# 65 vs 130 watts on a 29 gallon



## tendril (May 27, 2004)

I am slowly piecing together the components for my tank and am at the point where i want to order lighting. I am trying to choose between the 65w and 130w coralife fixtures. Right now I am leaning towards the 2x65w fixture. Would 130W of lighting be too much on a 29 gallon tank? What if I run the second bulb on a 3 hour noon burst? I will have CO2 and ferts. I was planning on going DIY at first and transitioning to pressurized when I had saved up a bit, but would I need pressurized right away if I had 130W?


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## blazeyreef (Mar 17, 2008)

deffinetly the 130! I have 65 on my 29 and im not so happy with it, I feel like its not enough. But yes, Co2 and ferts would be a must!


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## Homer_Simpson (May 10, 2007)

Yeah with the 130 watts you will definitely have to keep on top of ferts using Tom Barr's Estimative Index, 50% weekly water changes, ensuring stable(at least 30 ppm) c02 levels and ensuring a densely planted tank with some floating plants right off the bat. One slip up and your tank will crash big time. Been there done that!

If I were in your shoes, I would consider the 65 watts and go the low tech route. Life will be much easier, trust me.

If you go the DIY c02 to prepare for a transition to high tech, you will likely need to set up two 2 litre bottles and will have to likely replace one weekly to keep your c02 levels stable. Otherwise with 130 watts light over that baby, you are going to get slapped big time with algae and end up spending months to clean up the mess and revive your tank.

Good luck


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## macclellan (Dec 22, 2006)

You would definitely want pressurized with 130w on a 29g. I have a 96w AHS CF on my 30L, and if there is any hickup with co2, algae is guaranteed. 

Are you sold on the coralife? The reflectors are crap - I never liked mine. You'll save money in the long run (more lumens/watt hour) by getting a more expensive, but better designed 65w CF or a 4x24w T-5 fixture. I wouldn't be surprised if an 65w AHS put out nearly the same amount of light as a 130w coralife. Take a look at Catalina Aquarium, they are one of the few manufacturers that makes a 30" T5 fixture. http://www.catalinaaquarium.com/product_info.php?cPath=71_136&products_id=1414
Just my personal opinion.


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## tendril (May 27, 2004)

Thank you for all the responses folks. I do have access to a catalina t5 hood for about $50 more than the coralife. I would be buying this off ebay, so I'm somewhat concerned about warranty. I also don't pay for my electricity (it's included in the rent) and don't anticipate paying for a good while. Is it still worth it to get the catalina hood over the coralife?


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## customdrumfinishes (Apr 4, 2008)

i bought the current 2x65watt fixture on ebay for 90.00 shipped, comes with legs and moonlight. 1 65w 6700k bulb and 1 acintic 50/50 bulb. i sold the acintic bulb. im only using the 1 bulb anyway since i have all low light plants. works great and can always go high light later when i have a co2 tank.
current sells them on ebay as refurbished units. they look brand new and come with a warranty. several people on here have bought them and there nice!


they sell almost all there fixtures refurd on ebay heres the 30" 

http://cgi.ebay.com/30-Dual-Satelli...ryZ46314QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem


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## [email protected] (Jul 17, 2008)

In my opinion, as a Power Compact devotee with a lot of PC fixtures, go with a four tube T5 fixture that has multiple power cords. Ideally four cords, which I'm don't believe is commercially available. You could DIY yourself one. That's what I'd do if I had it to do over. The simplest reason is lamp availability and cost of the lamps (tubes). Good T5 tubes cost less than good PC tubes. The reason for multiple cords is you can adjust the lighting to suit the plants and water chemistry. 

Another consideration is tank length. There are not as many solutions for 30 inch tanks as there are for 48s.


