Dumb Question??? T5 Lighting

[chef19872002]

On T5 lighting I was reading a thread on here and someone said you need one bulb for every 3" of water surface why is that and I am being serious about this question. Because if I have a tank 36 by 36 by 18 that would mean at least a 12 bulb setup and mh's would be more cost effective am I right or wrong??? I am trying to figure this project of mine to be the most cost effective in lighting but make sure it is still quality Thanks Tom

 

[Entropy]

You can fit one bulb per 3 inches, you don't NEED one bulb per 3 inches. In your case I would just go with one of the big Lumenarc reflectors and a 400w 20k halide. That might be overkill depending on what you plan to keep. Maybe a 250w would be enough.

 

[Horace]

You absolutly dont need 1 per three inches. My tank does have 6 over my 18" but its certainly not necessary. Mine are also not overdriven. I wanted to use 6 instead of 4 because I wasnt planning on overdriving my bulbs.

 

[chef19872002]

so how many do I need if I wanna go t5 setup on a 36x36x18 tank??? Yes I know these are dumb questions and I do apologize Tom

 

[Horace]

To be truthful, I think Entropy was on the right track. Go with a 400w halide with lumanarc reflectors. To cover 36" you will need a substantial amount of bulbs, I would say 8 atleast. It will be far cheaper to just buy one reflector and one 20k bulb once a year instead of 8 bulbs. Plus you will get shimmer lines which are awesome