T-5 lights ok for my clams?

[SugarFox03]

Hey everyone. I am upgrading my tank soon and wanted to know if these lights would be sufficient enough to keep my two clams?

Tank: 40 gal breeder
Dimensions: 36" wide, 18" deep & 16" tall

Prospective lights: Nova Extreme T5HO - 156 watts

Clams: 5" Crocea & 5-6" Gold Maxima

I am looking to buy this light fixture today so I need to let the guy know if I want it. I just need to know if it will work for my clams.

I don't know much about T5 and how they compare to MH.

Thanks in advance!

-Melody

 

[johnnybravo234]

Yes, it will provide enough light for the clams. I would not recomend it though as I have a 40g breeder and my 5 bulb aquatinics fixture doesnt even provide enough light from front to back. Look into a tek or fauna marine fixture. You will be much happier. I plan on upgrading to the fauna marine 6 bulb this summer.

 

[SugarFox03]

I am actually going to get an Outer Orbit fixture instead. I found a great deal on one and I have no doubts I'll be able to keep my clams with this fixture.

It has 2x150W MH as well as 4x39W T-5 bulbs.

New question though. I am thinking this fixture may heat up the tank quite a bit. Would it be ok to run the MH for only 3-4 hours a day instead of the normal 8 hours? Would my clams still be ok?

Thanks for the info, I really appreciate it!

 

[johnnybravo234]

I ditched MH a year ago because of heat issues. My tank is upstairs and it gets rather hot up here during the summer. The AC unit has to be run 24/7 in my room. The T5's produce much less heat than the MH lights. The halides should run at least 6 hours a day unless at least two out of four of the additional T5's are daylight bulbs.

 

[SugarFox03]

Two of the T5's are daylight bulbs. My plan now is to run the MH's 5-6 hours a day, between 2/3:00-8:00 pm, when it's not so hot outside. I have my own AC in the room, and it already runs 24/7, so thats no problem to keep running. I keep the room around 74 degrees.

If it ends up running too hot, I'll just spring for the chiller, which I will probably do anyway (woohoo extra tax refund!)

Thanks for the info.