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## monkeyruler90 (Apr 13, 2008)

definitely get the 130 w.
i have the current 2x65 as well and i love it. the seperate cords allow me to adjust the noon burst. also it comes with a built in moon light. its awesome, i get to see my fish at night and it gives it an awesome look. 

def the 130 fixture


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## macclellan (Dec 22, 2006)

[email protected] said:


> In my opinion, as a Power Compact devotee with a lot of PC fixtures, go with a four tube T5 fixture that has multiple power cords. Ideally four cords, which I'm don't believe is commercially available. You could DIY yourself one. That's what I'd do if I had it to do over. The simplest reason is lamp availability and cost of the lamps (tubes). Good T5 tubes cost less than good PC tubes. The reason for multiple cords is you can adjust the lighting to suit the plants and water chemistry.


That would require 4 ballasts, which would be quite expensive. 2 banks of 2 lights is a better option.


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## Riiz (Apr 30, 2008)

I vote for 4x bulb T5HO. With decent reflectors and Giesemann's middays, you could probably get by with running 1 pair most of the day and all for a noon burst.


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## Left C (Nov 15, 2003)

Current's 30" 2x65w Orbit fixture is better than their Satellite fixture. The Orbit has a wider reflector.
Orbit: http://current-usa.com/orbit.html
Satellite: http://current-usa.com/satellite.html


Should you decide that you would like a 30" 4x24w T5HO fixture; Current's Sundial is another choice. It has one power cord, but it has two timers that each one controls two sets of bulbs. It can be mounted in a canopy too. You could replace the actinic bulbs with Giesemann's Midday and/or Aquaflora T5HO bulbs.
http://current-usa.com/sundial_t5ho
http://www.bigalsonline.com/StoreCa...24w_10k460?&query=sundial&queryType=0&offset=

Giesemann bulbs:
http://www.horticulturesource.com/i...age/1?osCsid=f35f309e87111e1f423d16b829b49c2a
http://www.aquariumspecialty.com/ca...9_130&osCsid=0bef46ef1e4e85067cf25bb8f72bca35


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## Riiz (Apr 30, 2008)

Another good source of Giesemann's. http://www.reefgeek.com/lighting/T5_Fluorescent/Bulbs/

For Socal peeps, since you can pick them up directly.


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## Left C (Nov 15, 2003)

ReefGeek.com doesn't have the Aquaflora bulbs listed though.


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## stuckintexas (Oct 3, 2008)

They will list them soon. I would give them a call and see, maybe they will hook you up with a discount if you reserve some with them instead of buying today with someone else. just a though.


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## tendril (May 27, 2004)

It looks like this thread has taken a life of its own. 

I would love something like the sundial t5ho but our options in Canada are limited. I noticed today that all the canadian mail order companies have bumped up the price of the coralife 2x65w by about $25 which makes the Catalina fixture more competitive in terms of price, so I think I'm going to pick up a 30" t5 solar off ebay. Thanks everyone!


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## smoq (Feb 19, 2008)

I bought a 2x65w coralife and I am thinking if turning the second light for 2-3 hours a day on a 29g will be OK with DYI CO2 that I can never get to more than 20ppm? I don't want to run 130w all the time cause I know that algae will destroy my sanity over time...


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## Hoppy (Dec 24, 2005)

It will probably be better to run one light one day and the other the next day, alternating each day. With only DIY CO2 I wouldn't try to use both bulbs at all.


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## Down_Shift (Sep 20, 2008)

I have a 65w coralife on my 18g and I kinda regret it as I read more and more about T5!


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## smoq (Feb 19, 2008)

Why? What is the problem with PC?


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## bsmith (Jan 8, 2007)

Nothing is "wrong" with pc's. t-5's are just the newer system. They are cheaper to run and the bulbs also cost less. I have also heard that you can have a deeper tank with them because the light penetrates deeper in the tank. they run cooler aswell so fans arent usually necesary..

I have never had t-5's these are things I have read. I have been using pc's for a few years and have been happy with their performance. That being said my next fixture will more then likely be t-5 just because they are "new".



marcinsmok said:


> Why? What is the problem with PC?


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## smoq (Feb 19, 2008)

I didn't know that t5 are newer than pc lights. I have a vho fluorescent and they run hot. I hope it won't be a big factor in the 29g. The problem with it is that 48 is too big for me and there are not much other options to light a 29g tank except PC's (I am talking about 2-3WPG here)


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