# 4x54w t5 ho enough for a 120g?



## kyo7878 (Aug 3, 2006)

i want to setup a 120g planted tank (48L x 24W x 25H), just can't decide on how much light i should use.
i did a lot of searching on this forum and seems like 4x54w would be sufficient for a mid-low lighting range. 
i want to use t5 ho catalina lights, they have 48 inch BLACK SOLAR T5 HO - 4 X 54W for $275 & 48 inch BLACK SOLAR T5 HO - 6 X 54W on sale for $299 
would 6 x 54w give me a broader range of plant selection? or it doesn't really make all that much difference? or its an over kill? i dunno, cuz i read that on bigger tanks the wpg rule dont apply anymore..so i'm a bit confused
i'll be using mineralized substrate + pressurized co2 setup if that helps any.
i need an advice~please!


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

IMO 4x54 watts of T5HO with a Solar fixture is med to high light over a 120gal tank.

I run only 2x54 with the same fixture over my own 90gal and have to be careful not to leave the lights on too long (no CO2 in my tank).


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## kid creole (Dec 25, 2008)

lauraleellbp said:


> imo 4x54 watts of t5ho with a solar fixture is med to high light over a 120gal tank.
> 
> I run only 2x54 with the same fixture over my own 90gal and have to be careful not to leave the lights on too long (no co2 in my tank).


-

+1


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## JDowns (Mar 6, 2008)

lauraleellbp said:


> IMO 4x54 watts of T5HO with a Solar fixture is med to high light over a 120gal tank.
> 
> I run only 2x54 with the same fixture over my own 90gal and have to be careful not to leave the lights on too long (no CO2 in my tank).


+2

I run over a 60" x 24" x 24" max 240w of T5HO 16" off the waters surface, and have yet to find a plant that cannot grow under that lighting. Be careful when evaluating your light needs for so called "high, medium, low" light plants. With that fixture and *good / consistent *CO2 there shouldn't be a plant out there that you cannot grow.


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## kyo7878 (Aug 3, 2006)

thanks for the input guys~ that helped a lot


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## FSM (Jan 13, 2009)

The 4x54W fixture was on sale 2 or 3 weeks ago, for $180. Call them, you might be able to still get it at the sale price.


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## kyo7878 (Aug 3, 2006)

i just bought this set http://www.catalinaaquarium.com/pro...=1652&osCsid=e43b9f61b4343579dba2ddfe3531e821
i was gonna order this one http://www.catalinaaquarium.com/product_info.php?cPath=71_136&products_id=1423 but decided to save some money to use on the plants/fish instead.


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## plantbrain (Dec 15, 2003)

I use 4 x 54W on my 120 Gal. Grow pretty much anything I want.

Regards, 
Tom Barr


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## FSM (Jan 13, 2009)

The only problem with the one you got is the bulbs aren't spaced as far apart, and your tank is 2' wide. It should work fine though. What bulbs did you ask for?


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## kyo7878 (Aug 3, 2006)

oh? so the one that was on sale for 180 was the 2nd link?
i asked for 2 plant grow light n 2 6500k


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## kyo7878 (Aug 3, 2006)

just an update. i contacted CA via email (my phone only dial local...sry i'm cheap like that ^^) & guess what, they are giving me the 2nd hood for the price i ordered on the 1st link~ 
those guys are great, i'm sticking with them for life!
haha, i'm just very excited right now~
thank you all for the great inputs

-Andy


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## kali (May 8, 2009)

kyo7878 said:


> just an update. i contacted CA via email (my phone only dial local...sry i'm cheap like that ^^) & guess what, they are giving me the 2nd hood for the price i ordered on the 1st link~
> those guys are great, i'm sticking with them for life!
> haha, i'm just very excited right now~
> thank you all for the great inputs
> ...


 what did you told them? just curious.!


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## jinx© (Oct 17, 2007)

Cool to hear they let you have the newer model for the lower price. 

I put off buying one at the old sale price for too long it looks like. 
I knew the price would eventually jump up, especially after all the sales and interest from just this forum alone. I didn't expect it to jump as high as it has though. 
They may take a dent in sales with the new $275 price tag IMO.


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## kyo7878 (Aug 3, 2006)

i kindly asked if i could get any help from them because the one i ordered might not do well on a 2' wide tank & if its still possible to get the 2nd hood for the sale price they had few wks ago. then i got a reply on the next day saying they'll give me the light i requested for the price i paid, thats really nice of them to be able to do that.


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## FSM (Jan 13, 2009)

They have great customer service.


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## kyo7878 (Aug 3, 2006)

^^ amen to that!


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## 2ManyHobbies (Sep 18, 2007)

As a slight detour, would 4X80W T5HO on a 125 (72") tank be enough?


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## Hoppy (Dec 24, 2005)

2ManyHobbies said:


> As a slight detour, would 4X80W T5HO on a 125 (72") tank be enough?


