# Can regular T5 bulbs be used in T5HO fixtures?



## hellbender (Oct 29, 2008)

I want to buy a nice 48" t5 ho fixture that has 4 54 watt bulbs and replace one of them with a uva/uvb reptile bulb. The problem is i cant find any uva/uvb t5 HO bulbs, i can only find 48" 28 watt t5 normal bulbs, so can i use regular T5 bulbs in my T5HO fixture? Thanks!


----------



## jubjub47 (Sep 9, 2008)

I know that on t12 bulbs, a standard bulb will run in a vho fixture, but with a shortened life.


----------



## jpg (Jan 3, 2009)

I think that you can use those bulbs in the fixture but like Julio said you will be overdriving the bulbs causing them to burn brighter but burn out quicker than the recommended bulbs . Im not sure how long they will last but they should light for some time .


----------



## Julio (Oct 8, 2007)

yeah they shoudl work, but you will orverdrive the bulbs and they will burn brighter than normal, but not last the recomended lifespan from the manufacturer, if you are going to do this however i would keep an eye on the plants as they will indicate when its time to change them.


----------



## boogerman (Dec 27, 2008)

I asked the guy at the light buld shop /////////thats what its called the light bulb shop and he told me that all t5's are high output dunno just passing it on


----------



## Julio (Oct 8, 2007)

not all are High output, there are normal output T5s as well.


----------



## jubjub47 (Sep 9, 2008)

boogerman said:


> I asked the guy at the light buld shop /////////thats what its called the light bulb shop and he told me that all t5's are high output dunno just passing it on


Like Julio said, that is incorrect.


----------



## hellbender (Oct 29, 2008)

thanks for all the help so far guys! Yeah, the 48" Ho bulbs are 54 watt and the uva/uvb bulb's i am looking at are only 32 watts i think. Anyone else have any info regarding this issue or actual experiance using a non ho t5 in a ho t5 fixture? Thanks again!


----------



## GBIII (Mar 20, 2008)

Are you sure the lamps are T5? 32 watts is the Standard wattage for 48" T8 lamps. Standard wattage T5's are usually 28 watts from my experience. 

Standard wattage T5 lamps should fire fine in a high output fixture. If you chose to do this I would make sure the fixture is ventilated with forced air ie fans. T5 lamps are limited in the amount of phosphor that can be used in each lamp by the diameter of the lamp. Heat causes the phosphors to deteriorate. The higher the temperature the lamps experience the faster the phosphors will deteriorate. I've seen HO T5 lamps run at VHO output (54 watt lamps run at 85 watts) dramatically shift in spectrum in as little as two months without forced air ventilation.

Regards,
George


----------



## hellbender (Oct 29, 2008)

GBIII:

Sorry, yes they are 28 watt lights. They would be going in a 4 bulb fixture with built-in fans and a built-in digital timer. For now it will be going on a 60 gallon tank where i'll probably use just two lights, the uva/uvb one for my reptiles and another for plants and when i'm done building my 5' x36" x 20" tank i'll use all 4 bulbs. Thanks for the input!


----------



## cbau45 (Jun 2, 2009)

Keep in mind that cooling the bulbs will help to increase their lifespan especially if you're overdriving NO T5's. It is best to put the end with the label on it closest to the fan as this is the end that burns the hottest. Regardless of if you use NO T5's or HOT5's I'd still recommend changing your bulbs every 9-12 months. T5's tend to have a sharp decline in their PAR output after that timeframe even if they still light up. For optimal plant growth you'll want to be diligent about this. I've had my fairshare of experience with lighting as I'm into saltwater reef aquariums and prior to that I had several planted freshwater aquariums. I use T5's over all of my setups and I intend to do the same over my vivarium. Good luck!


----------



## hellbender (Oct 29, 2008)

will do cbau45, thank you very much for the info and i appreciate everyones help.

aaron,


----------

