Sunlight Supply Tek 4x54W T5HO Question

[Gafi]

Anyone familiar with the Sunlight Supply Tek 4x54W T5HO fixture seen here http://www.jlaquatics.com/product/sl...+4x54W%29.html

Any idea what kind of lighting this would provide for a 90 gallon tank (48x18x24)?

[jcgd]

Too much light. You can use the two outside bulbs all the time for good intensity and spread, and leave the middle two off or use them as a short burst in the middle of the day. Good fixtures with good reflectors. Only Gieseman fixtures really best Tek fixtures. Teks are worth the money IMO.

[Gafi]

so you think too much light? I'm trying to find a good fixture that will get me to the high end medium and high light

[jcgd]

That'll get you med-high and high light. I'd say get it, but resist the urge to use all four bulbs unless it's just for the burst.

[Gafi]

the other part of me kinda sees a waste if not using all 4 you know? I would love a 2 light fixture that would give the same output, but I have yet to come across anything you can get for a decent price in Canada

[Jeff5614]

Originally Posted by Gafi

the other part of me kinda sees a waste if not using all 4 you know? I would love a 2 light fixture that would give the same output, but I have yet to come across anything you can get for a decent price in Canada

Tek makes a 2x54 fixture also.

[Gafi]

I have yet to see this in Canada

[Complexity]

I have that fixture on my both 75g and my 90g tanks. I absolutely love it. But I do love having these tanks with high light.

Both tanks are currently running 12 hour photoperiods. The 90g tank has a burst (using all 4 bulbs) of 5 hours during the day. The 75g tank currently has a 1 hour burst, but I'll be increasing that soon. I used to run the 75g with a 7 hour burst with excellent results.

If you're going to use that much lighting, be prepared to use high amounts of pressurized CO2 and dose EI ferts. Also understand that you cannot start the tank out with that much lighting. It's something you work up to. I start the tanks only on 2 bulbs to get through the first couple of months which is when the tanks are more prone to algae. And I do get algae. I just fight it back. At some point, the tanks change; they become more mature, and then they are less prone to algae. If you get to this point successfully, you can now begin to increase the light. Increase the burst 1-2 hours a day every week or two, watching the plants and tank very carefully. As long as the tank has indeed matured and you have it stuffed full of fast growing light loving plants, then you can do this successfully. Just be sure it's really what you want.

Another advantage to running a 4x54w TEK fixture, even if you only run 2 bulbs at a time, is you can split which bank of bulbs are running each day. So when I ran my fixtures on my tanks without the bursts, I would run 6 hours on one bank of bulbs and then switch to run 6 hours on the other bank of bulbs. That way my lights lasted longer than if I ran all 12 hours on the same bulbs (although, I suppose I could swap out the bulbs to achieve the same thing). I also thought it helped to guard against problems with shading. If one bank of bulbs caused a shadow in one area, that shadow moved when burning the other bank of bulbs. That way no single area was shaded the entire day.

[Gafi]

Originally Posted by Complexity

I have that fixture on my both 75g and my 90g tanks. I absolutely love it. But I do love having these tanks with high light.

Both tanks are currently running 12 hour photoperiods. The 90g tank has a burst (using all 4 bulbs) of 5 hours during the day. The 75g tank currently has a 1 hour burst, but I'll be increasing that soon. I used to run the 75g with a 7 hour burst with excellent results.

If you're going to use that much lighting, be prepared to use high amounts of pressurized CO2 and dose EI ferts. Also understand that you cannot start the tank out with that much lighting. It's something you work up to. I start the tanks only on 2 bulbs to get through the first couple of months which is when the tanks are more prone to algae. And I do get algae. I just fight it back. At some point, the tanks change; they become more mature, and then they are less prone to algae. If you get to this point successfully, you can now begin to increase the light. Increase the burst 1-2 hours a day every week or two, watching the plants and tank very carefully. As long as the tank has indeed matured and you have it stuffed full of fast growing light loving plants, then you can do this successfully. Just be sure it's really what you want.

Another advantage to running a 4x54w TEK fixture, even if you only run 2 bulbs at a time, is you can split which bank of bulbs are running each day. So when I ran my fixtures on my tanks without the bursts, I would run 6 hours on one bank of bulbs and then switch to run 6 hours on the other bank of bulbs. That way my lights lasted longer than if I ran all 12 hours on the same bulbs (although, I suppose I could swap out the bulbs to achieve the same thing). I also thought it helped to guard against problems with shading. If one bank of bulbs caused a shadow in one area, that shadow moved when burning the other bank of bulbs. That way no single area was shaded the entire day.

Well I do have a GLA Regulator and a 20lb CO2 tank coming my way haha So perhaps this is an option for me...the fixture is priced relatively well in Canada, minus the bulbs of course

[Complexity]

Sounds like a nice start for a CO2 system. Did you get dry ferts while you were at it? You'll need them.

[Gafi]

Originally Posted by Complexity

Sounds like a nice start for a CO2 system. Did you get dry ferts while you were at it? You'll need them.

Yep got them from AquariumFertilizer.com....I EI dosed and CO2 injected my 36 gallon bowfront before I had to move and tear it down, although it was a paintball method, not as good as the GLA regulator

[Complexity]

Sounds like you're good to go. You have all the elements in place to handle the lighting: high levels of CO2, EI ferts, and lots of plant mass.

Just make sure you start up with a lot of fast growing stems to get you through the first few months of the algae phase of being a new tank, and then you'll be home free. Keep the lights lower during this period. After your tank matures (and you'll know when that happens), you can slowly start increasing your lighting if you want.

[antbug]

Originally Posted by Gafi

the other part of me kinda sees a waste if not using all 4 you know? I would love a 2 light fixture that would give the same output, but I have yet to come across anything you can get for a decent price in Canada

I thought the same way and only got a 2 bulb fixture. It was all I needed, but then I wanted more.... I just picked up the 6 bulb Tek for my 48x18x18. It's always nice to have options. Get the 4.

[Sethjohnson30]

I have one on my 72g I run two bulbs 9 hours a day with lots of ferts and co2 its a great light. But make sure the fans are on 24/7 or they will go out faster from being turned on and off everyday


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[Complexity]

Originally Posted by Sethjohnson30

But make sure the fans are on 24/7 or they will go out faster from being turned on and off everyday

Fans? Are we talking about the same fixture? TEK T5HO fixtures do not have fans. Further, I've ran one of my fixtures for 5 years and another one for 3.5 years inside of canopies without any kind of fans. Neither fixture has gone out and I finally replaced the (still working) old bulbs just a month or two ago.

Maybe different bulbs have more problems? I've only used Giesemann bulbs on my TEKs.