# 4 vs 6 bulbs for a 40 breeder?



## TAB (Feb 7, 2009)

Which do you prefer? i am leaning towards the 6, not just for power factor, but becuase i can adjust the ammount of light. Break it down to 3 sets of 2. That way i can only have full power for a few hours, but still have veiwable light for the rest of the day. that way its something diffrent then just all on or all off. what are your thoughts?


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## Kerry (Sep 5, 2013)

I'm using a 4 lamp T5HO fixture that allows me to use one or both 2 lamp fixtures. I also have a timer on my fixture and I am currently running 2 lamps on for 4 hours, overlap with all 4 lamps for 3 hours midday, and finish with 2 lamps until shutoff. I also like the flexiblilty of being able to vary the time and intensity to fit my plants needs. Your 6 lamp setup could allow you even more options I think, although on a 40g breeder all 6 at one time could be a lot of light. Guess it depends on what you are doing with the tank!


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## Yo-han (Oct 15, 2010)

I think 4 is more than enough to grow anything you like. Off course, depending on how high you raise them, the bulbs etc. 6 will be hard to control, but give you more flexibility. Be sure you can switch them per 2. Or even better, make them dimmable (you won't regret it!).


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## niko (Jan 28, 2004)

For what it's worth here's my experience with a 40 breeder: I used 96 Watt Compact Fluorescent bulb for only 1-4 hours a day. The rest 23 hours where complete darkness. The plants never had any issues. The CO2 must be running at least a little bit.

From what I've seen sunlight hitting any tank for even 20-30 minutes does miracles. That could be said as "strong light" for a "short time" that does miracles". But more that 4 bulbs (especialy if they are T5HO with reflectors) are more than enough "strong light". That kind of tank is short and that makes a HUGE difference in how the light penetrates the water.

With 6 bulbs you may find that you use all 6 for only 1 hour a day and only if you fertilize like mad and so on. Do 6 bulbs make sense then?


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## TAB (Feb 7, 2009)

i would like to use a mh but i don't want to run 2 and one is not enough.


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## AaronT (Apr 26, 2004)

Definitely 4 bulbs. 6 is way overkill.


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## TAB (Feb 7, 2009)

i like over kill when it comes to light, i had a 400 watt mh over a 10 gallon,  i thought about 2 x70 watt mh and 2 t5, but the cost is thru the roof.($1000+) i can't justfiy that for a cheap 40b i got at the $ per gallon sale. now if it was some custom high end system( which would be 36x24x20 something ) I would. This is just something i am doing for some fun and testing diffrent things. not sure really how i want to go, or even if i really want to scape it or just have it ben grow out/ breeding set up.


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## JeffyFunk (Apr 6, 2006)

Lesson I learned the hard way... Try to determine how the lights are controlled beforehand. I bought a TEK 6 bulb T5HO fixture and found out afterwards that it's wired so one switch controls the 2 outer lights, the other switch the 4 inner lights. (I thought it would be configured so each switch controlled 3 bulbs in an alternating fashion...). 

Also, i have a 24" TEK 4 bulb T5HO fixture where one switch controls the two outer bulbs and the other switch controls the two inner bulbs. However, my 36" and 48" TEK 4 bulb T5HO fixtures, one switch controls 2 bulbs alternating and the other switch controls the other 2 bulbs alternating... Why they are configured differently is beyond me...


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## BruceF (Aug 5, 2011)

Well what bulbs would you use?


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## Tugg (Jul 28, 2013)

TAB said:


> i like over kill when it comes to light, i had a 400 watt mh over a 10 gallon, ...


How high over the tank was the light? 10ft?

More isn't better. I have WAY too much PAR for my tank, almost all of my stems grow at a 30-45 degree angle from the substrate instead of going up to the surface. Plants are supprisingly smart. If they have more then enough at their current hight, they decide to sprawl out and take more surface area, even if it's over your DHG (E. parvula). Instead of tall pretty stems, you get an overhang of white roots, and starving carpet plants.

The only reason I haven't ditched the light is because I plant to upgrade the tank soon.


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## TAB (Feb 7, 2009)

about 10" it was a sps reef. had growth like and evaporation like mad lol


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