# 90g with 4 or 6 t5s?



## holocron (May 29, 2005)

Hi there,

I've been reading around, and the recommendation seems to be 4x54w for a 90g tank. I just wanted to triple check before I buy a Tek fixture. Should I get a 6 blub fixture to be good and sure carpet plants will grow well?


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## goalcreas (Nov 20, 2006)

If you have a 48" x 18" tank for your 90 gallons, then you have an extra 3 inches of depth then my 75 gallon. I think that might be 24" high? I think mine is 21" high, if that is the case, I think the 216w light will be more then enough.

I have that light on my 75 gallon and it is more then enough light.
I actually only run 2 bulbs for the whole photoperiod and the other two for a 3 hour blast in the middle of it. I can grow anything I want.

It also depends on how experienced you are. If you have alot of experience, you can get away with the higher light and keep a nice tank that is not an algae far.
On the other hand, if you are very experienced, you can also do it with less light, many of the contest winners use lower light then many of the hobbyists in the USA. It has been said that us americans like to just GROW plants, but it is an ever changing tank that doesn't have a long window of perfection.

But if you are not all that experienced, this light will be good for you . It will allow you to go with 1/2 the light so you don't grow only algae and it will allow you to up the light when you need to push the plants a bit.

If money is not a problem, you can get the 6 light, it runs 2 x 4 so you could use 2 lights when you want and you can run 4 lights if you want and you can run all 6 lights if you want.
You don't NEED it IMHO, others will tell you different, but the 6 does give you more options, but at a steep price. the 4' x4 lamp is priced very well and you only need to buy 4 bulbs, the 6 is priced much higher for only 2 more bulbs and you have to buy 6 bulbs, so start up is MUCH higher.
HTH
but it is up to what you want in the end.


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## holocron (May 29, 2005)

wow, 2 bulbs on a 75 and you can grow whatever you want. So, I would assume that on a 90g tank, if I left the second set on for longer than 3 hours, I would be in good shape to grow just about anything.

how far above tank is your light? I am thinking of suspending the unit from the ceiling over an open top tank. The higher I go off the tank the more light I lose I would guess. How do you hang yours?

thanks for your post, very informative!!!

ps - do you have any pictures of your tank with the unit? I'd love to see it in action.


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## goalcreas (Nov 20, 2006)

I have taken the tank down for a future move, but I have some pics of it first set up and how I hung it.
I hang it about 6 to 8 inches above the water, no problems.

I don't think I would grow anything with just the two bulbs only, but most things.
Here are a couple of snaps.

I couldn't find the build photo's of how I hung the light, on a different computer and it is late, so I will post them tomorrow.










This was when it was first planted and that is with all 4 lights on.
TEK is really the BEST IMHO and the reflectors are so good they put sooooooo much light into the tank.


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## AaronT (Apr 26, 2004)

I agree with goalcreas that the 4 bulb fixture is more than sufficient to grow anything you want in a 90 gallon tank.


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