lighting for freshwater tank

Question
Hello,

I wanted to get a new light for my 36 gallon bowfront.  I have a freshwater community tank with some live plants. I already have a problem with algae, as our tap water is high in phosophourus.  I was looking at the aquaticlife 24" T5 High Output that has 4 24 watt bulbs and the 2 led lunar lites.  this is a nice unit because it has a built in timer for all the lites, but is 4 HO T5 lite too much?  could I just run 2 and leave 2 empty?

thank you.

Answer
Hi Chris,

I don't think it's too much, personally, and if you want to cut back on the algae growth, please consider cutting back on food and poo...good ways to do this is to cut back on fish, and regulate feeding.  If your tap is high in PO, it's okay, because it actually feeds the plants as well as the algae, but the algae can't grow without organic waste, so I suggest there might just be too many fish or some other cause making the algae grow.

T5HO units are good for growing plants, provided you purchase the proper spectrum for aquatic freshwater tanks.  Tell the vendor when you purchase it.

Happy fish-keeping.

Renee