More about lights??

[chago09]

Ok I was just looking all over the internet for light fixtures and theres just soo much to look for and soo many different types. I am looking for something that is good to light up my tank and make my discus look nice also grow low tech plants. I followed everyone elses ideas and put them seachem flourite in my new tank and wanted some help now with lighting. I just can't figure out what I should get without spending a trillion dollars.
1.)what is the best bang for the buck???
2.) I have seen these T5 and T12 and T whatever and have no idea what the differences are and which is the best???
3.) My tank is a 70 gallon tall and is 36" long what light fixture would you suggest??
4.) If a fixture is 24" would it work since all light won't go straight down it will spread. Maybe even a 30"???
5.) Coralife has a 36" twin flourescent strip T-5 which is 89.99 why so cheap, is it any good??
6.) Hardware stores sell tubes that say they are made for plants but are only like 2700K and 3000k, but everyone on here tells me I need 5000k to 8000k???
7.) Or just ignore all above questions and give me a real good suggestion on how to get a decent light at a reasonable price for low tech plants??

Sorry for all the questions but I want to be sure and make the right choice since they are a lot of many to invest and I want my take being bright, and my plants growing.
Thanx

[sugio]

As I said in reply to your other post, the T5 High Output (HO) Fluorescent light fixtures are economical and provide decent light for a low tech planted tank and you can check them out at aquatraders.com to get started. A step up (both in light intensity and price) are the compact light units most of which come in 2 x96W combination which is plenty of light for a 24 to 30" tall tank. Both the T5 and the CL units come in 36" lengths. If you plan to have plants at both ends of the tank then make sure you go with the 36" instead of 24" which will leave large shaded areas in the two corners. The price difference between 24" and 36" fixtures is not much.

If you are really into this, you may want to look into Metal Halide lamps but they are really meant for high tech tanks since their light output is very high and they come with their own cooling fans etc. But it is an overkill for low tech plants.

Just make sure you pick plants that do well under lower light intensities. Check out these sites for some great tips and inspiration for planted tanks:
http://www.mynatureaquariums.com/howto/howto.html
http://www.plantedtank.net/
http://www.thekrib.com/Lights/

And, post some pics once you have yours setup :-)

[chago09]

so would you say a t-5 is better then a t-8. I was looking at these would you think there any good??? i just was wondering why they were so cheap??

http://www.bigalsonline.ca/catalog/product.xml?product_id=32850;category_id=1853;pcid 1=1843;pcid2=