Quick lighting question

Shogun206

Shogun206

AC Members
Apr 14, 2009
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Boston
i'm picking up a T5 fixture (Nova extreme HO):

https://www.thatpetplace.com/pet/prod/236412/product.web

today for a really good price (50 bucks) off someone. the problem is it has a 10k and a 460nm bulb in there and i want it for a freshwater tank, and i guess those bulbs are for saltwater/ reef tanks.

my questions are, will i be able to replace the bulbs with 6700k bulbs this weekend without damaging the fixture?

will this be sufficient for my tank (29gal, but i wanted the overhang for maybe another 4 or 6 gal in the future, or for when i upgrade my tank)?

and can i run the current bulbs for maybe a few weeks if needed before i get the new bulbs without hurting my plants/ fish.

thanks for any help guys :help:
 
Yes there are many common color temps available for that size fixture. Keep in mind you are using T5HO (high Output) as opposed to regular T5. The giveaway (besides the HO part) is the wattage (39W).

You may need to reduce the light cycle with that many watts over a 29g, if you have algae problems. Set a timer with two light periods and a dark gap during mid-day and shoot for only 6 hours or so of light. Use more plants if neccesary.

The light won't hurt your tank as such, the color may be more in the algae loving range, may produce a bloom is all I can think of. Esp if theres a lot of phosphate/nitrate hanging around just waiting for a light to show up :-) But you have plants already so hopefully it isn't too out of wack. Keep your scraper handy.
 
very cool, thanks much! i do have a nice forest going right now, so i'm not too concerned with the algae bloom. plus i have 3 pitbull plecos and a true SAE to help out as well. looking for a couple more SAE's because mine is getting FAT. he's a workhorse for sure.

the part of the timing cycles that you mentioned interests me, especially with the mid-day dark period. what do you (or anyone who knows) suggest i should set my days up for?
 
I run mine for 2x three hour sessions, morning and afternoon. Keeping it short to control algea, because I don't have CO2 and otherwise i'm a little overlit. I also like the tank lights to be on when people are around. The trick is finding the light cycle length that works for you, in hours per day then split it up however you want rightright.
 
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