lighting 29 gal fr planted

[lanceuppercut]

Does anyone know of a relatively inexpensive T5 HO lighting for a 29 gal planted tank? The stock light just isn't cutting it, even for plants that are supposed to have very low light requirements

thanks!

 

[mfdrookie516]

fishneedit.com has cheap T5HO fixtures, but they only come in 24, 36, and 48" fixtures

 

[lanceuppercut]

would a 24 in be sufficient?
the tank is 30 in long
Also, am I correct in looking for 10000k bulbs for plants?

 

[meegosh]

I don't think fishneedit is shipping anymore. Read somewhere that their lights are all out of stock. Just a FYI.

 

[lanceuppercut]

yeah, it doesn't look like they are actually selling anything right now.

Any other suggestions?

 

[meegosh]

Not sure about 30" inch lights but you would probably want to get 6700k bulbs if you are going planted.

 

[heemskn]

cheap 30" light

Lance,

I also have a 29 gallon which is 30" long and I have been eyeing this light for a while:

30" T5 HO Aquarium Light Freshwater Plant 96W 4x 6700K - eBay (item 110523735020 end time May-23-10 10:16:15 PDT)

It seems almost too good to be true, but it is one of the few lights of that length and the price is right. Can anybody on this forum comment on the quality?

 

[meegosh]

Can't even see a brand on the listing anywhere. Does seem a bit too good to be true but you never know.

 

[mfdrookie516]

looks like it has a 14 day warranty. personally, i would not get it. i would stick with the good brands like current usa, coralife, etc...

 

[delfino]

I have 29 and i bought my ho t5 light from big al's online for like 70 bucks and it's great.check big al's out!

 

[heemskn]

I am cheap and I could not find anything reasoably in 30" at bigal's so I ordered the no-brand light from TopDog on ebay. I will let you know how it works out.

 

[lanceuppercut]

Wow! Good call on the Big Als! That was exactly what i was looking for

 

[Ilikefishes]

Go to Petco, Coralife T5 HO 30 inch, and buy two 6700k bulbs, your looking at about $180.00. I run this on my tank and my plants are insane.

 

[JustOneMore20]

Nova Extreme T5HO fixtures are reasonably priced. They have a 30" model but it has 24" bulbs. I have a 30" and a 36" over 29g and the 36" hangs off on each side about an inch or so, but it doesn't look bad and I don't lose a lot of light. I wish I had bought 2 36" fixtures.

Drs Foster and Smith sells them. They have the 36" for $79.99 on sale and you could use the bulbs that come with it.

 

[davels]

I am cheap and I could not find anything reasoably in 30" at bigal's so I ordered the no-brand light from TopDog on ebay. I will let you know how it works out.

heemskn... did you get the light yet? How is it? It looks great for the price, and that seller has very good ratings.

 

[heemskn]

cheap 30" light from ebay - topdog

I got this light: 30" T5 HO Aquarium Light Freshwater Plant 96W 4x 6700K from "topdogsellers" on ebay . (30" T5 HO Aquarium Light Freshwater Plant 96W 4x 6700K - eBay (item 110523735020 end time May-23-10 10:16:15 PDT))
This is my first "real" light (if you forget the ubiquitous all-glass strip lights on my 10g's and a T8 shop light over my 55g), so take my review with a grain of salt.

I received the light within 5 or 6 days, and it was well packed in a box that appears to come from China. No manual, so no entertaining chinzenglish instructions.

The body of the light is extruded aluminum and feels sturdy. Splash guard is very thin transparent plastic and can slide out freely. Reflector is plastic with some shiny metal coating. Plenty shiny now, but I am not sure how it will hold up. The reflector shape is not very sophisticated; flat behind the bulbs with beveled sides and one bevel in the middle. The bulbs are held by metal clips. The armature is 29" wide, but the bulbs are only 21" long, leaving quite a bit on the side without direct light. I slid the bulbs over to the left and right to get better coverage, and may move some of the clips to be able to move them even further. There are two blue led night lights. 3 switches and 3 separate power cords (nigh light and 2 light bulbs each) feel and look solid. The armature has two small and very quiet fans at the corners of the section that contains the ballast. The fans seem to only come on when both main light sections are on. You can feel air coming out, but can hear nothing! Mounting brackets seemed a bit flimsy and bulky out of the box, but work OK now that they are installed on the aquarium. The bulbs say Odysea T5 24W 6700K daylight. I guess that provides a clue as to the brand of the light...

I have not set up the 29 gallon yet, so I can't tell you how they work in practice.

 

[davels]

Thank you for the informative write up. Very helpful!

 

[lanceuppercut]

Well, i got the coralife 30 in light in the mail, from big als, it was only $60 shipped. It's way brighter than the stock lighting, and came with a 10000K and 6700K bulb. I got some new plants to celebrate, we'll see how it goes

 

[davels]

I think the Coralife 30 is a more reliable choice. Solid. Likely very dependable. A little less expesive too!

I'm just thinking at some point I'm gonna want the extra power and flexibility of the Odyssea (ebay)... and I think I'll pay a little more to get it... and deal with the potential reliablity issues it may have. Because if it works, it's a huge bargain. And even if I need to "fix/upgrade" it at some point... I'm handy, and it will still be a good bargain (to me).

And heck, lets face it... it looks wicked sweet! And has moonlight LEDs!!!