Aquascaping and T5 lighting

[Philter1]

I am putting together a 210 FOWLR (just a small amount of LR in the display) and my aquascaping idea is to have caulerpa (asst'd varieties) or sea grasses growing on the bottom of the tank. Would T5's have the punch required to get to the bottom of this tank and support good, solid growth?

I am not convinced NO's would work given the depth of the tank. If they will by all means let me know!

The LR will only be like 50 lbs or so piled up on one end. Enough for an eel or other shy fish to hide if need be.

Thanks!

[OneDummHikk]

The only dimensions I could find on a 210 was 96x24x24. If that is right, then yes T5's will reach the bottom of it. Depending on what bulb, reflectors and how many bulbs will also effect the growth rate.

[chrischris]

caulerpa and other macro algaes dont need that much light so i think you could do it with 5 no t5 bulbs with or without reflectors with reflectors willgive you enough light to keep most corals

[Philter1]

sorry, should have posted dim's. The tank is 72x24x29.

What "K" of bulb will yield good growth and coloration for the fish?

[Loverotties]

The right bulbs and amount will do!

[crvz]

If you're just looking to grow macro algae, bulbs in the 6000K would be good, but for a little better looks I'd probably move towards a 10000K bulb. A couple T5s should be plenty for your situation.

[YLChik]

FWIW I ran 4 T5s 2 10,000 and 2 12,000 on my seahorse tank and had a hard time keeping it alive becuase it was too much light. The leafy calpura was the only macro I could ge to stay alive .

I agree that I would start with the reflectors off and see how that goes.

[Wiskey]

If it were me I would probably go with a 4 bulb fixture and run 2 of the bulbs atinic, 2 of them 10K or so,.. This will give great color in your fish, plus by the time the light got 24+ inches down it would be plenty for the algaes, but not enough to kill them.

HTH,
Whiskey

[Philter1]

Thank you all for the feedback! T5's for bulbs, no reflector and mix the spectrum a bit by including actinic's.

A shopping I will go a shopping I will go!!! hehe

now for the TRT sponsor list, where did that thing go?!?

[crvz]

i've gotten a bunch of my lighting stuff from reefgeek.com. I'd recommend them.

[mcliffy2]

I would make sure to get individual reflectors for your T5s, as this increases light output by up to 300% for T5s. If you are going with 4 bulbs. I would do ATI Blue Plus or Geissman Actinic Plus instead of actinic...they output usable PAR, but have the blue pop of actinics. Add in some GE daylight bulbs for growth. 1 should be fine, with 3 blue plus. you could try doing 2 and 2 also and see how you like the look.

[Philter1]

okay, i hope this was the right thing to do....

I went with 2-80w T5's (60"). Both were the Geisman's, 1 actinic plus the other the powerchrome midday. Each has a reflector, but I can use them or not use them. I know this is only 2 bulbs, will this be sufficient or do I still need 2 more?

thanks!

[OneDummHikk]

That is sufficient on a planted tank. If you decide you want more, you can always add more.