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30 gallon light help!

1226 Views 6 Replies 5 Participants Last post by  Jerzeedevl
Hi, I was sold a 30 gallon tank. It has a single t8 bulb at 18 watts. This is not enough light.

Will this light work with my tanks hood? Dimension wise? I think 2 t5's @ 48 watts is enough light to grow my plants.

This is the odyssea dual t5 30'in

T5 Dual 30" 6500K 48W - Freshwater Plant version
Excellent for freshwater and planted setups. Or supplement lighting for your existing system.
Features:

  • Dimensions - 29.50” x 5.00” x 1.70”
  • Add brackets - 30.75” x 5.00” x 2.30”
  • Supports 2x 24W T5 HO fluorescent lamps
  • Standard T5 sockets
  • Extendable bracket - 34.00" max extend
  • 1x Power switch
  • 1x Power cord
  • Quick disconnect ballast
  • Non-corrosive powder coated aluminum housing
  • Acrylic splash guard
  • Reflector
  • CE Certified
  • 110V only

Listing includes:

  • 1x 30" T5 Dual fixture
  • 2x T5 24W 6500K lamp

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Quick glance looks like it is just big enough to fit on the outside of the 1/2" or so lip your hood has around the light hole. But..it would be jammed up pretty close to the back edge of the lid, there might be a problem opening it. Not to mention that you'll loose a lot of light due to blockage, even if it does sit on the top properly.

That's a good light though. I'd ditch the top and use the legs that comes with the fixture.
I have a 20 gallon long that is 30". I also had the black hood. When I put my T5 on over the hood, I lost alot of light. You will want to ditch the hood and use the legs that come with the light fixture. I got an all glass cover from my local Petco to cover the tank and it works perfect.
Thank you guys for the info. The glass versa-top thing with this light over it using it legs seems like my best bet.

On a side note... Why the heck does the big name pet places sell these T8, 18 watt "plant lights" when they can barely even grow algae. I got this tank real cheap because the person had swords in it that where slowly melting so he gave up. They trick ppl into wasting there money thinking this crap grows plants.
Are you buying that set up from a private seller or is it a package from some company? I'm not looking to snake your ebay ourchase or anything like that but my situation is very similar to yours and I'm looking for uograde options. I'm exploring a T5 set up (preferably HO, don't know of yours is) vs a Finnex Ray2.
I found the light system on ebay It's on sale right now 10% off the price and free shipping. There are more left. And I already paid for one it's already on it's way.

it was 45$ shipped and includes 2 bulbs :)
I have the 4x24 watt fixture from odyssea. Just as a tip...replace the bulbs as soon as you can. I noticed a huge growth difference after changing the bulbs to a reputable brand.
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