what lighting do i have and can i upgrade? (pics)

so i have an 8 gallon Biocube. what lights come with it? is it possible to put T5 bulbs in? sorry imma noob as far as lighting goes

ok heres the pics of my lighting....could someone draw on the pics to show how i would drill or where i would put the LED? thanks

and btw it says coralife 24w, not 18w...not that it makes a difference.

 

The Bio Cube 8G comes stock with Power Compacts 1-18W 10k Bulb and 1-18W Actinic Bulb. As far as upgrades there are a couple of sites that offer a few upgrades but they are rather costly.

NanoTuners.com

NanoCustoms.com

 

so i couldnt just take my PC bulbs out and put in t5's?

 

your best "upgrade" would be to remove the stock hood and go with a single BoostLED bulb.

That will give you the shimmer of a Metal Halide bulb with no heat and TONS of PAR output. You can mount the LED with a really cheap clip-light and you will also spend less money doing it this way over T-5 as even a small T-5 retro kit is more than the cost of a single BoostLED unit, plus you then have to buy (and continually replace) your t-5 bulbs.

GO LED!!!!

 

No, completely different lighting systems.

I agree with M-Ocean go LED.

 

Really Don't think that there is any T5's that are short enough to fit. I agree with the boost LED bulb, and if you really wanted to with a little work I am betting you could mount one using the top you have if you cut a hole through the top. I would look a bit different but you could make it work.

 

I agree, a hole saw might do the trick.

 

as already mentioned, I would go with a boostLED and a cheap $10 clip-on lamp.

 

+1 to boost LED.

 

I would have to retract the BoostLED recommendation if you are going to retro the hood. It would look really cool to retro the hood and there are kits that might work without major driling. The only thing I would say has to be considered now would be the operating environment. You will be operating these LEDs in a hot, moist, marine environment. A lot of equipment fails rapidly in these conditions.

BoostLED does not advise installations where there is heat/humidity buildup AKA inside a hood.