Is that a 17 inch high tank, about 24 inches front to back? If so, you may need 4 tubes to get reasonably uniform light across all of the substrate, so yes, those are enough light. (If all 4 tubes are in one fixture, mounted close together, that won't give uniform intensity. They need to be spread out more.) But, they may give you high light intensity too, so using pressurized CO2, and using it very well, will be mandatory. If you want lower intensity you can raise the lights 6 inches or so and probably be better off.


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## 2ManyHobbies (Sep 18, 2007)

Hoppy said:


> Is that a 17 inch high tank, about 24 inches front to back? If so, you may need 4 tubes to get reasonably uniform light across all of the substrate, so yes, those are enough light. (If all 4 tubes are in one fixture, mounted close together, that won't give uniform intensity. They need to be spread out more.) But, they may give you high light intensity too, so using pressurized CO2, and using it very well, will be mandatory. If you want lower intensity you can raise the lights 6 inches or so and probably be better off.



Actually it is 18" front to back, and 22" deep. I am still thinking about staggering the bulbs, just having a hard time deciding between 4x80W and 6x80W. Still think 4x80W is enough for short and high light plants? (I will be transferring all of the CO2 and stuff that I am currently using now on my 55 gallon with 4x65W CFL)


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## Hoppy (Dec 24, 2005)

I think I would stick to a 4 bulb fixture for that tank. The 22 inch height will not prevent you from getting adequate light at the substrate to grow low growing plants. But, the 60 inch long tubes over a 72 inch long tank may mean the ends of the tank are a little short of light. If you suspend the fixture a few inches above the tank that would be less of a problem.

Having very good CO2 concentration and uniformity in the tank will be the more important thing to work on in order to grow good carpet plants, and that gets to be much more difficult with large, and long tanks like this. I suggest you visit http://www.barrreport.com/general-plant-topics/ and start a topic there on this subject to get some good advice by those who are using that size tanks, just in case they miss seeing it here.


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## JDowns (Mar 6, 2008)

IMO you'd be fine with the 4 bulb fixture, thats plenty of light. I would hang the light _*at least*_ 6-8" off the water surface, assuming we are also including individual reflectors. This will give you good spread of light, while also extending to the side edges better.


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## plantbrain (Dec 15, 2003)

My tank is 24x 24 x 48 L and there's plenty of light and that is at 12" above the tank's water's surface at that. You name the plant, it grows and grows well.
If not, then you have a nutrient/CO2 issue.

Depth is an issue, but not like many folks seem to enjoy claiming.......both experience and testing demonstrate this clearly and decisively. And have for several decades............

I'm curious why the light light disease(HLD) persist so prevalently and so many poo poo EI for excess nutrients, and do not apply the same testing and using "just enough" to lighting, cost more, causes far more issues etc etc.

Seems common sense to add more nutrients and more CO2 with more light.
If you want less or add "enough" for what you have, then scaling it up/down is rather logical.

Too much light, not enough CO2/nutrients = algae and poor growth
Too much CO2, moderate light= dead fish regardless of nutrients
Too much nutrients, good CO2, low light= you waste a little ferts.

Yeehaw.

Add a bit less if you use less light, pretty simple.

Certainly a lot more wiggle room in any routine using less light, not more.
Stop HLD:redface:

Regards, 
Tom Barr


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## 2ManyHobbies (Sep 18, 2007)

OK then, 4x80W T5 HO bulbs. 2 x 6000K Giesemann and 2x Aqua Flora Giesemann bulbs. Two Canister filters. DIY CO2 diffuser with pressurized CO2. Ecco complete substrate. How careful do I need to be about the CO2 diffusion? On my 55 gallon tank, I plumbed in the CO2 diffuser into the return line of the canister filter. Will this also work on the 125? On the 72” tanks is poor circulation a concern? Thoughts, comments? Anything in my proposal that may merit reconsideration? Thanks!


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## plantbrain (Dec 15, 2003)

2ManyHobbies said:


> OK then, 4x80W T5 HO bulbs. 2 x 6000K Giesemann and 2x Aqua Flora Giesemann bulbs. Two Canister filters. DIY CO2 diffuser with pressurized CO2. Ecco complete substrate. How careful do I need to be about the CO2 diffusion? On my 55 gallon tank, I plumbed in the CO2 diffuser into the return line of the canister filter. Will this also work on the 125? On the 72” tanks is poor circulation a concern? Thoughts, comments? Anything in my proposal that may merit reconsideration? Thanks!


Gas tank CO2, not DIY CO2 on such a large planted tank, that's the Achilles Heel there.

I'd go with a needle wheel perhaps say a Rio 600-100 range and snip the impellers so you have 15 instead of 5 stock blades(cut each 2x so there's 3 smaller blades, bend them so they are separated and drill a small hole to feed the CO2 into the suction side of the powerhead.)

