T5 Brand GLO

[swivel]

i was wondering if anyone has any experience with GLO T5 product. i was wondering if im able to keep sps with this brand?

 

[benmann71]

from what i have heard was that the GLO brand is not vary good at all. i know a couple of people who say that they don't even work well with Fresh water planted tanks.

 

[swivel]

ouch i wasted money on that brand thinkin it was ok for sps. dam now i need to buy better bulbs!!!

 

[Imzadi]

Hafta agree... and the crazy thing is, up here is the great white north, Hagen and Glo brands dominate all the LFS. I am having one heckova time finding ANYTHING of quality in Canada.

I have the GLO brand, and it is just... light. You know its on, and it is a nice color... but you think, 'Maybe it'll be brighter when it warms up'.... but it doesn't. Thing is, up here, if there is nothing to compare it to, we'd never know. MH and GLO, is common.

 

[DarG]

I dont know much about this series but I thought that the Hagen GLO marine bulbs were an actinic bulb. If they are a super actinic bulb that peaks at 420nm then it would explain why they arent very bright. Again, I dont know much about them other than reading that they had a freshwater planted tank bulb and what they refer to as an actinic bulb. None of the 420nm actinic bulbs are bright. I dont even know if the actinic bulb is really a blue bulb or a "true" actinic ... Im just suggesting that if they are 420nm lamps it would explain why it is not very bright.
The 420nm actinics are used more for supplemental lighting to to bring out coral flourescence and color "pop" in combination with other, higher par T5 bulbs or as supplement to metal halide. They arent stand alone bulbs for par.

Sorry if everyone knows this already, not trying to be condescending. Just offering a possible explanation of why the bulbs arent bright, again assuming that they are 420nm actinics.

 

[Imzadi]

They make a full line of tubes. I just looked at the packages I got here... and the 10k and the 18k both have 420nm spikes, so that might be the answer indeed... but side-by-side with the coralife they just dont cut it.

 

[RussM]

I picked up a Marine GLO at a LFS having a sale, and used it to replace a failed bulb. I did not have high expectations... it was meant to be used temporarily until I ordered more ATIs. I was quite pleasantly surprised by both the color and output.. it's crazy bright. I just left it in. In service about 4 months so far. Not sure how the life will be...; I am overdriving w/ an IC660.

 

[DarG]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14798484#post14798484 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Imzadi
They make a full line of tubes. I just looked at the packages I got here... and the 10k and the 18k both have 420nm spikes, so that might be the answer indeed... but side-by-side with the coralife they just dont cut it.

I was referring to the true actinic type lamps that have a very narrow spectrum with the peak at 420nm. There are essentially no other spikes in the output. They are actinic only bulbs with the ONLY output being in something like the 350 - 450nm range with a peak at about 420nm. They give off a violet light. With their limited spectrum and the fact that it is close to one end of the visible light spectrum, they inherently give off a light that is not very bright.

A 10K lamp has a much wider spectrum and should appear white and they are usually bright bulbs.
The 18K should have a stonger blue tint but still a broader spectrum with the peaks being further into the blue range compared to the actinic bulb and also with some energy in the warmer spectrums so they also typically should have pretty good par.

If the 10K and the 18K GLO lamps still appear to be not very bright then maybe they just arent very good bulbs.

Again, I have never seen them. I dont know where they are made or the quality. If they are used with the GLO fixtures, that could contribute to any problems if the reflectors arent optimized or maybe there are ballast issues. Im just guessing here as to the possible reasons why these bulbs/systems are being reported to not perform very well. Again, I have no experience with them.

.

 

[Imzadi]

Ah Russ, maybe thats the answer. I really do like the color, just wasnt too keen on the brightness. BUT I am using a Glo fixture as well. No overdrive. IT didn't seem as bright as the coralife. Perhaps you see yours as 'crazy bright' when next to your 'already past their prime but not yet failed' bulbs. The price is right on them, and if they are enough for your needs then I say, 'Score' one for economy!

 

[mojo~]

I have tested these bulbs and well they are ok. You need alot blue to make up for the yellows. THe balast retros are pretty good. I actually have 4 of them but use ati bulbs.

 

[swivel]

do you guys think i will be able to keep sps and get the best color out of my corals with this brand of T5? right now with what people are telling me im thinking about switching to ATI Bulbs.

 

[kretzkiller]

what type of fixture do you have? I see that you have a 12 gallon tank so it probably doesn't have too many bulbs. You might want to upgrade to different bulbs given that you need to get the most out of your limited lighting source.

 

[das75]

I'm using the Glo ballast to retro with my T5s and no complaints. My T5s are only for supplementing but the Giesmann and Aquamedic I'm using are bright.