Anyone have experience with these light kits?

[kacourt]

36 or 55 watt Bright Kits

I have a 29 gallon, 24" that only came with a 17W fluorescent and need to upgrade for planting. Your advice or suggestions are most welcome.

Cheers!

 

[VaughnH]

I use a 2 x 55 watt bright kit for my 45 gallon tank, but currently with only one bulb in it. They are the gold standard for PC lighting, because of the great reflectors they use, and because of their excellent customer service.

 

[kacourt]

Thanks! I am looking at the 2x 36 for my 29 , but I think that may be too much light so looking at alternate bulbs. The tank is only 24" though, and I am not sure the 55 would fit.

Glad to know that I have found a source though

 

[Tom Barr]

Try 2x 24 W T5 HO lights for a 2ft long tank.

Regards,
Tom Barr

 

[VaughnH]

The reflector for a 55 watt kit is 22 inches long, so it would fit on a 24 inch tank. I used my 2 x 55 kit on a 29 gallon, 30 inch long tank for while, until I realized my algae woes were caused by having way too much light. Then I ran it on a single 55 watt bulb for a couple of months, and it worked fine. Now, that same kit is used in my fixture for my 45 gallon, 30 inch long tank - now with only one bulb in use and raised 6 inches above the tank. It still works fine there too.

 

[kacourt]

Thanks! This is great to know. I'll get the 55. That will look better on top of the tank anyhow.

 

[VaughnH]

The advantage of a two bulb light, if you can turn them on separately is that you get light coming at the plants from two directions, giving you a better chance to expose all parts of all plants to light. And, a 24 watt T5 bulb could very well be enough for a 29 gallon tank.

 

[KentCurtis]

Try 2x 24 W T5 HO lights for a 2ft long tank.

Regards,
Tom Barr

I had this exact question, Tom. I have seen everyone advocating the T5's around here, much to my dismay after setting up my 55 watt PC bulb with an AHSupply reflector on my 20g. Would you think it be more beneficial for me to run a 2x 24 watt setup, like a nova extreme fixture, rather than my current 1x 55 watt? From what I have been told here 55 watts is a fair amount of light and I may benefit from knocking it down a notch or two, so the 48 watts may be a good thing for me.

 

[jmacego]

I had this exact question, Tom. I have seen everyone advocating the T5's around here, much to my dismay after setting up my 55 watt PC bulb with an AHSupply reflector on my 20g. Would you think it be more beneficial for me to run a 2x 24 watt setup, like a nova extreme fixture, rather than my current 1x 55 watt? From what I have been told here 55 watts is a fair amount of light and I may benefit from knocking it down a notch or two, so the 48 watts may be a good thing for me.

T5s can be reflected more efficiently than PC lights and often run slightly cooler. Most simple reflectors are going to have similar performance between the two, it only affects the fixtures that actually include more efficient reflectors. There are also the options of having several different bulbs and, often, a greater variety of bulbs to choose from.

I use T5, I like T5, but I certainly wouldn't throw out a working fixture of any kind for a couple % efficiency. Especially because AHSupply looks to have decent reflectors so changing to a cheaper T5 setup might actually lose light.