T5 Lighting Query

[IainMac85]

hi eveyone im pretty new to the forum (1st post lol) been on the forum for a week or so reading the wealth of knowlegde and many interesting posts here, and i must say this is a great website!! the site was recommmended by one of my mates and im glad he told me, ive been on a few other fish forums and this one seems by far the best in terms of the range & diversity of posts, the friendly replies and the activity of the forum (very quick responses)....

anyways ive got a wee question about t5 lighting,
ive been on the internet and various different websites/forums trying to find out what T5 lighting will be suitable for my 36" breeder tank, (tank dimensions: 36" long, 18" Deep & 15" tall) i was thinking of using a twin unit with probably 30" tubes (unsure about the wattage etc), will this be sufficient? the tank wont be heavily planted just the odd plant, probably able to spend up to £60-£70 for a starter/ ballast

 

[DrRob]

IMHO you'd probably be fine with a single T5 if you're not really planning on much by way of plants. Naturally depending on the type of plant you're going for. If you keep it simple to hygrophilias, anubias and mosses etc you'd certainly be fine with 1 tube. With 2 you risk a lot of algae.

 

[IainMac85]

thanks very much for the speedy reply!! yeah was going to keep it fairly simple plant wise, so a single 30" one will suffice? i just wasnt too sure as the tank has a fairly large footprint,what kind of power output is the norm for 30" tubes? around 45watts?

 

[Zikofski]

thanks very much for the speedy reply!! yeah was going to keep it fairly simple plant wise, so a single 30" one will suffice? i just wasnt too sure as the tank has a fairly large footprint,what kind of power output is the norm for 30" tubes? around 45watts?

hello,

some one will correct me if I'm wrong please

but i have recently bought a Twin electronic controller 2x 54W

http/www.aquaessentials.co.uk/arcadia-ultraseal-double-t5-electronic-controller-54w-p-3431.html

this is for my tank 54" x 19" x 20" i was thinking of either 2x Tropical Plant lamp 48" they are rated 36w this will give me a medium setup for plants
hope this is helpful for you