# High tech lighting



## Aceman21 (Nov 4, 2015)

Hey everyone, I have a 90g that is 24" deep. I'd like it to have high light, but I know being 24" deep it's hard to get the light that far down and still have high par. As of now I have a sat + and at marineland plant led and it's maybe medium light at best. I don't care if it's led or t5 I just want something that will give me high light at the bottom of the tank.


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## coldmantis (Apr 5, 2010)

any 4 bulb t5ho will give put your tank in High Light range, when my 45g tall (24") was used as a planted tank that's what I used.


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## Aceman21 (Nov 4, 2015)

Would an older coralife 4 bulb fixture be ok ? 







I'm not sure what model this is tho


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## coldmantis (Apr 5, 2010)

I'm not familiar with the older coral life do you have a pic of the reflectors? I have the newer 2 bulb ones and I use it on my 29g which I can't get the plants to stop growing.










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## Aceman21 (Nov 4, 2015)

coldmantis said:


> I'm not familiar with the older coral life do you have a pic of the reflectors? I have the newer 2 bulb ones and I use it on my 29g which I can't get the plants to stop growing.
> 
> 
> 
> ...
















These are the only pics I can get, it's not mine


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## coldmantis (Apr 5, 2010)

Aceman21 said:


> View attachment 236641
> View attachment 236649
> 
> These are the only pics I can get, it's not mine


Unless I'm mistaken those look like power compacts, not T5HO bulbs. Also the reflectors or lack of don't look so great. If you actually manage to find power compact bulbs that size it's probably going to cost you an arm and a leg.


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## Aceman21 (Nov 4, 2015)

coldmantis said:


> Unless I'm mistaken those look like power compacts, not T5HO bulbs. Also the reflectors or lack of don't look so great. If you actually manage to find power compact bulbs that size it's probably going to cost you an arm and a leg.


Oh ok, so it's not worth it then. He wanted 80 for it


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## coldmantis (Apr 5, 2010)

Al's coralife

Check out the link above looks just like the photo you posted. For sure they are power compacts and not T5HO. Good choice on not getting it, I don't even know where to buy 6500-6700k Power compacts that size. It will probably cost like $100 per bulb.


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## Aceman21 (Nov 4, 2015)

coldmantis said:


> Al's coralife
> 
> Check out the link above looks just like the photo you posted. For sure they are power compacts and not T5HO. Good choice on not getting it, I don't even know where to buy 6500-6700k Power compacts that size. It will probably cost like $100 per bulb.


Awesome. Thanks


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## default (May 28, 2011)

IMO it would highly depend on the quad t5 fixture, regarding the quality of: reflector, ballast, and even bulbs. Getting a nice quality unit could definitely give you high PAR readings at that depth. Or using high power LEDs, which do cost a bit more, would also achieve the same goal.

However, I'm curious, what are you trying to grow that requires "higher" light at the substrate?
Although, light-PAR levels (low, med, high) defer quite a bit from tank to tank, what sort of PAR do you have at the moment with your LED setup?
I've rarely found foreground species not capable of thriving in medium or even slightly lower light. Remember, with more light/PAR you'll have more issues to fight with. To achieve high PAR readings at the substrate, you'll have a lot more PAR midway and near the surface of your tank - and sometimes, this becomes TOO much light in those zones.
If you're able to post a picture of your setup, I'm sure that would help in understanding what you'd like to achieve.
I just feel having optimal amounts of light is always better than having too much light.


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