# 75g planted tank lighting help



## fishyface (Feb 7, 2005)

hey folks, few years back i had a 55g planted tank with about 5ish wpg from a coralife pc fixture. tank was fairly high maintenance and obviously had co2, ferts etc. since then i moved to a reef tank with halides but i'm now in the process of setting up a 75 gallon planted again.

my question is, i'm just not sure how t5ho compares with pc's or halides and looking for advice. i'd rather have enough light from the get go than have to add more lights later so is 6x 54w way over lit or what? just trying to decide between the 6 or 4 bulb arrangement.

any and all help appreciated...and even better if you have a link to your tank for example pictures of one or the other, that would be great!

cheers,
darryl


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## gravy9 (Aug 28, 2008)

I've been researching the same thing for the past 2 months for my 38 gal tank. Of all the articles that I've read so far, here is the summary of my understanding:

Metal Halide
Features: Extremely bright
CONs: Generates a lot of heat, Very expensive

T5HO
Features: Very Bright (less than Metal Halide), Great Price/Performance ratio, Does not generate much heat
CONs: Not very compact

Power Compact
Features: Not as bright as T5HO, Compact sizes
CONs: Generates more heat

Based on my research, I'm leaning towards buying a T5HO fixture for my tank. Either the Hagen GLO or the Nova Extreme Freshwater.

Also, curious to see if other have any different opinions or findings.

regards,
Ravi


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## fishyface (Feb 7, 2005)

thanks Ravi, i'm looking more along the lines of whether i should go for a 4 or 6 t5 bulb arrangement on this tank. is 6 x 54w an insane amount of light and what are other peoples experiences? i'm sure 4 x 54w will work but like i mentioned earlier...i'd rather purchase enough light to start with than have to add more later.


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## niko (Jan 28, 2004)

Depends on the kind of bulbs you get. 4x54 watt Giesemann Midday bulbs with individual reflector for each bulb wil be very high light for a 75. 6 of these and you could fry eggs over your substrate.

Any other T5HO bulb will be less effective. But if you decide to use T5HO you will see that Halides have only 2 good things:

1. Can be placed high above the tank without considerable light spill
2. Make cool shimmer underwater

--Nikolay


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## fishyface (Feb 7, 2005)

Thanks for the info Nikolay. Is there anyone else who want's to add their experience? I was looking at the tek or sunblaze systems from sunlight supply, not sure what one yet...

thanks,
darryl


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## peteski312 (Feb 15, 2008)

I went with the 6 lamp 324 watt for my 90 gallon and i only use the other 2 for a burst. I feel like the 6 lamp was over kill on my tank and have had too move the lamp up and up from the surface many times. Go for the 4 lamp. Tek light always has my vote.


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## fishyface (Feb 7, 2005)

right on peteski312, thanks for the confirmation!


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## dogdoc (Feb 3, 2006)

I have a 4x54w TEK for my 75 gal and it is pleeeennntttyyy. In fact, I'm only using two lamps. 4x54w with good reflectors like the TEK is a lot.


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## fishyface (Feb 7, 2005)

another confirmation! so has anyone run a 75g on 6x54 t5HO?


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## Engold (Nov 4, 2006)

> another confirmation! so has anyone run a 75g on 6x54 t5HO?


Are u planning to use high light demanding plants...6 lamp t5 ho is a lot for a 75 gallon tank.

I currently use 6 lamp set up by Tek Light for my 120 gallon tank. Works for me.

The fixture you are palnning to use, does it allow you to turn on some of the lights for dawn & dusk affect? 2 Backlit ON/OFF switches power cords for better lighting control. One switch controls the outer tubes while the second switch controls the inner tubes. The 2 outer lamps I leave on for 12 hrs and I run the remaining lamps on for 7 hrs.

http://www.specialty-lights.com/teklightaqua.html

Later!


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## fishyface (Feb 7, 2005)

i just haven't used t5's before and trying to figure out what people are using that's all.


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## freydo (Jan 7, 2006)

fishyface said:


> another confirmation! so has anyone run a 75g on 6x54 t5HO?


i run 6 x 39W T5 Giesemann Midday bulbs on my 65 gallon and love it. however my setup is DIY, but i do use individual reflectors for my lamps, and i get a LOT of light. of course i only had all 6 on for an hour or so for a burst. i went with T5's over MH's because of practicality and cost of replacement bulbs, as well, heat was an issue for me also.


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