nice shimmer effect. If you are wanting plants down the road, I'd probably look at T5s for a big tank like that.


 The triple bright ones said for reefs may work though you can get better lights for the price. On my 125 I have a ton of crypts under a single 40W t8. Its only 4ft (plants only under the light) but something as simple as a t8 shoplight with better bulbs will work fine. You can usually find the right t8 bulbs farily cheap compared to some of the more high tech bulbs.


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