[jrs]

I am looking to upgrade my lighting on my 6' 100g tank (18" deep) pressurized CO2. It currently has (3) 24"x65W PC and a 6' NO strip light consisting of (2) 3' bulbs.

I will be picking up a 48" quad T5 HO in the next week. Will this be enough on its own OR should I keep the strip light on it as well OR should I keep the 3 PC's on it as well?

 

[epicfish]

How many watts are your NO fixtures?

The 4x54w T5HO is 216 watts, which if spread evenly over the tank, would give you good lighting levels. However, your 48" fixture will obviously leave dark areas in your tank. Your 3 24" fixtures are already 195 watts and with the NO fixture, should provide you with decent lighting. Why are you upgrading anyways?

 

[jrs]

The 3' NO's are probably like 30W. The total wattage sounds right when added together but the 3 pc's are in one strip at the back and the 6' strip is at the front. I am having a hard time with some of my solitary plants placed towards the front of the tank.

I was thinking of centering the 4' T5 and then running a pc (front to back) on each side. Does that make sense?

 

[epicfish]

------ NO ------
------ T5 ------
----- PCs ------

That setup might work. If there's no room, take the NOs out.

Are you talking about this? If so, it'd probably work pretty well actually.

| xxxxxxxxxxxxx |
| xxxxxxxxxxxxx |
P ---- T5 ---- P
C xxxxxxxxxxxx C
| xxxxxxxxxxxxx |

(Forgive the ugly ASCII drawing.)

 

[jrs]

The second one is exactly what I was thinking of. That way I can sell of my 6' NO to offset some of the costs of the T5. Good!!!!

 

[epicfish]

And since you have 3 PC fixtures, you can maybe put an extra one either at the front or back, depending on whether you want a foregroud carpet or a tall background.

| ---- PC ----- |
| xxxxxxxxxxxxx |
P ---- T5 ---- P
C xxxxxxxxxxxx C
| xxxxxxxxxxxxx |