# too much light



## Niku (Feb 11, 2014)

So with finnex not releasing the new line of full spectrum LED's yet I'm back to tinkering with my custom light and I'm just wondering if I have to much light for my tank ... 

As it sits now I have a bank of 3 t5ho 48" 52watt on the front to do morning light with 2 pink bulbs and one 6500k then 4 65watt cf bulbs in the middle 50/50 10,000 and 6700 then another bank of 3 t5ho on the back to do sunset ... My planned light cycle is 2.5 hours of front group, 1 hour front mid, 1 hour full, 1 hour mid back, 2.5 hours back for an 8 hour light cycle ... But for that mid day hour there is 560 theoretical watts ... After getting over "more light is better thought process" I think I'm going to have a happier tank with either just a 6 bank of t5ho or a cf mid and one bulb each side of it 

I guess my question is t5 or cf ?


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## greenfin (Nov 4, 2013)

So you have 10 bulbs in total? How wide/deep is the tank? I have 4 t5HO on an 18" wide/deep tank. I think (when all 4 run) that's considered a high-light tank.


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## Niku (Feb 11, 2014)

Knew I forgot something -.- 

Tank is a 90 so 51 18 27 (not a standard 90 mind you


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## jbyoung00008 (May 16, 2011)

Tough question to answer for a few reasons. Here's my opinion. With that much light your plants are going to grow really fast. Which to some is a good thing, to others it becomes a lot of maintenance. Are you ready to trim often? Second thing. Having lots of light will cause the plants to grow fast so without Co2 you will notice great early growth, that fades off quickly, leaves can melt away or plants might seem stunted. 3rd thing is. What are you feeding the plants for plant food and how often. With fast growth you are going to need to supply a lot of nutrients. This is why so many people turn to EI dosing.

I am assuming you are trying to grow plants with that much light. If you aren't algea will likely grow like crazy for you. Having lots of light can have its ups and downs. Remember that all plants need 4 things to survive. light, CO2, nutrients and trace elements. If you bump up 1 ex. Light than the others will need to follow.

Here is a plant link.
PLANT FAQ: Basic Plant Survival

Best thing to do would be to borrow a par meter and see how much light you have at different heights in the tank. Whos really to say whats too much


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## charles (Apr 21, 2010)

You are really wasting your energy than anything. Depends on what kind of plants you want to grow, 3-4 HOT5 or sometimes 4 x 65w CF can do. There is no need to have all those lights on the top. Imagine the amount of CO2 you have to provide to your tank and the amount of ferts you need for the plants to use. It will be difficult to balance those "3" needed items for your plants.


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## Niku (Feb 11, 2014)

Exactly what I was thinking Charles whats the gain in plant to cost on my power bill ratio... 

Well I guess I will built it big and I can always just leave out a few bulbs / turn them off... 

ATM I'm dosing 
3/4 tsp kno3 
1/4 tsp kh2po4 
3x weekly 

And a heaping 1/4tsp of csm+b 
3x a week 

With iron once every 2 weeks or as needed 

My co2 is green pretry much all day (its around 2-3bps I just can't count that fast) 

Thanks for the info but any one got any preferences t5 to cf ? I know cf is more costly to replace the bulbs


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