8 x t5 h.o 12" deep tank

[phyto4life]

I have a tank that is 24" x 24" x 12"H

decided to go with these:

http://www.progressivereef.com/proddetail.php?prod=CUSANOVA2X


I would like to buy only 3 but if 4 will be more beneficial I'll definitely go that route.

should I go for 6 or 8 t5's?

Thanks

[BlueTang<3]

why don't u buy a sunlight supply fixture they come in 4,6,8 bulb fixtures and are very reasonable

[phyto4life]

would love to buy a 24" 6-8 x t5 h.o just can't find one with a splash gaurd

I bought the white sunlight before and the reflector would rust within months

do you know if they sell the black tech light's in 24" with 6-8 bulbs?

with buying them seperate I know I'll be spending $400 for the canopy then switching the light's for another $200

so If I can find a $600-$650 canopy with 6-6 t5.h.o that includes geismen or ati bulb's that will do?

[trilinearmipmap]

IMO the front to back spread would be an issue on a 24" x 24" tank. I would think 4 T5's would be more than enough if they were evenly spaced apart front to back. Maybe look at the fixture in a store and see how the light spread works over a 12" depth. Eight bulbs in my view would be definitely too much. Retrofit would be the best route to go if possible, you can decide how far apart the bulbs are placed to get proper front to back coverage.

[phyto4life]

thanks i just wanted to get a lot of people opinion's


I originally was going to get a 150 watt mh with 4 t5 h.o then I was thinking of going with a 250 watt with 4 t5 h.o then 8 t5 h.o

so I settled with 6 which if it's too much I'll just raise it a bit

but at the same time I am torn a bit because I see peoples large tanks that have 10 t5 h.o that have paly's the size of a loony almost

maybe its because they have a huge fish population along with light??

any sweet spot secrets for a zoa/paly only tank 29G/15G sump?

going on my 7th year of having a reef tank and I am still confused now lol

just don't want to go with too much light and have the opposite effect.

[phyto4life]

these are my candy apple reds under 4 x t5 h.o at 18"

http://i458.photobucket.com/albums/qq303/clintos08/ZOOS%20AND%20PALYS/Picture254.jpg

do they look fine? and do u think adding 2 extra t.5 h.o would improve them?

[chris88]

Look at the aquaticlife 6 bulb t5ho. Comes with a splash gaurd, legs, built in timers, and leds.

[phyto4life]

I can't find anything in the 24" 6 bulb besides ati and I think icecap maybe.

any others with splash guard and good reflectors?

legs aren't that important but would be nice

[Ron99]

Make your own splash shield for the the sunlight supply fixture. I did it with a sheet of acrylic and some computer motherboard stand offs and it worked really well.

[phyto4life]

how did you do it?

what thickness of acrylic will work for 6 t5's 24"?

don't want it to bend in the middle over time

Thanks

[Ron99]

I don't have the lights anymore to check but I believe I used 1/8 inch acrylic on my 4 foot 8 bulb unit. I also used 4 stand offs per side (8 total), not just at the corners, so it was supported in the middle too. The stand offs are threaded for screws at both ends. I took out the bulbs and reflector, drilled small holes in the metal housing and used screws to attach the stand offs to edge of the unit. Then I put the acrylic on the stand offs and marked where holes should go, drilled the acrylic carefully and then used small screws to attach the acrylic to the stand offs.

[phyto4life]

Does the acrylic slide between the bottom of the stand off and head of the bottom screw?


thanks for the tip