I've been trying to read everything everyone has made available about this subject, but I'm still not really sure which way to go. I'm setting up a 29 Gallon Planted Tank with Dirt. Will a Dual T5 HO 30" Light be too much? I was thinking about this on in particular. http://aquaticlife.com/sites/default/files/specsheets/420143.pdf

Many Thanks!

Views: 188

Comment by Peter on January 21, 2013 at 3:29pm
That's a good light fixture I would say ur fine if ur tank is heavily planted and ur running co2. With that fixture ull for sure be in the high light range. Even if later u find it to be too much light u can run only 1 bulb or just lower the time the lights are on
Comment by Don on January 21, 2013 at 6:39pm

Thanks Peter! Just out of curiosity... can you recommend a light fixture that would be better?

Comment by Robert Jango on January 21, 2013 at 7:07pm

You want somewhere between 5-40 lumens (of light) per square inch of tank surface area. 5 being lowlight and 40 being on the higher end. And make sure the color temperature of the bulbs is about 6500K.

It doesn't matter what kind of bulbs or fixtures you use as long as they fill the above parameters. You can hold 200 candles above the tank or run 4 blow torches. As long as they provide 5-40 lumens p/sq/inch of surface area and burn at 6500 Kelvin you're all set. In Europe all bulbs sold must list the amount of lumens they provide, and in America all bulbs list color temperature (Kelvins) but not necessarily lumens. If you check online all the major companies (GE, Sylvania) etc will list the lumens for bulbs they sell in America. 

Comment by Don on January 21, 2013 at 8:54pm

You're too good to me... thank you for your time!

Comment by John Goff on January 22, 2013 at 6:09pm

I have a 29 gal that i just posted a pic of.  I'm running a dual HO T5 setup, one 6500k bulb and the other is just a plain Aqueon Colormax bulb which is higher on the blue and red spectrum.  My plants are booming, with not alot of algae issues at all.

Comment by Don on January 22, 2013 at 6:17pm

Sweet. How long have you had it running? How many hours a day? Do you use CO2?

Comment by John Goff on January 22, 2013 at 7:43pm

Its been up about two months so far.  I run my lights anywhere from 8-12 hours a day.  I don't bother with timers too much.  I just use liquid ferts and eco-complete.  No CO2, its low tech.

Comment by Don on January 22, 2013 at 8:06pm

Awesome... thanks John!

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