Buy a CO2 gas tank. Buy a reg and needle valve solenoid combo or DIY one together off ebay etc or a vendor here etc.

Buy a good Gas tank CO2 before you bother anything with fancy light or higher light in every case.

Gas tank CO2 is better than sliced bread compared to DIY yeast.
Needle wheel kicks and it is very easy to add/DIY the modification.

If you look on line, you can get a good deal on a reg and then buy the solenoid/needle valve. Go high quality as it's the last time you'll ever buy such a piece of equipment. CO2 is even more critical than light, light it's just a matter of having enough which virtually anyone does if they have 1.5-2w/gal of T5's.


Regards, 
Tom Barr


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## 2ManyHobbies (Sep 18, 2007)

plantbrain said:


> Gas tank CO2, not DIY CO2 on such a large planted tank, that's the Achilles Heel there.
> 
> I'd go with a needle wheel perhaps say a Rio 600-100 range and snip the impellers so you have 15 instead of 5 stock blades(cut each 2x so there's 3 smaller blades, bend them so they are separated and drill a small hole to feed the CO2 into the suction side of the powerhead.)
> 
> ...


Thanks for the comment. I guess I misspoke. I run pressurized CO2 with a DIY CO2 diffuer- PVC pipe inline with the return line from the canister filter. I have a 10 lb tabk with good regulator and needle valves. Will this be enough or do I still need the Rio?


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## plantbrain (Dec 15, 2003)

2ManyHobbies said:


> Thanks for the comment. I guess I misspoke. I run pressurized CO2 with a DIY CO2 diffuer- PVC pipe inline with the return line from the canister filter. I have a 10 lb tabk with good regulator and needle valves. Will this be enough or do I still need the Rio?


I hoped that was the case
Well, you can go either way, you can try the needle wheel and rio for maybe the price of a rio 600.

the issue is filter cleaning and reduced flow rate.
Adding more circulation often helps many tanks, keeps things cleaner.
So that can help with the Rio addition alone. The flow rates of filters change as they clog.

Regards, 
Tom Barr


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## kyo7878 (Aug 3, 2006)

quick update: 
i got the light yesterday & they even threw in the dimmable moonlight unit when i only purchased for a basic moonlight strip~ what a surprise!
i don't have anything in the tank yet, just mounted the light n holy they are bright as hell.
i'll start setting up the tank after i'm back from a 2wk vacation, stay tuned for my journal~ XD


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## Benmightbehere (Jun 28, 2011)

kyo7878 said:


> just an update. i contacted CA via email (my phone only dial local...sry i'm cheap like that ^^) & guess what, they are giving me the 2nd hood for the price i ordered on the 1st link~
> those guys are great, i'm sticking with them for life!
> haha, i'm just very excited right now~
> thank you all for the great inputs
> ...


did you get killed on shipping? or am i being cheap, not wanting to pay 140 in shipping?


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## Aquachic (Apr 6, 2011)

plantbrain said:


> I use 4 x 54W on my 120 Gal. Grow pretty much anything I want.
> 
> Regards,
> Tom Barr


Mr. Barr. 
I was wondering, can you tell me the type of bulbs you're using? 6500? 10,000? I've been trying to get the right mix. I actually have a 120 and have the four bulbs in a Wavepoint lamp and have two extra since the tank is so wide [guess higher light then what you're using], but I'm trying to pick out the right types of bulbs. I'd love to know what you would put if you had six T5 HO bulbs you could place over the tank. What would you suggest? What would work best? I've got water sprite, Wisteria, crypts, and Octopus plants. I tried Cabomba, but it turns brown and falls apart [maybe too deep].


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## jeffkrol (Jun 5, 2013)

Aquachic said:


> Mr. Barr.
> I was wondering, can you tell me the type of bulbs you're using? 6500? 10,000? I've been trying to get the right mix. I actually have a 120 and have the four bulbs in a Wavepoint lamp and have two extra since the tank is so wide [guess higher light then what you're using], but I'm trying to pick out the right types of bulbs. I'd love to know what you would put if you had six T5 HO bulbs you could place over the tank. What would you suggest? What would work best? I've got water sprite, Wisteria, crypts, and Octopus plants. I tried Cabomba, but it turns brown and falls apart [maybe too deep].











Share Your Bulb Combo Thread


[QUOTE="Grobbins48, post: 11390361, member: 348418"]I'll need to look through my notes, but I feel like somewhere in this thread I must have posted a similar setup to what you mentioned.[QUOTE] Another fine example of the need for a "bookmark" option on the forum. Nearly every single time I get...




www.plantedtank.net


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## Darkblade48 (Jan 4, 2008)

Do note that this is a 11 year old thread!


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## jeffkrol (Jun 5, 2013)

Darkblade48 said:


> Do note that this is a 11 year old thread!


Yea I saw that too. Thought giving them a bunch of color combos was
ok....


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