Cheap Lighting for Planted 135

[tropical dude]

I am planning for a new 135 gal. tank on a budget. Some may hear that number and budget together and immediately call me crazy but I think I can do it. I just need to know what kind of lighting I need.

The WPG (Watt Per Gallon) rule really breaks down on big tanks and I am unsure about what I should go with. Since I am making my own canopy and I have done electrical work before DIY is not out of the question. ODNO is an option but I an not sure how effective it would be compared to other options. I would like to be able to grow most plants available (Moderate - High Lighting).

:help:

[AquatiCreations]

I too have this question,I wasn't sure about how the WPG works out on bigger tanks,I had just planned on mounting a shop-light under a DIY canopy.

[SMinNC]

How Tall is your tank?

rant...
I've never put a whole lot into the WPG thing. There are way too many variables to have any consistancy with it. And IMO is way worse of a rule of thumb, than the inch of fish per gallon thing.

My 20g, 30g and my brothers 40g All are the same height. I don't see how they would be considered close to the same amount of light as each other, useing the WPG thing. But, thats me and numbers and my 6th grade edumication. ; )

My 30g has a 96w CF and a 30w FL.

It's only 14" from the top of my substrate to the top of the tank. Give another inch for actual bulb height. .../rant.

[tropical dude]

72"x18"x25" (LxWxH)

I forgot dimensions. I would like to use something more consistent like Lumens or Lux but Watts is the way they rate them so...

I would like to keep lighting under 300-400 USD.

[SMinNC]

I consider this tank my first "planted" tank. As in, I've had plants but not much consideration put into it.

I'm sure some people will post some good info, based on experience. But I thought I'd get the Height Q? out of the way for you. :)

I just kind of went with what I had, then found a sale on the CF and added it. I'm happy with it, and get to see bubbles comming from my plants.

[tropical dude]

With a 55 I would simply go with one long fixture with 2 or 4 CF bulbs. Nothing complicated, but make it 72 inches long and you have to pick between a 48 inch strip or 2 30 inch strips. I think going pure DIY (getting ballasts and endcaps) may be my best option. I think I might be able to fit 4 96 watt 34" bulbs giving me 384 watts which is more than enough. But I think the only way I could do that inside the canopy is to mount the endcaps into the canopy rather that use a premanufactured fixture.

I think I can do it, but where do I get the ballasts? Endcaps? Anyone else do this?

[7itanium]

well... moderate to high lighting in a tank like that is about 5-6 WPG

that is approximately 650-700 watts of light

I reccomend T5s or Metal Halides both of which are fairly expensive

truthfully "Cheap" and "planted" dont really go together on a tank that size lol

[debaric]

i dont think metal halide is necessary for a tank depth of 25" Maybe try a catalina fixture. www.catalinaaquarium.com (http://www.catalinaaquarium.com)

this one would work well: http://www.catalinaaquarium.com/product_info.php?cPath=71_136&products_id=1426

[tropical dude]

Thank you for the links. And 5-6 WPG is bogus. Maybe if you want CO2 and a ton of ferts for some high light species but I thought mostly anything over 3-4 was considered good for most things on a 55. A 135 is only a bit deeper. Remember, this is going in a wood canopy.

[tropical dude]

I think two (possibly 4 later) of these would allow me to grow some rather nice plants. It would be 384 watts of power provided by two separate fixtures. And the best part is that it not only comes with bulbs but they will provide your choice of bulbs if specified in the order. These do come with ballasts, right?

I am more into rare fish than rare plants so I don't care if some options are cut out. I just don't want to be restricted to low light plants.

[jmhart]

well... moderate to high lighting in a tank like that is about 5-6 WPG

that is approximately 650-700 watts of light

I reccomend T5s or Metal Halides both of which are fairly expensive

truthfully "Cheap" and "planted" dont really go together on a tank that size lol


Where did you ever come up with that number? That is WAY too much light for a 135g tank. 5-6 wpg is difficult even in smaller tanks where good co2 saturation is easy. In a 135g tank, you're biggest problem is co2. 320-375 watts is about as high as you would ever want to go.

Additionally, 320-375 watts will let you grow anything and everything you could possibly want, and grow it well. Even 320-375 watts will be too much for the start-up and/or an inexperienced planted aquarist.

For lighting above 200 watts, heat can really start to be an issue. For this reason, I recommend efficient T5HOs. Metal halide is nice too, but I still say T5HO.

