T5HO with LED

[fish4phil]

I'm turning my 36G Freshwater into a planted tank (light to substrate distance = 24 inches), and just received this light to replace these existing led lights.

I was expecting to be "blown away" by how much brighter the T5HO were, but it wasn't anything drastic. Definitely brighter, and a different "hue", I like it much better absolutely.

But when they are both on, both the dual-bulb T5HO and my LEDs, the tank is BRIGHT.

Having both the T5HO with the LED at the same time, can this be done? Is it too bright? Too much light? Are there issues with this? Does this increase the PAR? Would I need more CO2/get more algae?

 

[Old Scales]

Hi Phil,
Many people run the T5HO and LED together. On a 36g BF the dual T5's give you medium light at the substrate as your tank is so tall. With the LED's on it also, you have high light. Note that with high light you will need a carbon supplement such as Glut or CO2 and a good balanced macro & micro fert regime. With high light the amount of time the lights stay on gets more critical also. Usually 6 to 8 hr photoperiods are all that's needed to avoid algae issues. High light plants need a higher intensity light to reach their particular photosynthesis point. A way to say it is they benefit more from a shorter, intense light than a longer. lower intensity. Hope this helps, OS.

 

[fish4phil]

Thanks for the reply, that makes a lot of sense. And has convinced me to run only the T5HO  I don’t necessarily want a high-tech high-maintenance high-ferts tank, and while I want plants, don’t want an overgrown aquascape requiring a lot of pruning etc.

 

[Old Scales]

There are some fantastic low/medium light planted tanks that rival any high tech tank. Here's a link to some layouts that have many low to medium light tanks that you can get inspired by. Go to Tropica.com and click on layouts. Good luck, OS.

 

[fish4phil]

There are some fantastic low/medium light planted tanks that rival any high tech tank. Here's a link to some layouts that have many low to medium light tanks that you can get inspired by. Go to Tropica.com and click on layouts. Good luck, OS.

Wow!! What a great resource. Thank you for taking time to share that link