# Light overhang?



## joshd (Oct 16, 2009)

So I have found a pretty good deal on a Nova Extreme 36" T5 fixture. But my 29G tank is 30" long. Would it be ridiculous to have the light overhang the tank by 3" per side? I would probably hang the light from above about 3 inches off the tank. Does anyone see anything seriously wrong with this? Am I being silly? My aquarium budget generally is jack-didilly squat, so getting a decent fixture for $80 new sounds pretty attractive. The fixture is 78W. The real crux of it is that they have a 30" for the same price but it only has 48W. I figure even if I assume that 20% (6" of 36"), the tank should still be getting 62W. 

I am looking for some opinions on the matter. So what are your thoughts.

Thanks


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## NatalieT (Mar 20, 2007)

The bulb is usually shorter than the fixture length, so putting a longer fixture over your tank could help avoid darker spots at the ends of the tank.

If you're planning to suspend it over the tank, I personally think it will look fine as long as you get it centered (i.e. don't have it overhang 5 inches on one end and 1 on the other end.) If you were going to sit it directly on top of the tank I think it would look strange to have a fixture longer than the tank is.

If I were you, I'd buy the longer one.


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## S-KGray (Nov 29, 2008)

The 30" Nova Extreme fixture uses the same bulbs (2x24w) that are in the 24" fixture. This might result in darker areas at the ends of the tank as NatalieT mentions if you put the fixture directly on the tank, but if you are suspending the fixture above the tank there won't be any dark areas. So if 2x24w T5HO bulbs produce enough light for the plants you want to grow then you might be able to save money by getting the 24" Nova Extreme fixture and suspending it above your tank. If you will still save more money by getting the 36" Nova Extreme and don't mind having more light spill over into the room then it should be fine. The light for growing plants won't change depending on the wattage (which increases with length) of the bulbs, what matters is the number of bulbs and the distance from the substrate and/or plants. Which is why lowering/raising the fixture can determine whether you have low/med/high light.


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