Lighting in a 40 gallon long

[muddskipper26]

what are some good lights to use in my 40 gallon long that would grow low-light to medium-light plants, if you know some online sources that have good lighting could you post a link and tell me which ones would be good to use.
Thanks.

[phanmc]

If you're the DIY type or don't mind putting in a little work, www.ahsupply.com is highly recommended. Their 2x55w or 1x96 kits will be able to grow anything you throw at them, while the 2x36w kit should grow most medium light plants while requiring a little less work.

If you're looking into a complete hood system, I like the Coralife systems:

http://www.hellolights.com/36cfpchoods.html

You're looking for something around 70-100w.

[Mgamer20o0]

you could also look into t8 shop lights. if you have the money just go with ahsupply.

[muddskipper26]

sorry i kno n0thing on plants. i gotta few questions
what is T5 lighting. advantages/disadvantages.
http://www.thatpetplace.com/pet/product/productInfo.web?infoParam.mode=1&infoParam.itemKey=209476
is this a good choice for my 40 gallon long(its only 14 inches high btw)^^
also would 56 watts of t5 lighting be good enough. please respond
thanks.

[muddskipper26]

also i kno nothing on lighting and stuff so is that hood overpriced or a good deal.?

[phanmc]

T5 is a very efficient form of Fluorescent lighting and is what you want. The PC (power compact) lights that I recommended are basically T5s that are bent in a U shape. A 56w T5 will allow you to grow low light plants like java ferns, anubias, crypts, and a few others.

The link you provided is for an Aqualife 36" 1x96w hood, which you can get for cheaper at www.hellolights.com, which I linked earlier. With that hood, you'll be able to grow just about anything.

[muddskipper26]

i think ill get the one you showed me the 96w one
is this a reputable source?
will that light get reall really hot?

[phanmc]

I haven't had a problem ordering lightbulbs from them, though I never bought a hood from them before.

The hood isn't an enclosed hood and comes equipped with a cooling fan to prevent it from overheating. It shouldn't heat up your tank too much. You may want to get some mounting legs for it, to raise the hood up away from the water if heating is a concern.

http://www.hellolights.com/coraqmounleg.html

[muddskipper26]

well my tank is a 4 footer so would i still be able to mount it?
thanks for the help.

[muddskipper26]

is this a good selection for my hood?
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/Product/Prod_Display.cfm?pcatid=3790&N=2004+113765

[phanmc]

hm...4ft tank makes it tough. The hoods that are 4ft long have a minimum wattage of 130, which will put you into high light territory and more work. And I wouldn't feel comfortable putting the 36" hoods on just the glass top.

I'd check out ahsupply.com and give them a call. They'll be able to give some suggestions on what's the best setup for you and may offer a hood in your dimensions.

[muddskipper26]

what do you mean by more work?
would the light like burn the glass or something?

[muddskipper26]

also could i use those pegs and maybe just prop it up on the hood, or would that not work and just cause problems?

[muddskipper26]

??

[phanmc]

when you get into the high light territory, CO2 and ferts become a priority or else you'll see nutrient deficiency in your plants and have algae problems. If that's something you were considering already then great, if you are looking for a simple setup then you'd probably want to avoid going over 100w.

Call me paranoid but I just don't like the idea of putting a heavy object that can grow pretty hot onto a glass top, especially one that uses electricity over water.

[GirlieGirl8521]

I wouldn't have a compact fluorescent fixture sitting on the glass. I've heard of the heat from the bulbs/fixture cracking glass tops. Since you need a 4ft fixture, I think you have a couple options. You could get a 130w fixture and possibly get by with DIY CO2 and Excel, and you'll need to dose ferts. This one (http://www.hellolights.com/482xcofraq2x.html) will work for ya, and I'd buy the mounting legs. Hello Lights is a great company to deal with. I've ordered several fixtures from them with awesome results. There prices are the cheapest I've found on Coralife fixtures.

Or, you could make an enclosure yourself, and buy a 1x96 watt kit from AHSupply. Then mount the bulb in the 4ft enclosure you build. You'll have lower light, so you may be able to get by without CO2 if you have alot of plants, but CO2 would be helpful if you decided to go with it. The bulb won't be the full length of the tank, but that shouldn't be too much of a problem IMO.

Its up to you though, what to choose...and how much work you want to put into it.

[loaches r cool]

I've got a 40G long tank as well, same thing as 55 but shorter. I retrofitted an old T12 shoplight, gutted the ballast and put in an electronic ballast that would normally power 4 T8 bulbs. I paralleled the outputs into two pairs and hooked them to to bulbs, so I am doing whats called overdriving the bulbs (2X ODNO). Total cost was $15 for the ballast (ebay deal), $7 for the new Philips daylight delux bulbs at HD, and everything else I already had. Measurements have shown this to be around 50W-55W per bulb, though I havent personally taken any on my setup. But 100W of light on a 40L seems to be plenty. Only do that if your familiar with wiring though, here is a short article on what I did: Retrofitting a twin tube shoplight with 2X ODNO (http://tristan.homelinux.net/fish/tank/retrofit/index.htm) This tank is currently growing Swords, dwarf sag, baby tears, anubias, and I think a couple others. Its not stuffed full of plants and I dont dose daily or anything, but every few days I dose some nutrients as well as Excel. Lots of ramshorn snails help keep algae at bay (no algae whatsoever so far).

[muddskipper26]

well i decided to go with the 48" 2by65 watt fixture, with mounting legs.
so now i need a top(all glass and cant find one that fits my tank, its 48 by 12)
also is this a good Co2 machine http://www.drsfostersmith.com/Product/Prod_Display.cfm?pcatid=6318&N=2004+113779
its probably not because its so cheap but if you have had experience please tell me. also im using flourish excel and trace, is this good enough for ferts. if not what else should i use...now can i grow low-light to medium light plants?
thank you all for your help

[muddskipper26]

???

[muddskipper26]

?

[phanmc]

You actually don't need a glass top if you don't have any jumping fishes, you'll lose more water to evaporation but it's not a necessity.

That is not a good CO2 system. The following DIY guide shows a better system you can make yourself:

http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=68834

If you'd rather not go the DIY route, the Nutrafin system is a pretty good alternative. You may need 2 of them for a 40g tank.

http://www.bigalsonline.com/BigAlsUS/ctl3684/cp18478/si1501563/cl0/plantgroco2naturalsystem

I would not use Flourish Trace but go with the regular Flourish, which contains everything in Trace but also iron and some macro nutrients (nitrates, phoshates, and potassium). Then I would also get more macro nutrients, which Seachem also sells (Flourish Nitrogen, Flourish Phosphorus, and Flourish Potassium).

Or if you want to save money and learn more about ferts, check out this site:

http://www.rexgrigg.com/dosing.htm

[muddskipper26]

i got an elephant nose that will for sure jump...:( but would love the look of an open top tank.
well i did order the light an the top, also its regular flourish and excel... I thought it was trace for some reason.
so i should go with that co2 machine instead of the Fizz Factory or DIY

[muddskipper26]

sorry the elphantnose wont jump... i meant butterfly fish and he will jump, my bad. it wont let me edit posts so i had to do this. sry

[phanmc]

The nutrafin system is basically a premade yeast system, which is better than the fizz factory. I do like the ladder diffuser it comes with.