[Amazonfish]

I just received a coralife 36watt fixture (1.4 wpg T5NO) for my 25 gallon tank. Will this work without CO2? I don't want an algae factory! I will be dosing excel though.

Also, how many hours per day should I keep the lights on?

 

[Hoppy]

What are the dimensions of the tank? Most people keep their lights on about 8 hours, I think. That was what I settled on when I had a regular planted tank, but I'm using 10 hours for my ripariums now.

Watts per gallon doesn't mean anything, especially for T5 and PC bulbs.

 

[JennaH]

it depends on how high above the tank it will be, and how deep your tank is

 

[Amazonfish]

The tank is 32x12x16" tall, and the fixture just sits right on top of the tank. The fixture is about 14 or 15" away from the substrate.

I know that wpg doesn't mean anything, but I put it there in case anyone was interested

 

[Amazonfish]

bump, does anyone know if the tank will be ok with this lighting but without CO2?

 

[lauraleellbp]

You may be OK with Excel, but it's a lot of light. Incorporate lots of stems and possibly some floaters and you can probably make it work. I'd start off with 6-8 hrs/day and adjust from there.

I'm running the same fixture over my own 29gal and having algae issues now, but I also have all slow-growing plants.

 

[Amazonfish]

Ok, that's good to know. I'm definitely going to include stems. I have a tiger lotus that sends leaves all the way to the top, so I that should help shade the tank a bit. I've had duckweed in the past, and it was nothing but headaches! If I can find a less annoying floating plant, I might try it.

I was doing 9 hours/day of light before, so I'll lower it to 8 and hope for the best. I've got stems arriving tomorrow (or Thursday), so it'll be nice 'n planted soon.

Thanks so much for your input. Nothing is better than a word of experience

Oh! one more question for you since you have this fixture. As it turns out, my tank is really 32" long (I had NO idea!) and it's rimless. Of course the light has those metal extensions that help the light sit on the tank, but they seem flimsy. I'm afraid that those metal pieces will bend and the light will fall into the tank. What do you think about that?

 

[lauraleellbp]

If you've got the 30" fixture I think you'll be OK with those legs. I've run them topless on my tanks for long periods of time. Just 1" spread on each end isn't that much- but if it were much more you may have issues with the metal starting to bend. You could probably DIY something pretty easily if you needed to, though- just find some stiffer rods the right size to slide into the grooves that hold the legs.

 

[anastasisariel]

Do you have the 30" Coralife Freshwater dual 18 Watt NOT5 fixture?

 

[Amazonfish]

Yep, it's the 30" T5NO fixture. I actually measured the fixture, and it's really 28.5". Interesting...My tank isn't exactly 32", so there's about 1.5" on each side of the fixture. I actually taped the metal pieces to the tank with packaging tape. It sounds terrible, but you can't even see it. I was hoping to find a way to lift the lights a little, just by an inch or two. Any ideas? I'll post a pic later.

 

[anastasisariel]

Mine came with a 6700 bulb and a silly purple bulb. I replaced the purple bulb with a 10000k and I definitely need c02. I'm not sure what your second bulb is but hey, c02 is always a good thing. If I were you I'd give diy c02 a try.

 

[Amazonfish]

Yep, mine also has the "colormax" bulb. is that a bad thing? I'm definitely thinking of DIY CO2. If I use DIY CO2, will it make a big difference for plant growth, or not really?

 

[lauraleellbp]

You could put a block of some sort fastened to the rim of the tank and put the fixture up on those (duct tape! )

Or you could suspend it...

 

[Amazonfish]

What I envisioned is resting one rod on the top of each side of the tank (parallel to the R + L sides of the tank) and then resting the fixture on that. Though, I would definitely have to somehow fasten the rods to the tank and the lights to the rods.

Right now, the fixture is so low on the tank that it's actually below the rim of the tank (because of the placement of those metal extensions). By using the rod method, I'd be able to lift the fixture by a little more than an inch, and that's exactly what I want. I just don't know how to do it yet :icon_conf

It's probably best to post something in the DIY section. I might do that later tonight. As for the colormax bulb, I'd like to leave it there if it's alright for plant growth. I like the color it gives.

 

[lauraleellbp]

Pink/purple bulbs tend to be good for bringing out reds and blues, I keep them in all my fixtures.

 

[JennaH]

it will def be alot of light, but u may be ok considering the depth of the tank- some floaters would help, and a short photoperiod