# T5HO lighting and watts/gallon rule?



## Aquarius (Dec 5, 2012)

I have 2 24W T5HO bulbs from Current USA and the color in my tank looks great and all of my plants seem to be maintaining well after 2 weeks. 

My question is, I keep seeing:
"these plants need 2-3 watts per gallon of light in order to grow...".

I've also read that the T5HO lights do not follow the typical watts per gallon rule ratio. So, with 48W of T5HO, how does that "loosely" translate into typical watts per gallon?

I am trying to keep a no CO2 tank at the moment and so far it's going well. Currently, I've planted Anubias congensis, anubias barteri, telanthera, microsword, green crypto and now needle leaf ludwigia. 

From what I have read on these, most of them do well (or OK at least) without CO2 and moderate lighting. The substrate is Eco Complete and I dose with Flourish and Excel. Am I providing enough light? Thanks!


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## oldpunk (Dec 9, 2012)

You did not mention what size tank it is. I'm gonna guess you have a standard 20 gallon? If so, you have plenty of light. 

Forget what you've read about Watts Per Gallons. It's bunk unless you have t-8 or t-12 bulbs. Even then it's still a pretty loose approximation.


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## Gizmo (Dec 6, 2010)

+1

WPG means nothing with T5HO because they have a much higher output & efficiency compared to older bulbs. Light meters are the way to go with the higher-end fixtures, if you're a member of a local club or forum they might have a PAR meter you could borrow, I know mine does.

I had a 48W T5HO over a 30 gallon and it did alright, but with DIY CO2 I was able to run the same fixture over a ten gallon which exploded with plant growth. I know you don't want CO2, but I would highly advise a DIY setup for your 29 gallon, if that's what you're running the T5HO on. You'll thank me


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## Aquarius (Dec 5, 2012)

Yes, it is a 29 gallon tank. I would have no problem running the DIY CO2 if my tank was not sitting in my living room. It is basically the fixture of the room at this point and the stand set-up wont fit the CO2 kit "neatly" as my wife would like. 

I don't care so much how "fast" the plants grow so long as they do indeed grow. So far, the only plant I have had trouble with is microsword which surprised me. Everything else is growing/maintaining. The microsword has been stubborn and tough to root in the EcoComplete.


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