Adding more light

Blinky

Blinky

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Jun 22, 2004
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Hi all, happy new year :D

I've been thinking about improving the light on my 65 tank so I can keep more demanding plants. As it is right now there is 110W PC fixture and 2 30W T12 bulbs over the tank. I know there's not enough light to try out some of the plants I'd like to keep, but I'm not sure how much more light I'd need or what kind is best. The tank is 24" deep, so I imagine I need to overdo it a little if I want to successfully keep small foreground plants (not even attempted so far).

I'm considering another PC fixture like the one I already have; this would give me 220W of 9325K (3.4WPG) which I think would be adequate (but maybe not perfect).

I also saw an intriguing fixture that might work, and wondered what everyone's thoughts were. It's an Orbit fixture, comes with 2 96W PC bulbs (one's actinic, I'd change that for a 'daylight' or 9325K, the other is a 'dual daylight' combo of 6700K and 10 000K) and (LED) moon lights. It's designed for marine tanks, but I like the moon lights and I like that the fixture has dual switches, a fan, and legs to raise it above the surface. With 192W and my existing 110W I'd have 4.6WPG total - it's a more expensive fixture, but I think it may be worth it.

Any thoughts or opinions would be welcome - this is an expensive purchase and I'd like to get it right.
 
Keep in mind that, IMO you lose light any time you raise your fixture off the surface, so from a practical stand-point, the latter option would not be all that much more light than the former. So either will work fine for you as long as you're aware of the ramifications of increasing lighting and are prepared to adjust your other factors accordingly.
Keeping that in mind, I would go with the fixture that I think would please me the most if I was considering this.
Is the tank open top, is it the heat, or is there some other reason for raising the lighting? Can that fixture also be used sitting directly atop the tank itself if you find that more to your liking down the road?
Lastly, I would check to make sure that the new hood uses the same pin configuration as the tubes in the one you presently use. This will make things more convenient when you need to replace tubes down the road.

Len
 
The light I've got right now uses 55W bulbs, and the Orbit fixture uses 96W, I believe the Orbit is straight pin like my current fixture but I hadn't thought about it as a factor - I'll check it out.
The legs are removable if you want to place the fixture right on the edge of the tank. I use a glass top, but thought if I were to purchase this particular fixture (or another similar one with 'legs') I could try going open top and see how it worked - I don't particularly like using the glass top; no matter how I place the lights one of them is always partially blocked by the thick, black plastic hinge.
I appreciate the reply, this whole journey into planted tanks has been incredibly interesting but I'm still very green (sorry, no pun intended) and it's really beneficial being able to talk to more experienced folks. :D

[edit] I've found another fixture that's got a fan and 2 96W 6700K bulbs. It's designed for square pin bulbs, which I don't think my LFS carries, but there are online sites where I could order them.[/edit]
 
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Keep in mind the pitfalls of open top when making your decision. Fish jump out(I found this to be an traumatic experience) frequently. I was losing a couple of fish a month and found it not worth the emotional cost for an occasional flower that broke the surface. I will also say that I've talked to others that lost few fish, but that was not my experience.
Another draw-back is the amount of evaporation and as I mentioned previously, the loss of wattage due to the fixture being higher off the water..
I found the whole thing not worth the effort, but we all need to try different approaches I guess, so good luck if you go that route.
AH supply can supply just about any tube you need for an aquarium at a reasonable price, and certainly cheaper than most LFSs with 3 days or so.

Len
 
Hi everyone! djlen, may I ask you what kind of lighting do you use and where did you buy it? I am trying to set up planted tank for the first time, so every bit of information will be usefull to me.
Thanks.
 
Many of the folks on this forum and others use CF(compact fluorescent) lighting which can be bought at your LFS or more inexpensively at a few very reputable on-line sites.
I bought mine at www.ahsupply.com/ and am very happy with them.
You can find more info. on this subject by using our search engine at the top of the page and typing in either lighting or CF or compact fluorescent lighting. You will see many posts, opinions and options by doing so.
You want to post your tank size and tell us a bit about what your goals are for a tank and how much time and money you are willing to invest in the hobby. You will get feedback on lighting based on these variables.
Please check the stickies at the top of the page and again, the search engine. This will give you even more questions to ask.:)
Welcome to the forum.

Len
 
I decided to purchase a Satellite 2x96W light, which comes with a daylight bulb and an actinic bulb (which will be replaced with a 6700K, or 9325K if I can find it). With 302W of PC lighting (4.6WPG) I'm hoping to be able to keep plants with high light requirements.
Len, you mentioned adjusting other factors - the CO2 in my tank is pretty steady at 25ppm - 30ppm, and I'm using PMDD to keep NO3 ~10ppm and PO4 ~1ppm, will I need to up the levels significantly?
As well, I was wondering about the best way to acclimate existing and new plants - I've read that changes in light level can shock the plants and cause them to become sick or die (particularly crypts, but others too).
Thanks :)
 
Thank you for reply djlen! I joined this forum less than a month ago. I used search engine many times, and I am looking through the archives of this forum every day. I guess my problem is that there is so much information, and my brain just needs some time to absorb and sort everything out . And you are absolutely right, the more I read, the more questions I have.
My goal is to set up 29G planted tank. I want to be able to grow different plants, my choice of fish - dwarf neon rainbow.

I am thinking of buying Coralife 30" Freshwater Aqualight Dual Linear Strip Light (2x65) for my tank.
Here is the web site that sells it
http://www.marineandreef.com/shoppro/power_aqualight_fresh.html

What do you think about this light. Is it O.K. that it doesn't have lunar light?
As I understood lunar lights are for decoration mostly. Is it true?

As to time and money, I think I am ready for it. I have had a 10G tank for more than a year now, so I have an idea what it takes to keep a tank (at least I hope so).

P.S.: Here what I am planning to use in my 29G
Light: 30" Freshwater Aqualight
Filter: Rena Filstar XP2
Heater: Ebo Jager 150W
CO2 system: ??? working on it right now.

What do you think about it?
Thank you in advance for your advise.
 
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Is there any reason not to use halogen lighting?
(Sorry for the hijack)

It seams like a pretty economical way to go, especially when dealing with a small space (in a hood). Home Depot usually has three packs of 20w (60w total) compact cabinet lights for under $20.

My 32 gallon hex tank is only 20 inches across, and 28 inches deep, and I can’t find a florescent fixture that will fit in the hood, and puts out a decent amount of light.
 
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Greg J said:
Is there any reason not to use halogen lighting?
(Sorry for the hijack)
Click to expand...
No worries :D

I'm not sure about those lights. AFAIK halogens are very hot, and those lights may not put out the type of spectrum best for plants. You could try DIYing a fixture for either screw-in or pin type small CF bulbs, all the parts should be available at HD. I think CF bulbs would give you more light output per watt and they'd run much cooler as well. Hopefully someone else will offer their thoughts as well :)
 
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