Grow Lights?

[gemmasicolo]

Someone is selling this light fixture and I was wondering if it is the same as the t5's that reefers use and if it can be used for an aquarium.

Sun Blaze 432W T5 fluorescent grow light produces 40,000 lumens with 3000 Kelvin lamps for flowering & fruiting growth

* 432 watt 4-ft 95% reflective T5 fluorescent grow light with textured white powder coated steel housing and 12FT power cord.
* Includes bulbs... very low hours.. lots of life left on bulbs...
* Lumen Output: 40,000 lumens
* Fixture dimensions: 47"Lx17.5"Wx2.5"H
* Growing Area: 4ft x 4ft
* 120V Solid state electronic ballasts.. also connectable to eachother..
* Includes wire cable "V" hangers
* Includes On/Off switch

 

[Sisterlimonpot]

It's going to be yellow, unless you like the yellow color it's not what most use for their tank. (usually white is around 10,000K and more blue is around 20,000K
If it's for macro algae, It will work however that Kelvin rating is low (within range for macro algae’s) and will let your macro grow but it will be slow, a Kelvin rating with 4000K-6000K is roughly what you want for microalgae’s.

 

[gemmasicolo]

Thanks for the response!

 

[ReefWreak]

I would venture to say that corals wouldn't use very much of that spectrum of light, so it would really allow any algae to grow faster than the corals and out compete them for nutrients. You could always buy it and change the bulbs though. They're good fixtures with good ballasts. They do come inexpensively though, so don't compare it's prices to the cost of an Aquatinics or even Tek unit, as they're in totally different price ranges.

 

[jimbo78]

If its a good price then it should be fine as long as you change the bulbs.

 

[CoRPS]

Not that I've seen the fixture but keep in mind that most grow lights don't come with splash shields.

 

[avaneaton2000]

Will work fine just replace the bulbs. You can make a splash shield from acrylic if you want.

 

[gemmasicolo]

For what they're asking, after buying the new bulbs I might as well get a new unit.

Thanks for the input!

 

[avaneaton2000]

With a good new T5 fixture you will still need to buy bulbs(TRU bulbs are no good and they come in some fixtures), and you are going to have to replace the bulbs annually either way when they lose intensity.