I'm not sure what you mean by cheap, so this may be completely out of your budget but 8x39w T5HO would be great for your tank and a lot of people are starting to buy from fishneedit.com:

http://www.fishneedit.com/t5ho-6ft--8lamps-light568.html


DIY ODNO is definitely another option, but if you are looking for a high light 6 ft tank, you may end up spending $200 just for parts.

[tropical dude]

I said enough to grow general plants meaning a moderate light environment but many "high" light plants will grow fine in moderate lighting, they just won't grow quite as wuick as they should.

I guess cheap wasn't the right word, conservative would of been better. I was planning on anything from $200-$300.

[jmhart]

I said enough to grow general plants meaning a moderate light environment but many "high" light plants will grow fine in moderate lighting, they just won't grow quite as wuick as they should.

I guess cheap wasn't the right word, conservative would of been better. I was planning on anything from $200-$300.

If you're cool with $200, go with that fixture I linked to on fishneedit.com

[Mgamer20o0]

i have to agree with jmhart. those lights are great cheap and will do everything you need. you could even start out with just 1/2 the lights and work your way up too. if you hit 3wpg and you cant grow a plant in a large tank you should look at every other factor first before thinking about adding more light.

[SMinNC]

...where do I get the ballasts? Endcaps? Anyone else do this?

See if this helps? http://www.ahsupply.com/

This place is brought up often around here. ; )

[angyles]

I've faced this same dilema with mine (72X24X20) and I decided to go with shop lights for now, and invest in high end co2 instead. With the shop lights i have 320W of T12. Heat has not been an issue, everything seems to grow just fine (other than the lack of co2 for the time being) you can build a wood canopy to stick all the lights into, and in the end you've invested well under $100 on the lighting. I do eventually hope to upgrade the lighting to match the rest of the equipment I've put into it, but again, BUDGET is a factor.

[mak3mydae]

there are 125w cfls a mogul socket is like 15 or so the bulb costs like 50 bucks two or three of those should be good if your tank isnt that deep, the only thing with high light is you have to dose co2 and ferts to avoid algae problems

[jmhart]

there are 125w cfls a mogul socket is like 15 or so the bulb costs like 50 bucks two or three of those should be good if your tank isnt that deep, the only thing with high light is you have to dose co2 and ferts to avoid algae problems


Problem with those huge CFLs is that:

A)restrike is a :lipssealedsmilie:

and

B)You really don't get a good spread of light over the tank.

For $130 to $195 for 2-33 125w CFLs and 3 sockets plus mounting hardware, a hood/canopy and or DIY hood/canopy....you are approaching $250, $300....shouldn't went with the fishneedit T5HOs

[Star_Rider]

Where did you ever come up with that number? That is WAY too much light for a 135g tank. 5-6 wpg is difficult even in smaller tanks where good co2 saturation is easy. In a 135g tank, you're biggest problem is co2. 320-375 watts is about as high as you would ever want to go.

Additionally, 320-375 watts will let you grow anything and everything you could possibly want, and grow it well. Even 320-375 watts will be too much for the start-up and/or an inexperienced planted aquarist.

For lighting above 200 watts, heat can really start to be an issue. For this reason, I recommend efficient T5HOs. Metal halide is nice too, but I still say T5HO.

I'm not sure what you mean by cheap, so this may be completely out of your budget but 8x39w T5HO would be great for your tank and a lot of people are starting to buy from fishneedit.com:

http://www.fishneedit.com/t5ho-6ft--8lamps-light568.html


DIY ODNO is definitely another option, but if you are looking for a high light 6 ft tank, you may end up spending $200 just for parts.



I just bookmarked this site

[jmhart]

I just bookmarked this site


For the record, I have not personally purchased from these guys, but the 5-6 people I've spoken to that have, have been satisfied thus far. Communication and shipping were good, and in the few months that lights have been in use there have been no complaints.

[SMinNC]

I was planning on anything from $200-$300.

This might be an option?
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=3578+3733+9871&pcatid=9871

Maybe you could find a way to mix n match some how?

2-48" + 1-36"
4- 36"
2-48"

They're half price right now. They show as back order alot, because they're selling alot of'em. ;)
They've sold a few to people here.

4-36" = 384wts. for $225.96 and probably only $16.99 shipping.


I have a 48" comming for my moms 55g.
My brother put a 48" on his 40g
I have a 36" on my 30g.

I like them.
They're not any taller than my standard light fixture, that came with the tank.

If your using glass tops, then I don't see any problem with them.