60 gallon tank with this light what can I grow?

[DarkAsylum]

w/ 48" 216 W T5 HO Light Fixture 2x 54W T5 High Output Daylight 12000K
2x 54W T5 High Output Antic Blue

4x Dual Bluemoon LED


A friend of mines knows the guy at our LFS on a somewhat personal level and it turns out that he can get a light with those numbers for about $70-80 he has one himself and likes it I believe that he said it's by hagen or something like that anyway will this light be strong enough to grow corraline algae and some other plant life?

[luther1200]

What kind of light, does it have individual reflectors? What are the dimensions of the tank?

[three90s&125sump]

You can grow lots of stuff with that given optimum water parameters. I would even say a few kinds of SPS twards the top.


I'm sure tony will come on here and give you his shpeel about relectors.

[DarkAsylum]

Originally Posted by luther1200

What kind of light, does it have individual reflectors? What are the dimensions of the tank?

I just called my buddy and he said that the box says individually contoured reflectors, and my tank is a standard off the shelf 60 gallon tank nothing special. Im not really going for a reef just yet simply a pretty FOWLR.

[fihsboy]

Yeah, you can hold a lot of stuff with that. Your not going to be able to hold the searious searious acros.....or maybe you will? Depends on the nutrient levels. And what your coral likes.

[Fat Tony]

Originally Posted by three90s&125sump

You can grow lots of stuff with that given optimum water parameters. I would even say a few kinds of SPS twards the top.


I'm sure tony will come on here and give you his shpeel about relectors.

LOL.. thanks alot there Dr J... and since you mentioned it.. yes I will.

The reflectors are what makes the efficiency of the T5's what they are. Just because they may have individual reflectors does not necessarily make it a good fixture. The cost of a good fixture has alot to do with the research and design of the reflectors. With that said.. I grew a bunch of SPS in my 75 with 4x54w T5HO with reflectors I robbed out of an industrial fixture. Granted they didn't grow quick, but it grew and it certainly wasn't optimal conditions...

[fihsboy]

I was thinking about it.....even if the bulbs arent all that hot, you should still be okay. The redsea max has that setup.....and its 65 gallons. I was told that there bulbs arent T5HO bulb but just a redesigned special PC bulb. Which makes it where you have to buy there bulbs. BUT thats another story. But I would think you could hold just about whatever you wanted. Just not get outstanding growth rates.

[DarkAsylum]

Ok and yea for the price I kinda figured that I wouldnt get a great growth rate but I would like to atleast get some corraline algae or something, atleast that way I can say that my lighting serves another purpose outside of just looking pretty at night.

[DarkAsylum]

Ok thanks I didnt expect to recieve the best results for such a cheap price especially after reading about how much they can go for, anyway I just want to grow maybe some corraline algae and hopefully a few plants also while speaking of plants idk if im 100% right but I swear to you sometimes that my LR grows this little bush like plant and it stays out for awhile but then at night time it's GONE poof vanished..... this morning I checked and took a long hard mental note of it's location and now tonight once again it's MIA... is that possible?

[fihsboy]

Corraline algae will grow under an array of lighting. Different kinds like different lighting. In my last tank, I had pc bulbs......and the corraline grew like weeds. My refugium was the same way. I had four T5bulbs from homedepot, not T5HO. They were some crappy spectrum, but they did the job and my walls in the refuge were almost completly encrusted.

[DarkAsylum]

Originally Posted by fihsboy

Corraline algae will grow under an array of lighting. Different kinds like different lighting. In my last tank, I had pc bulbs......and the corraline grew like weeds. My refugium was the same way. I had four T5bulbs from homedepot, not T5HO. They were some crappy spectrum, but they did the job and my walls in the refuge were almost completly encrusted.

hopefully this is the case when I first got my LR it had more but apparently some must have died and turned white thatw as before I got this light yesterday so now hopefully everything will be on the up and up.

[fihsboy]

Just keep your calcium and alk up and your nitrates down, and it will come right back.

[DarkAsylum]

Originally Posted by fihsboy

Just keep your calcium and alk up and your nitrates down, and it will come right back.

Ok well it looks like i need to buy some other test kits lol.

[three90s&125sump]

Don't worry about nitrates... If your up on your water changes they will not mater. What you need to watch even more so than Ca and KH is your PO4. Water changes will keep your Ca and KH up enough to sustain calcification as long as your PO4 is 0 (zero). PO4 will prevent calcification even if you have elevated levels of Ca and KH.

The problem is you can't get a viable measure of PO4.

[fihsboy]

Jason, you think you should test for phosphates? Ive always been told if you have phosphate you have algae. Ive never measured it just for that reason. Maybe I ought to buy a test kit.