I had problems with too little light on my 20 gallon high tank. The stock hood only allowed for 15 watts of regular flourescent light which was barely enough even for low light plants. I bought this as an upgrade to the stock lighting and this has been a great choice. It is affordable, solidly built,and is a great choice for a medium/low range planted tank (more to the medium range). Being only 24 watts I was quite worried that it may be insufficient, but the T5HO system really puts out a lot of light! The plants in my 20H tank have shown increased growth and better coloration. When you buy this make sure to pick up a bulb and a timer for convenience. You can skip the timer if you really want but then you will have to unplug/depower it at night or when you want the light off (it does not have an on/off switch!). I recomend the Sylvania analog timer for this one. It allows you to run it on an accurate and dependable schedule and if you just want to turn it on or off you can just push the switch to on(untimed) or off and not ruin your preset (timed) schedule.
But this item to me is very expensive. Got a good price vs pet stores, however. Hope it lasts $70 worth.
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The housing for this is awesome and exactly what I needed. Five stars!
This was delivered in a box possibly five times larger than it needed to be with nothing but two pieces of paper for protection. The Amazon box it was shipped in was beat up and a flap was open on one end. When I opened up the box to get to my lamp I was disheartened to see that the box the light set was in was also beat up and opened. Thankfully everything was sturdy enough to handle the beating it very obviously took except the bulb. It of course was busted and there was tiny shards of glass everywhere. EVERYWHERE.
The product is great the delivery was horrible. So four stars! Buy this bad boy if you're in the market but be wary of the packaging. Hopefully they'll step up their game and get it right so this won't be an issue for anyone else!
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*Update:
I was recently informed by the retailer of this item being listed on Amazon.com, that they had the incorrect pricing for the Hagen GLO T-5 24" single lighting fixture.
Specifically, the Website listed a value pack for $43.35,
which was supposed to include two Hagen GLO T-5 24" X 24 watt lighting fixtures. However, FancyPants.com, the retailer selling this product, stated that they had made a mistake in regard to the listing for this product, and that the $43.35 was for a single GLO T-5 24" fixture not two of these fixtures.
For my inconvenience, they split the cost of what I would have paid for each light in the value pack ($21.68 each) vs the $43.35 price for one of these lights. The difference came to about $10, so even though I did not get these lights for $21.68 each, I did purchase the one light for about $31 + shipping, which is still an excellent value, when one considers that most of the retailers who sell this particular Hagen GLO fixture, sell it for at least $80 without the bulb.
Earlier...
After purchasing a GLO 24" X 24 watt lighting fixture for $51.30, including the shipping cost, I recently purchased a value pack from the same seller on Amazon.com, which included two Hagen GLO 24" X 24 watt single fixtures for $51.30 delivered.
The same price that I paid for just one of these light fixtures a month and half earlier.
This works out to $21.68 per light fixure, or about 25% of what these lights each usually retail for.
So if you are in the market for a linear T-5 lighting system that is well made, aesthically pleasing to the eye and very useful in growing all types of aquatic plants, the Hagen T-5 lights should be on your shortlist.
Earlier...
Since getting back into the fishkeeping hobby three and a half years ago after a 22 year hiatus I have setup several aquariums. At the time that I was starting my first aquarium, the Hagen GLO T-5 lighting systems had only been on the market few a few months.
As with all of the components that I would end up purchasing, I researched them before making these purchases.
The articles that I had read on T-5 were very positive, so I decided to research the different manufacturers of T-5 linear fluorescent light fixtures, and found that the Hagen GLO series were receiving many positive reviews.
The fixtures were described as being well constructed with durable ballasts and very bright light, due to the polished reflectors Hagen includes with its GLO units, while being competitively priced.
I purchased my first Hagen GLO T-5 in the fall of 2009.
I was so pleased with it that I have since purchased four additional GLO fixtures for my planted aquaria; including the most recent addition a single 24" 24 watt GLO T-5 fixture being sold at a closeout price of $43.99. This is about $40 less than this particular fixture usually sells for, so I bought it for a Pandy Cory tank that I was in the process of setting up.
The GLO T-5 lights really do an excellent job of growing all types of aquatic plants, including carpeting plants such as baby tears, microsword and dwarf hairgrass.
These are durable lighting systems that only require a cleaning every few months to operate at their best. Every three months or so, I will unplug the GLO fixture that I am cleaning, remove its bulb(s) and then proceed to clean it with a solution of one part vinegar to three parts water. I also clean the bulbs with this solution, then dry them before reinstalling them in the fixture.
The water/vinegar solution works very well at removing any minerals that have hardened on the fixture, so that its reflective surface remains clear. It is this highly polished reflective surface which allows for a greater amount of light to reach your plants.
I have noticed that some pet stores no longer carry the Hagen GLO fixtures, including Drs. Foster And Smith. I can only conclude that these retailers are investing in lighting systems that employ the use of LED bulbs, because of their long life.
However, having recently purchased an LED fixture for a ghost shrimp tank that I had started at the same time as the Panda Cory tank, I find that there is a lot more value in my T-5 fixtures than there is this particular LED fixture.
The fixture works well enough, however, it does not provide enough light to grow plants that require moderate to high light. And at about $119 retail (I got mine for less), one could purchase two Hagen GLO T-5 24" 24 watt single lights, and have enough money left over to purchase T-5 bulbs for each of these fixtures.
In addition, the GLO lights are better constructed.
And LED fixtures in general, tend to be more expensive than their T-5 counterparts, for a similar amount of power.
Moreover, quality control issues with some LED fixtures have been reported by a number of consumers.
The main purpose of purchasing LED fixtures is that they are supposed to be more efficient than other forms of aquatic lighting, and purported to last much longer.
However, a number of consumers have reported that some of the LED bulbs in their fixtures failed prematurely, oftentimes just after the warranty had expired.
As a result, they were left with a light fixture that could not be repaired, and forced to invest in a new fixture. Of course, many other LED users have had much better experiences with their lighting systems.
As for the Hagen GLO T-5 fixtures, they are well built, aesthetically pleasing to the eye, and do an excellent job of providing light for one's plants.
The fact that they are often heavily discounted because of the new LED lighting craze only adds to their allure. So if you decide that a Hagen GLO T-5 fixture is for you, shop around for the best deal. You may end up saving 50% or more.
Highly recommended!
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It looks very natural and my fish like hiding in it. Price was reasonable and I received the product quickly.
