Enough light for 120g?

[falcon]

I have a 120g planted tank (60x18x26) that came with a plastic hood that has four lights. It uses F8 bulbs, all 24". As you know, you can only get 20w in that size. If you do the math, I have only .7wpg. Will this be enough to support plant life? I have replaced stock fluorecent bulbs with full spectrum ones, two rated at 5,500K and two at 6,500K. Will this do the trick? My tank is in my family room and I wouldn't want to modify the lights to hang a new canopy or something similar. Also, I wouldn't want to spend mega bucks to try and get a different lighting system. What are my options and will this setup do?

I want to have a variety of plants in the tank. Presently, I have 2 amazon swords, few crypts, 3 lotus plants, spiral vals, regular vals, and some other plant that I don't know the name(looks a bit like a christmas tree).

Any input would be appreciated.

Thanks

[carpguy]

You could retrofit your existing hood with a 4x55w Power Compact setup from AH Supply (http://www.ahsupply.com) for about $125 + bulbs. It would get you to 1.8 wpg, which is low moderate. That hood is probably not going to give you ideal coverage.

.7 is real low. It may work, it might not. Definitely won't be booming.

[125gJoe]

Maybe it's just me, but I would not 'retro-fit' a plastic light hood. The extra heat might be a fire hazard..

Hopefully you can spend the bucks and get quality lights on that nice sized tank! :)

I like what Custom SeaLife has to offer -- and those built-in 'MoonLites' are fantastic!

[djlen]

I understand where Joe is coming from in his post, but I just retro-fitted two plastic hoods with a 2x55 system from AH and am very happy with it. It runs surprisingly cool compared with my expectations.
Of-course when you retro-fit the plastic hoods you will need to mount the ballast on the outside of the hood in the back and that's the hottest part of the system. You only need one ballast for the two units and it works well. But it probably won't fit into your present hoods along with the reflector and tubes.
I would contact www.ahsupply.com and talk to them on the phone or via e-mail and describe your situation and needs and Kim will advise you on the best course to take. Be sure and tell him the exact inside measurements of your hoods.
If you want to upgrade to a higher wattage it's not a lot more money, but 96's won't fit into you existing hoods so you'd have to build an enclosure for them.

Len

[falcon]

Thanks a lot guys. Will check it out. Still a lot of money though, especially that I have bought the aquarium 2 months ago. The hood with light enclosures cost me around 220CAD and if I go with AH supply, the 4x55 will cost me around 320CAD. If I had known, I would've bought the glass top with light on top and this would've been much more flexible. I hate to throw money away.:sad

[djlen]

Falcon -
I replied to your PM so check your messages.

Len

[Dabbler II]

If you are a good DIY type person you could go toBrite-Lite (http://www.brite-lite.com) they are up here in Canada you could retro-fit the plastic hoods with them. 4 PLL55w (6400K)and one workhorse 7 balast and 4 sockets and you are on your way for about $150.00 with shipping and gst:D

[tyler]

if it were me, i'd pick up a 250 watt mercury vapor ballast ($40), reflector and socket ($30) and a 6500k iwasaki ($50)

none of this pc nonsense.

[carpguy]

Originally posted by tyler
if it were me, i'd pick up a 250 watt mercury vapor ballast ($40), reflector and socket ($30) and a 6500k iwasaki ($50)

none of this pc nonsense.

So you'd put one bulb somewhere around the middle of a 6' tank?

Most of what I've seen about Mercury vapors suggests that they have a very narrow spectrum and aren't especially good for plant growth.