# 4X24W T5HO for 29Gal Overkill?



## hsteve (Jul 9, 2005)

I'm setting up a freebie 29G tank that a friend of mine discovered whilst cleaning the basement in his new house - shipping cardboard still attached

Eheim 2213 - running on my 10G now
Koralia Nano 425 for circulation - on it's way

Pressurized CO2, Ideal needle valve, Up! aqua Spiro diffuser - up and running

50+ lbs substrate
- 1 bag each E-C I'm moving from a 10G, A bag of Fourite, 2 bags of gravel to cap. Flourite Tabs,
so will be around 13-14" below lights at max, maybe 16" at lowest depth in the mid/foreground...

My goal is med-high light, lots of growth,

I enjoy the trimming/maintenance of this hobby, just looking to push my boundaries

I went ahead and purchased 2 24" Odyssea 2X 24W 6700K fixtures for 96W total.

I plan on using just one initially, to get a feel for the setup, but any suggestions, like screening or staggering the photoperiod would be appreciated...:hail:

Am I setting myself up for an algae war-of-the-worlds? I just feel that the mediocre reflectors would place the 2x24W out of my lighting goals...Reflectors are what PAR values are all about, aren't they?


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## hsteve (Jul 9, 2005)

No one?


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## fishyjoe24 (May 18, 2010)

yes. definely c02 with 4 bulbs. a good single bulb t5 ho with a good reflector would get you medium high- high light.


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## BennyJAM (May 16, 2012)

Hi hsteve,

I don't have a whole lot of experience at this point, so I can't say if having 2 fixtures is overkill. I have a similar set up though, so I'll share what I do know. I have a 29g with Aquaclear 70 HOB filter and 1 24" Odyssea 2X 24W 6500k fixture. I've had the Odyssea light since around May. I didn't really know what I was doing initially and had some bad algae. Now I have DIY C02 going and I dose ferts daily. I still have some algae on the glass but I'm starting to get the balance of light, CO2 and ferts down. I have the light resting on the stock brackets probably 2 inches above the water. I'm might try raising it another couple inches and see what happens. Anyways, I think you should start out with the one light and see how it goes. It seems to be enough for me. You'll be using presurized CO2 though, so you'll probably be able to crank out a lot more than my DIY setup. Maybe use the 2nd light as a mid-photo period burst. I'm curious to see what you go with. Might help me with my struggle.


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## hsteve (Jul 9, 2005)

BennyJAM said:


> Hi hsteve,
> 
> I don't have a whole lot of experience at this point, so I can't say if having 2 fixtures is overkill. I have a similar set up though, so I'll share what I do know. I have a 29g with Aquaclear 70 HOB filter and 1 24" Odyssea 2X 24W 6500k fixture. I've had the Odyssea light since around May. I didn't really know what I was doing initially and had some bad algae. Now I have DIY C02 going and I dose ferts daily. I still have some algae on the glass but I'm starting to get the balance of light, CO2 and ferts down. I have the light resting on the stock brackets probably 2 inches above the water. I'm might try raising it another couple inches and see what happens. Anyways, I think you should start out with the one light and see how it goes. It seems to be enough for me. You'll be using presurized CO2 though, so you'll probably be able to crank out a lot more than my DIY setup. Maybe use the 2nd light as a mid-photo period burst. I'm curious to see what you go with. Might help me with my struggle.


Thanks, Benny,

I'm taking what I have learned from my 10G and applying it to this tank.

I plan on starting w/ one fixture, and ramp up the CO2/ferts as the tank progresses. I just thought I'd "bank" my lighting for future developments.

My substrate, lighting and all the other goodies I've ordered should be here tomorrow and Thursday.:tea:

I plan on starting a journal the minute the stuff arrives, I'll keep you posted!


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## BennyJAM (May 16, 2012)

Thanks! Definitely interested in seeing how your tank progresses.


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## AaronT (Apr 26, 2004)

I would start with 2 bulbs.


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## hsteve (Jul 9, 2005)

AaronT said:


> I would start with 2 bulbs.


Exactly what I plan on doing, at 39.00/ fixture, i figured I'd get an extra if the reflectors turn out to be disappointing...

My box arrived from Drs. F&S today, Substrate, powerhead, & timer arrived today(ordered last Saturday, not bad)

my light should be here tomorrow, so I'll probably start the build over the weekend...

I'll start a journal, and all advice is not only appreciated, but _needed_ LOL...


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## blue thumb (Mar 30, 2010)

I don't think its overkill. With one your only limited to type of bulb. Two you can have two different bulbs. 
But 4 you can have 2 of each or 3 different bulbs. I ran 4 on my 20g currently have 8 now I run 3 different bulbs. I would say 8 is overkill but I like how my plants look and grow. I have the flexibility to run 1,2,3,4,5,6,7 or 8! in different combination


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## TarantulaGuy (Apr 15, 2009)

I've been running a Sundial T5HO 4x24W over my tank for a few years now. Never had any excessive algae problems other than those resulting from my negligence. I love the fixture, and I think the lighting I've got is ideal for just about any plant I want. The only plant I ever couldn't grow was Glosso, and I think that was probably due to my inexperience rather than a lighting issue. I'd say go for both fixtures. With that though, I probably wouldn't run all 4 all day. My fixture has 2 built in timers, so I have 2 bulbs on all day, and the other two kick on for a "noonday" burst of about 4 or 5 hours. I haven't tried to run them all day with all 4 on for a while, I could see some algae problems cropping up at that point. Good luck!


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