Light Fixture Question

[00youknowit00]

Okay so for christmas I'm asking for a t5ho fixture. I'm liking the fishneedit fixtures. I have a 20H with diy co2, want to grow anything, looking for pretty high light. I dose flourish comprehensive, next question. They have a 2 and 4 bulb fixture, would the 4 be crazy overkill?

Thanks!

 

[bruinsbro1997]

Not sure, but I think two would leave you pretty well set. IDK if four is overkill. It all depends on your bulbs and fixture you choose.

 

[00youknowit00]

Well it has 2 switches, and bulb wise:

With any combination.

2 Bulb:
I can chose actinic, 10,000k, or 20,000k.

4 Bulb:
I can chose actinic, 10,000k, or 20,000k.

 

[00youknowit00]

I'm really liking the thought of 4 bulb, cause I could do 2 or 3, 10,000k or 20,000k, and the rest actinic. and I could keep the right photoperiod, while still getting to keep the light on more since it had two switches. (part of my ” problem” now of that I want under light on more than a I can)

 

[abrahamavelar]

Actinic doesnt really help the plants out that much but it will help algae

 

[richpowell1989]

I'm really liking the thought of 4 bulb, cause I could do 2 or 3, 10,000k or 20,000k, and the rest actinic. and I could keep the right photoperiod, while still getting to keep the light on more since it had two switches. (part of my ” problem” now of that I want under light on more than a I can)

The lights ain't good for plants

 

[blert]

Actinic doesnt really help the plants out that much but it will help algae

Hinder or progress?

 

[00youknowit00]

The lights ain't good for plants

Could you be a little more specific?

 

[Aspencer]

I can't figure out how to post the chart but for a 24 inch tall tank with the fixture on the top of the tank...two T5HO is considered high so any more would be too high..IMO

 

[Ryan1986]

I run 4 t5ho but I have to have alot of co2 and ferts to keep the algae away. I just recently got another timer to set my bulbs to be on 2 for 3 hours then 4 for 2 and 2 again for the last 3 hours. 2 bulbs is way easier to maintain mines just kind of overkill to get a lot of growth quick but that's turned into a lot of work to with it on my 20g high

 

[Ryan1986]

3 6700k and 1 10k if that helps too

 

[abrahamavelar]

Hinder or progress?

Progress

 

[mfdrookie516]

Actinics don't do anything for algae that they don't do for plants. They don't do much, but they do provide some usable light. 4x t5ho would be entirely too much light over a 20 high. 2x will most likely require co2 and will let you grow any plants you want. Factory bulbs in almost every fixture except some of the really high end (high cost) names suck. That said, the FNI 6500k bulbs seem to be better than their 10,000k bulbs for plant growth. I'd definitely suggest replacing them with geisemans though.

 

[jetajockey]

I agree.

 

[JesseMessykinn]

I'd definitely suggest replacing them with geisemans though.

Know a good Site to order em from? I Just got my T5HO 2Bulb Fixture 3 Days ago, The Bulbs in it are 24W 6500k, Im not in a Rushs to really Change em but for the Future?

 

[00youknowit00]

Actinics don't do anything for algae that they don't do for plants. They don't do much, but they do provide some usable light. 4x t5ho would be entirely too much light over a 20 high. 2x will most likely require co2 and will let you grow any plants you want. Factory bulbs in almost every fixture except some of the really high end (high cost) names suck. That said, the FNI 6500k bulbs seem to be better than their 10,000k bulbs for plant growth. I'd definitely suggest replacing them with geisemans though.

I definitely think the 4 would be wayyy too much. But I was thinking more along the lines of being able to turn the actinics on whenever the plant bulbs weren't on and I was wanting the lights on, am I making any since? Would that work? Or am I just being optimistic?

 

[mfdrookie516]

I wouldn't. Just get a blue LED light strip and put on it. I've got one on one of my tanks, just secured with double sided tape. It would cost you about $10 bucks or so. A 4x fixture over a 20g tank would require removing it anytime you needed in... where the 2x fixture wouldn't.

 

[00youknowit00]

I wouldn't. Just get a blue LED light strip and put on it. I've got one on one of my tanks, just secured with double sided tape. It would cost you about $10 bucks or so. A 4x fixture over a 20g tank would require removing it anytime you needed in... where the 2x fixture wouldn't.

Okay, cool. Where did you get your led's at?

 

[aqua_chem]

It has been stated, in this as well as other plantkeeping forums, that cyanobacteria can make use of the higher energy wavelengths of light emitted from actinic bulbs. This has been corroborated by other people that I know. A quick literature browse suggested this is because while plants use two to three different wavelength zones for photosynthesis, some algae only depend predominately on the blue range light. So while actinics benefit plants and algae, it dispropotionately benefits these algae.


Interestingly, a diatom species was included in the study, which should provoke interesting thoughts.....



Also, though it's been already said, it warrants repeating. Get Giesemann, never look back. I liked my shopping experience with aquacave.

 

[mfdrookie516]

Hmm. Is cyano considered an algae though? I thought that BGA and Cyano weren't technically algae... perhaps that was an incorrect assumption. Either way, I've never seen anything saying that actinic benefited any fw algae more than any fw plants (sw, I suppose, could be different)... but if that's the case, I stand corrected. I do think that with proper care, cyano shouldn't be an issue any more than BBA, HA, BGA, etc... right?