how many lights?

[quick061]

ok i almost have my 90 gal cycled and ready to start planting. however, the one thing i haven't bought yet is stip lights for the tank. being 4 feet long, i wonder is it better to go with one 4 foot fixture or two 2 foot ones?

the other question i have is being a foot and a half deep, how many tubes do i need? i thought a single tube fixture wouldn't be enough but don't really want to fork out 100 plus for a triple tube stip.

the tank isn't going to be very planted, just a bit to keep the asthetics up and give the fish some places to hide.

i noticed Big Al's has 1, 2, and 3 tube strips in 2 and 4 foot lengths with electronic balasts, does anyone know of anyplace else that's cheaper to get them from?

[tyler]

shop lights are 48" long...

[Sumpin'fishy]

I'm not a plant expert, but I've done plenty of research. What I understand is: 1.5 to 3.0 (or a bit more) watts of light per gallon of water. Being that you have a 90 gal, I think the minimum you will need is going to be 3 NO (normal output) 40 watt bulbs. These are the 4 foot variety. It's really no difference than buying 2 different 20 watt bulbs of the 2 foot variety, except it's probably more hassle and expense in the long run for the smaller bulbs.

I personally would do at least 4 different 40W if I was going to do low light plants. The amount of plants you are going to add really doesn't matter as far as how many bulbs. The type of plants you add DOES matter. Since 1.5 x 90 =135, even 3 40W bulbs is only going to be 120W (a bit low). I'd go with 4 bulbs and do low light plants. You can add as many as you like...the more the merrier!

Most accomplished planted aquarists will probably also push for CO2, which will help out any setup. But again, costs more money. Our hobby is one that is great if you have too much money on your hands, and need to spend plenty. It's just hard to get a large setup like yours without some invested money. Not thousands of dollars, but SOME.

[inxs]

You can probably pick up 2 4' shoplight fixtures and 4 full spectrum bulbs for about $40-50 and hook up some DIY yeast CO2 for cheap too.

[Shiftaltumlock]

How wide(front to back) is the tank? You should be able to squeeze 2, 3 or even 4 twin tube shop lights in a canopy. (Yes, I said 4) As others have stated, you need more than a strip light.

Cheapo shop lights at Lowes cost $8.00 ea.

Sylvania GrowLux Wide Spectrum bulbs(40w) cost $6.00 ea

I think Chroma 50's are like $7.00 ea. Not sure about that price, but they are not expensive.

So for a cost of $40.00 bucks, you could have 1.7 wpg and be able to grow lots of "low to medium light" plants. (no Co2 injection required)

If you sqeeze in another shop light($20.00 more total), you can do DIY Co2 and grow most plant types.

Oh! When the wattage starts to get up there, nutrients become much more important. So you would have to fertilize.


There are other means of lighting a tank as well. If interested, just say so.

[Richer]

If you are going to buy lights from a LFS (ie. big al's) you might as well check out www.ahsupply.com
They got decently priced CF light fixtures, a 4x55 watt light kit should get you on your way to a high light setup, while a 4x36 watt light kit will give you a nice moderate light setup. A 55 watt and 36 watt bulb both are about 2 feet long, so a 4x55 or a 4x36 watt kit will fit your tank quite nicely.

HTH
-Richer

[quick061]

ok i was sitting at my work (a maintence shop for an apartment complex) yesterday and noticed that we had a bunch of shop lights that we aren't using. so i pulled the light setup out of a shop lamp and now have a 4x40 kit that i am in the process of making a box for (its almost done, just a few more coats of paint).

so now i'm wondering, i have 2wpg what other kind of stuff do i need? i'm assuming i'll have to add fertilizer, what about CO2?

[125gJoe]

Originally posted by quick061
so now i'm wondering, i have 2wpg what other kind of stuff do i need? i'm assuming i'll have to add fertilizer, what about CO2? 2 to 3 watts per gallon is good for lighting. You should get more plants. From what I understand, you should plant heavily to avoid algae outbreaks when going with a planted aquarium.