extra lighting

Byron

Good point. I have glass in my hoods, maybe just luck, but the Aqueon hood on my 29g has a piece of glass and the 10g and 20g tanks have Perfecto hoods that I bought and they have glass that comes out. My larger tanks have glass covers and then dual-tube light fixtures.

scott36854

HELP!!!! I just got back from petco with a glass top and an aquasun T5 HO 30" light. The light fixture wont fit on the tank with the glass top. I really would like to get a full hood, but i am not sure if they have one that will fit the tank and run t5 lights? are there any full hoods for dual t5's? are t8's as good as t5's?

Sorry for all the questions, i am just about at wits end with this tank.

Byron

I would return it in exchange for a T8. Measure the tank length and ensure the fixture will fit across the tank to rest on the end frames. It shouldn't sit on the glass cover as that weight may cause it to collapse. I'm assuming the glass cover fits.

scott36854

yes, the glass top fits right. so you are saying that a single t8 will work fine?

Byron

A couple of us were suggesting this earlier in this thread, but to double check, what is the tank length end to end, and depth top to bottom?

scott36854

the tank is 30" long and 20" deep
the new lights that i put on are t5 HO. it is a double fixture. i have a 24w ultra sun (6500k) and a 24w flora sun (5000K).
are these both good for growing plants?
The bulbs are 22" long.

Byron

I'm getting confused. You were going to take the T5's back because they didn't fit--are they the T5 mentioned in this post? Or are these another new fixture?

scott36854

it is the same one. i just dont have the glass top on it. so far i havent had any jumpers.
please explain the pros and cons with the t5 double light fixture vs the single t8.

Byron

The T5 are presumably HO tubes (HO = high output), so this is a lot of light over this tank; algae is an issue, but it will be difficult to balance this much light with nutrients. I have a single T8 24-inch tube over my 29g which is 30 inches length by 18 inches height, and it is fine for low and moderate light plants. If it were me, I would exchange the T5 for a single T8 tube in a 30-inch fixture which would have a 24-inch tube.

And I would make sure the tank is covered; not only fish jumping, but water splashing on the hot tubes is bad, and water evaporation into the room too. And, there must be glass between the tubes/fixture and water, to avoid condensation rusting the fixture and electric shock to you.

Byron.

scott36854

thanks Byron. i do have a way of running the lights one at a time. there are 2 switches, and yes the bulbs are HO.
will the single t8 grow most any plant, or low to mid light only?
I have been reading and watching videos until i am tired. I wish i could hire a local to aquascape my tank. I didnt use any soil when i started, just plain ole gravel. i am thinking about starting over.