156 watts on 40 breeder

[BigBAWZ]

I just bought a 156 watt t5 light fixture for my 40 breeder i plan to medium to heavy plant it and am wondering if it will be too much for my tank. I do not plan on having CO2 unless i someone can recommend me a cheap setup. I just dont want my tank to be full of algae. Please reply soon. Thanks ahead of time.

 

[Tobykourtney]

I just bought a 156 watt t5 light fixture for my 40 breeder i plan to medium to heavy plant it and am wondering if it will be too much for my tank. I do not plan on having CO2 unless i someone can recommend me a cheap setup. I just dont want my tank to be full of algae. Please reply soon. Thanks ahead of time.

What fixture do you have? It will probably be very high lighting.did the person you bought it from use it for saltwater?

 

[BigBAWZ]

Thank you for replying so quickly. I bought yhe fixture off ebay. It comes with 4 39w t5 6700k bulbs. I just hope it isnt too much

 

[Tobykourtney]

Thank you for replying so quickly. I bought yhe fixture off ebay. It comes with 4 39w t5 6700k bulbs. I just hope it isnt too much

I'm gonna say it is. Can you control the bulbs independently? I you run 2 bulbs you might be okay assuming you don't have good reflectors.

 

[BigBAWZ]

I'm gonna say it is. Can you control the bulbs independently? I you run 2 bulbs you might be okay assuming you don't have good reflectors.

I might be able to im not too sure. Heres the link to the light
http://item.mobileweb.ebay.com/viewitem?itemId=160871683524
Tell me what you think. If i cant run just two or three bulbs how else can i stop algae from going crazy?

 

[Tobykourtney]

I might be able to im not too sure. Heres the link to the light
http://item.mobileweb.ebay.com/viewitem?itemId=160871683524
Tell me what you think. If i cant run just two or three bulbs how else can i stop algae from going crazy?

If you can't run 2 lights at a time. You could raise the fixture or put mesh in front of the light to reduce intensity.

 

[Ian086]

I might be able to im not too sure. Heres the link to the light
http://item.mobileweb.ebay.com/viewitem?itemId=160871683524
Tell me what you think. If i cant run just two or three bulbs how else can i stop algae from going crazy?

I had a similar question very recently and was advised that most, if not all 4 bulb T5 set-ups come with 2 switches. So you could just run 2 bulbs. Another option, if it only has one switch, is to remove 2 of the bulbs, then you have two spares!!!. The strength of the light/algae issue, new to T5's, so sorry i'm not able to help you on that....

 

[BigBAWZ]

I had a similar question very recently and was advised that most, if not all 4 bulb T5 set-ups come with 2 switches. So you could just run 2 bulbs. Another option, if it only has one switch, is to remove 2 of the bulbs, then you have two spares!!!. The strength of the light/algae issue, new to T5's, so sorry i'm not able to help you on that....

I do believe it only has one switch. So im hoping to be able to remove 2 bulbs and later on i have room for expansion.

 

[BigBAWZ]

If you can't run 2 lights at a time. You could raise the fixture or put mesh in front of the light to reduce intensity.

The light already sits pretty high off the water so i dont know how i would change that. But ill figure something out. Im hoping to just be able to take out 2 light bulbs. Im just going ti have to figure out which 2 are on the same ballast.

 

[Ian086]

Having the light higher up will be a benefit if it's too strong. Figuring out the two bulbs to remove, shouldn't be difficult....

 

[BigBAWZ]

Having the light higher up will be a benefit if it's too strong. Figuring out the two bulbs to remove, shouldn't be difficult....

Im not very familiar with lighing but if i take out the wrong bulbs wont it burn the ballast? How would you go about doing it?

 

[Ian086]

Im not very familiar with lighing but if i take out the wrong bulbs wont it burn the ballast? How would you go about doing it?

As I said, I'm no expert with T5's but I would imagine it would be ok. If that was the case about 'burning' out the ballast, then if one of the bulbs blew, would it burn out the ballast. I wouldn't imagine so. I'm sure someone else with more experience of T5, can give you a definite answer but I think it should be ok.
Back to the switches, what makes you think it only has 1 switch. The photo shown is not the exact fixture your getting, so I wouldn't go by that. Have you got a brand name for them, then you could google them and find out for sure.
My T5 unit is in the post, so I don't know exactly how to remove/replace the bulbs but surely it can't be too hard, right??
Brian_nano is a good man to ask about this. Please do get some more info off an 'expert' here before you do remove them but I really can't see it being an issue....

 

[Tobykourtney]

Im not very familiar with lighing but if i take out the wrong bulbs wont it burn the ballast? How would you go about doing it?

I would wait til you get the fixture and go from there. I would say your chances of it being able to run 2 bulbs at a time are good. If you can't you could use a hanging kit.

 

[BigBAWZ]

Thank both of you for replying to me to quickly. My light should be in Wednesday and the first thing im going to do is take out 2 bulbs and see if it runs. But if not ill probably ship it back. I should have some fun tomorrow. I bought 100 pounds of pool filter sand to swap out with my gravel i currently have. Once again thank you so much i appreciate it.

 

[Ian086]

Thank both of you for replying to me to quickly. My light should be in Wednesday and the first thing im going to do is take out 2 bulbs and see if it runs. But if not ill probably ship it back. I should have some fun tomorrow. I bought 100 pounds of pool filter sand to swap out with my gravel i currently have. Once again thank you so much i appreciate it.

You've a busy day ahead of you tomorrow...haha. I HATE cleaning sand, such a pain but well worth it. Make sure you wash it really really well and when filling the tank back up, put a bowl or a plate in there and pour the water onto that. Also some filter floss in your filter will have that water sparkling in a few hours.....

 

[BigBAWZ]

You've a busy day ahead of you tomorrow...haha. I HATE cleaning sand, such a pain but well worth it. Make sure you wash it really really well and when filling the tank back up, put a bowl or a plate in there and pour the water onto that. Also some filter floss in your filter will have that water sparkling in a few hours.....

Yeah i plan to start early because i figured it would take a while. My plan is to wash all the sand first in buckets, and then put my fish in an ice chest with a bubbler, then drain all the water in the tank. After that pretty much scoop all the gravel out and put the sand in. I have a fluval 306 canister filter and do run filter floss so i shouldn't have a problem. The only thing is i have to cut my intake tube on my filter about 2 inches so it doesn't suck up sand on the bottom. I should have some fun.

 

[Ian086]

I find washing small amounts at a time is much quicker. I have my intake about 2-3inches above the sand, no problems....Enjoy!!!!