t5ho lighting for a 20g long

[smooth_cannibal]

planning on rescaping my10g planted up to a 20g long in the next couple months. probably going t5ho since i like how well it lights up my 55g. open to really any lighting setup but i do have to stick with a glass lid. i have 2 cats and they get curious and they love fish water. would like to know of an led setup that keeps me in the medium range but that over a 30 inch tank will be pretty expensive.

with it being 13 inches deep i am curious to know if a single 24w t5ho with reflector will keep me in the medium light range at least. will be sitting on a glass top or at least hanging a little off the glass. maybe an inch or so.

i would like to know what lighting would put me in the high range requiring co2 as i am considering it with this tank but probably just diy.

 

[FishCr8zy]

On a 20g tall, I have two finnex ray2's. They are great LED light fixtures and two have put me in very high light. My dh grows a few inches everyday. Just one will put you in low high light.

 

[Brian_Nano12g]

Don't know much about t5ho, but the idea of having to replace bulbs annually puts be off to them. It would even cost you more since you already have one t5ho fixture to replace bulbs in on your 55g.

My suggestion is to check out LED fixtures. Two Finnex Planted+ fixtures or one BuildMyLED.com (BML) fixture would get you in the high light range. The initial investment might discourage you when you compare startup costs versus t5ho, but you'll make that up by not having to buy bulbs coupled with reduced energy consumption.

DIY CO2 might not be enough for high light tanks. I suggest going pressurized. But if budget is holding you back, you can go the DIY route but I'd supplement a liquid carbon as well (i.e. excel or glut).

 

[smooth_cannibal]

I can spend 10 bucks on a bulb once a year. i'm curious if one bulb is probably okay for medium light over a 20g

 

[smooth_cannibal]

the leds do interest me and will be on a lookout for some decent ones at a good price. thanks for the info on the leds definitely.