Deep Blue Solarmax T5 Light Strip 20in

This light worked perfectly with good brightness when first used. I bought 2 of them. The bulbs burned out within 2 weeks in each lamp. I replaced the tubes in each lamp, but they burned out again in each lamp within the next 3 weeks. I don't think I will try again. The tubes are expensive and are difficult to find.

This light seems to work well. I would only use it on nano tanks, though. The whole unit is pretty bulky and thick, but the light its self is a lot shorter than the housing. (there is a good 3 or 4 inches on either side of the bulb.) This makes it best for aquariums with a smaller footprint, IMO.

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The main reason for a 2 star rating is that the description on of this product does not mentioned the length of the bulb itself which is very relevant information to have.

I use this brand's larger fixture for my 60 gallon tank and it's great; the fixture is 48" long and the light bulb is only slightly shorter. But with this version, the fixture is 20" long but the bulb is only 10" which results in my 10 gallon tank being lit in the center with the two sides remaining in the dark. This is a fairly big problem for me since I have live plants in the tank.

The decision for this design is confusing as any tank that isn't 20" long will result in a fairly large piece of equipment hanging of either side. But for tanks that are large enough to fully hold this fixture results in insufficient lighting throughout the tank. And it's not like they needed the extra room for wiring or anything. I took the light apart in the same way you would when replacing the bulb, and the extra space was just about empty with plenty of room to house a 16-18" bulb. Oh well.

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As a serious hobbyist with a fish room with breeding setup, I figured I would try this 20" light for a 10 gallon tank as a test to compare this 8w light against the T8 lights and LED lights.

First the form factor. I have 10 gallon tanks using both glass canopy and the black plastic canopy that fits standard T8 lights. Well, this light is ever so slightly too long to snugly fit on top of the glass canopy such that one side is on top of the tank frame and the other side is on the glass top. On the plastic hood, this light just sits on top of the hood rather than sliding into the grooves. Not a good fit either way.

Oh, and it doesn't come with any mounting legs or hanging kit nor can you set it on top of the frame of the 10 gallon tank since it's just long enough to rest on one side, but not the other. Mounting kit is not an option either.

As for the light itself, the bulb is the shorter 10" T5 light @ 10,000K. It gives off more of the blue daylight hue than even the Marineland singlebright LED light. Due to the length of the bulb, the center of the tank is much brighter with light spilling to the sides. In contract, the standard T8 bulb fills the entire tank evenly.

Since I have planted tanks, this poses new challenges in aquascaping. The included bulb didn't last more than a few weeks at 24x7 with constant on cycle. So, I ended up replacing with a 6,500k light bulb which is better for plants and more pleasing to my eyes.

In summary, the light works as advertised but with many short comings as if electricians designed this without any input from the end users.

Since there aren't any other better/cheaper options with T5 at this size, this light is recommended if you're trying to decide between LED. If you have a T8 light, then only get this light if electricity savings with 8w is important enough to justify the physical form factor and light bulb lifespan issues.

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Bought the light a little over a month ago, and realized upon opening it that the hood was 20 inches, but the bulb was only 10 inches!. The description was not clear on the size of the bulb. Just a week ago the tiny bulb burnt out... The shortest time that I have had an aquarium light last was 18 months. This product not only shorted me on the size of the bulb, it failed to last as long as most products on the market.

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