40w 24inch T5

[tr0p1cal]

i have 1 light in my tank and its 18w, the tank is 23g so i was hoping a more powerful light of just under 2w per gallon is going to help my plants grow better. Over 2w per gallon i beleive i need to add a co2 system but im abit scared of doing so. Wht i want to know is can i get 1 40w t5 that is 24inches long, i have not seen one yet but have seen them at 18w, so do i need to modify my lid to accomodate 2 of these lights? any help is much appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

 

[tr0p1cal]

my tank is 31 inches long, can i buy one of these and adjust it to fit on the top? http/www.allpondsolutions.co.uk/silver-t...zes-2887-0.html

 

[aaronnorth]

tubes come ins standard sizes/ wattages. More importantly you have to look at what your ballast can support. If it says it can run 18watts then that is the minimum you can ut in (overpowering causes it to blow). If you put more in, say a 40watt, then you are still going to be getting 18watts of light out of it because it cant supply anymore power.

And 18w of T5 is a good number to grow most species of plants, if you do want to grow more demanding species add pressurized CO2, then if nutrients are good too you will be able to grow almost anything!
Going to 2wpg, or a bit under still requires CO2, but the extra lighting means faster growth.

You can buy a luminaire, but remeber, you WILL need pressurized CO2

 

[pondlifemike]

my tank is 31 inches long, can i buy one of these and adjust it to fit on the top? [URL="http/www.allpondsolutions.co.uk/silver-t...zes-2887-0.html"]http/www.allpondsolutions.co.uk/silver-t...zes-2887-0.html[/URL]

I am also having some issues with the length of my tank and fitting a t5 unit to it. Thanks for the link to that site as they seem to have some good systems their which im currently checking out -has anyone had any experience with this company and specifically their lights?

 

[Jallen]

tubes come ins standard sizes/ wattages. More importantly you have to look at what your ballast can support. If it says it can run 18watts then that is the minimum you can ut in (overpowering causes it to blow). If you put more in, say a 40watt, then you are still going to be getting 18watts of light out of it because it cant supply anymore power.

And 18w of T5 is a good number to grow most species of plants, if you do want to grow more demanding species add pressurized CO2, then if nutrients are good too you will be able to grow almost anything!
Going to 2wpg, or a bit under still requires CO2, but the extra lighting means faster growth.

You can buy a luminaire, but remeber, you WILL need pressurized CO2

The chances are that if you put a higher wattage tube than the system can run in it will also have a lower frequency and flickering may be visible.

I'm not sure if all tubes run on a standard voltage though, if it's the current which is affecting the wattage then the frequency won't change.

 

[Schmill]

Usually a higher powered tube just won't spark with a ballast that is too low, as there is insufficient power to start the tube.

 

[Jallen]

Usually a higher powered tube just won't spark with a ballast that is too low, as there is insufficient power to start the tube.

And thus my suspicions that it would flicker are correct, that is, if it were able to spark in the first place.

 

[tr0p1cal]

i will probably go with the light system above that i linked, with 1 light to help the plants and then my other light i wanted to show off the colours of my tetras, what would u reccomend, i have only ever used a tank given to me by a friend and it jsut has 1 on off switch, i guess with the lighting system that has 2 bulbs u can turn them on seperatly?

 

[aaronnorth]

i will probably go with the light system above that i linked, with 1 light to help the plants and then my other light i wanted to show off the colours of my tetras, what would u reccomend, i have only ever used a tank given to me by a friend and it jsut has 1 on off switch, i guess with the lighting system that has 2 bulbs u can turn them on seperatly?

no, they will be linked together, and with that amount of light you will need pressurized CO2, otherwise, your tank will be covered in algae.

 

[tr0p1cal]

###### have u heard of a system where its seperate? or am i just being a pain in the #### looking for something that does not exist.

 

[aaronnorth]

it is rare, they usualy couple the tubes up in two's

Why are you wanting a more powerful light anyway?

 

[hakova]

###### have u heard of a system where its seperate? or am i just being a pain in the #### looking for something that does not exist.

I ended up removing one of the two tubes for that purpose. The remaining tube still works, it is just that you don't have a switch, but you need to install and uninstall one tube as needed.

 

[shrimply]

I ended up removing one of the two tubes for that purpose. The remaining tube still works, it is just that you don't have a switch, but you need to install and uninstall one tube as needed.

Emm, I don't know if its the same with all ballasts but the ones I wired myself has the tubes needing to be in series, so if you remove one tube the other one won't light. I certainly wouldn't buy one on this assumption without checking out the exact model.

It isn't much more expensive to buy two single ballasts and if controlling the two tubes individually is important then its worth the extra cost in my opinion. Obviously not practical in a an over tank lighting thing ( yup a technical phrase)

Now back to your original question, not with a regular tube no, however if you have a t8 in there now then you could probably replace it with one of the compact t5s, which come in a 55w 21" model or a 36W 16" model.

They look like this.

If you look around the Interpet starter units are available but hard to find, and you can buy the bits separately and wire them up, but you would need a cover glass on the tank as they wouldn't be waterproof. Another and probably cheaper option perhaps.

 

[tr0p1cal]

i origninally wanted more light as i was under the impression that i needed around 2w per gallon for my plants to be healthy and anything over required a co2 system to be set up, my tank is about 23gallon and has an 18w light which i thought was severly underpowered for them, once i got a few replies and realised that i didnt need all that i thought i could perhaps put a different light into one of the ballasts that was darker and would show up my neons better. but as this is not possible im abit undecided about wot to go for.

 

[shrimply]

Is there a budget?

You could easily run two ballasts each with, say a 14W tube. You could then turn the tubes on and off as you wish.

And two T5s could easily fit in a hood that previously held a t8, I should imagine.

edit - sorry I assumed it was a T8 tube you were replacing. I see now it is not, some luminaries (got the word)will be individually switched, just email the supplier before buying and don't assume they are unless it says in the description.