# Lighting Guidance Needed



## pafish (Jun 26, 2012)

Hello All,

I’m looking for some lighting guidance. I’m planning to set up my 50 gallon tank as a planted tank, low and moderate light plants without CO2. Tank dimensions are 36”x18”x18”. Fixture will need to go directly on the glass canopy or on legs raised above the tank edge, maybe 1-3 inches or so. I guess the light would be 16-19” off the substrate roughly

So far, I have looked into the following options:

One or two dual bulb 36” T5NO fixtures such as the coralife listed below or similar: Amazon.com: Aqueon Coralife 05619 Aqualight T5 Freshwater Dual Lamp Fixture, 36-Inch: Pet Supplies

One dual bulb 36” T5HO fixture. Worried that lighting would not be uniform with my 18” depth. I imagine a 4 bulb T5HO fixture would be way too much. But a 4 bulb with independently switched bulbs so I could run 2, 3 or 4 bulbs spread wider apart? Does such a thing exist? Or is a dual bulb T5HO too much light for my needs? 

LED Lighting? I was looking at the marineland doublebrights and reading the mixed reviews for planted tanks, but I came across the marineland aquatic plant lighting system. Its expensive, but theoretically should eliminate expenses for replacement bulbs and its reduced energy usage should save money in the long run. I like the night lights and integrated timer. However, would it be too much light for my needs? Specs are here: http://www.marineland.com/sites/marineland/products/Detail.aspx?id=4653#tabs-Ask

YouTube Vid: PetSolutions: Marineland Aquatic Plant LED Lighting System for Freshwater Aquariums - YouTube

I was considering the 36-48”, but if that is too much light would the 24-36” fixture work? Would it spread the light uniformly? Buy once, cry once philosophy I guess. 

Additional suggestions welcome.

Thanks!

pafish


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