# Need help with my lights!



## AcidFear (Aug 19, 2012)

Ok so I just upgraded my lights on my 33gal before I had your basic aquarium lighting thats good for nothing but seeing your fish... now ive purchased a 36" AquaticLife Dual Lamp T5 HO not sure if its the marine version or freshwater it currently has 1 10k bulbs and 1 Actinic Blue bulb(not sure if those are what i need) I bought it used and it does not have any legs like the ones if seen online and I dont like the way it sits on top of the tank and want to build a bracket for it to sit on so it cant fall in the tank and im wondering how high it should be off the tank i have tried to google it but seem to get mixed answers so i thought id ask here currently the only plant i have is cabomba plant but would like to add some more low/medium light plants any help would be greatly appreciated!


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## aquafunlover (Jul 8, 2012)

My 24" is 2" off my rimless (with stock mounts). How are you mounting it?


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## jbyoung00008 (May 16, 2011)

That fixture is meant for saltwater. Switch the Actinic bulb for a 6700k or 6500k bulb which ever you can find. Actinic is blue and it wont do anything for plants. The 10,000k is okay. Lots of people use both a 10k and a 6500k or 6700k bulb including me. How High you want it to sit above the tank is up to you. I have 2 similiar fixtures and they both keep the light off the tank by 2". If you set it to high the plants wont get good light near the bottom. I have a tall tank and thats one of the things I had to concider. My buddy is welding me a metal frame for my light so I can hang it rather than use the legs so Ive been wondering the same questions. Ive been looking at tanks all over and it seems you have to make your own decision on how high to hang it . If you can find legs for your fixture thats probably the easiest. If you like to build things than build away.


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## aquafunlover (Jul 8, 2012)

Hanging it seems like a good plan. Then you can adjust the height in case you ever require a change in the height for different species.


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## macframalama (Apr 17, 2012)

he cant hang it , he has 12 foot ceiling,


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## AcidFear (Aug 19, 2012)

macframalama said:


> he cant hang it , he has 12 foot ceiling,


lol ya hanging lights is out of the question im just going to fab up some legs at work and make it sit 4" above the tank might try and make them so i can adjust the height if i have time... thanks for the tips on what bulbs to use ill have to pick up a new one tomorrow wish i checked this thread before i went to the petstore


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