t12 vs t8

[goda]

i was looking at the new reef aquarium book and they were sating t8 is better then t12. i was wondering what the difference in the life of the bulbs are and also if using t8's think they would dim more reliale then t12?

[IceCap Service]

We do not see many people using the T-8 lamps but they do work well on our ballasts. The majority use the T-12 VHO's however many are now switching to the T-5 lamps which are rapidly growing in popularity.

[goda]

yeah kinda has me worried that they are gonna do away with T12.

[ASH]

They will eventually do away with the T-12 as the T-8 is more efficient and the T-5HO with a reflector delivers much more light per watt where you want it.

The T5HO lamps also are environmentally better in that they use less materials to make them and recently the GE and soon the new UVL (f/k/a/ URI) lamps will bind up mercury when the lamp is thrown away.

Andy

[goda]

dont t12's last longer tho?
are there any kits to redo the t12 endcaps for t8's or t5's id hate to have to redo my entire hood ( 7 bulbs)

[goda]

t5s arnt dimmable tho are they? what about t8s. ehh this wont probobly be for a very long time and by then i bet i will have upgraded to a bigger tank and just use MH on a dimmer ( sadly it wont be an icecap since mh arnt dimable on ice cap yet) but by that time who knows

[goda]

btw can i have a link to the uvl site . i cant seem to find them anywhere .