How much light?

[Welshy]

Hi I have a juwel corner unit uk gal 42 not sure on American conversion sorry running stock 28wx2 one a 9000k and the second 4100k both of these are going to be replaced the 9000k one is well past a change and the other well that's useless for plant growth according to the reading I've been doing, hopefully replace this for something between 6500-10000k. My question is would an Arcadia t5 24w single starter pack bolted on next to the 2 stock lights be enough to grow a wider variety or would I need the twin Arcadia 24w, 24w is the highest I can go because of the size of the tank I can't see how I could fit any larger sized tubes under the hood. So to reiterate would 80w be enough (I know the wpg rule isn't great) or would I need 104w for 42 gal any help would be greatly appreciated

 

[Nick862]

I just added the x2 24w arcadia controller as u described to my fluval 190( corner tank like yours 180L) I can't fit any thing bigger than 60cm long so I crammed two 24w alongside my existing t5 built in unit. I just fixed them with the fixings they provided to the hood, it's a pain in the ars when it comes to lifting the hood up but it beats paying £170 for a 4x 39w hang over unit, witch means throwing away the manufactured light and hood. U defiantly notice the difference, although i only have 98w u may want to try a 250w halide,

 

[Welshy]

Cheers for the reply where did you get your extra lights from? Just been speaking to a guy on iquatics online and he recommends 150-200w on that tank and considering 60cm is all I can fit under the hood that means 4x24 plus the two standard 2x28 to get to 150 odd can't see it fitting in at all, did you attach the extras to the rear flap?

 

[Nick862]

Hey. I got my extra lights from a small shop in bishop stortford Essex, £40... Iv seen the same on eBay for the same price with free p+p. I'm using basic manufacture bulbs from my original built in light fixture( normal white bulbs) I'm going to upgrade when my wallet let's me so I'm using 2 Marian blues and 2 basic White bulbs, not great but wil do for a few weeks, and yes I squeezed one on my front flap and one at the back( I think my hood is different to yours) but have a measure up,

I asked my LFS about halides and basically because I want the lighting fixture inside the hood it may cause alot of evaporation plus the cost of running one let alone two is alot more than t5 lighting, your hood may be bigger than mine as u have 2 28w( are they longer tubes than a 24w?)

200w-150w would be nice but just not possible unless I use a halide light, and seeing as my original fixture broke and cost me £150 to replace, I'm not spending any more on lighting until I upgrade to a bigger tank. I'm just choosing stock that will be happy under the power output I have,

If u can look at my other posts, I don't have many so u should find it( search for " Advice on my 46 gallon reef tank") mr x replied to my lighting problem and it might help u out.

 

[Welshy]

Cheers for the reply mate went up to my lfs Today and managed to get a twin t5 unit Arcadia 20w and 2 tubes plus 2 reflectors and a co2 drop checker for £50 which isn't too bad I have given up about trying to get around 150-200w under there I think I should be getting around 88w which I think should be enough to be honest now running 1x10000k 1x18000k 2x9000k which to be honest should cover me over for a while until I change the tank over. My tubes I think are around 24" stock juwel.