[U2Kent]

I'm getting my 60p Friday hopefully and am wondering what I should set the timers for on my 2x24w T5HO to start off with.

The fixture is from Catalina and I have individual switches for each bulb if I decide I want to run just the plant grow for a while for some reason.

The tank is going to be in our living room which gets a decent amount of natural light during the day in summer, and I work 9-5 Monday-Friday so I'm wanting to run the light in the evening mostly.

Would it work alright to run the light for a shorter photo period from ~5pm-10pm after the tank had gotten some diffused day light earlier in the day? I'd have moonlights on then probably from 10-1am or so.

Should this work alright or am I setting myself up for trouble?

 

[2in10]

I run mine for 8 hours from noon to 8PM. My tank gets a little light from a north facing window. I think an 8 hour light period should be fine unless the sunlight hits the tank directly.

 

[U2Kent]

I run mine for 8 hours from noon to 8PM. My tank gets a little light from a north facing window. I think an 8 hour light period should be fine unless the sunlight hits the tank directly.

no, it's definitely indirect, I was just more wondering if the T5HO's sitting on the tank would be too intense to run for a full 8 hours. Eventually I want to hang them a little higher I think but initially at least I'm going to set them on the tank (with feet so a few inches above) and see how it does to start off.

 

[Hoppy]

You will have very high light with 2 x 24 watt T5HO, even though the Catalina reflectors are not quite as good as the best ones. If you want to run just one bulb at a time, with the light about 6 inches above the top of the tank, that would give you around 40-50 micromols of PAR, which should work very well.

 

[U2Kent]

You will have very high light with 2 x 24 watt T5HO, even though the Catalina reflectors are not quite as good as the best ones. If you want to run just one bulb at a time, with the light about 6 inches above the top of the tank, that would give you around 40-50 micromols of PAR, which should work very well.

which bulb should I run then, the plant grow and not the 6500k? they're on different switches but not different cables so I can't set them on their own timers.

How high would I need to lift the light to be able to run them both w/out too much issue? Can't I just shorten the time they're on to make up for it? I guess what is the risk of having them both on, just bad algae growth?

 

[HolyAngel]

probably a good 12", that 60p is on the short side. The risks are increased nutrient/co2 need and usage which if you dont manage it, will quickly lead to algea on everything. I only run 1 t5ho with pressurized co2 sitting 6" above my 18" tall 29 gallon for instance.