berzer
02-24-2003, 12:12 PM
Recently I have decided to get back into growing plants again in my tanks after some experiments with other things.
My previous experiment left me with 2 - 250 watt Metal Halides that run on off of a dual ballast. I currently have one 75g tank that I am growing plants in. It already has DIY CO2 (which will turn into a cylinder within a month) running into it and from the charts it looks like it has fairly good CO2 saturation. It is planted heavily with mostly stem plants, a few rosette swords, lilaeopsis, and java fern.
500 watts seems like way too much light for a tank this size at 48x18. And it probably is as the water started to cloud/green up a little. And 250 watts seems like just right yet still on the high side where I would like it.
What I want to know is can I go with one 250 watt bulb over the center of the tank and not lose too much light, maybe 4-6" above the surface. I have read that usually MH bulbs only cover about 3 sq foot. So I am a little concerned that the plants on the sides would suffer from the lack of light on the sides (there are currently ludwigias, aureas, and ambuias there now).
I guess my other option is to stick with both bulbs but just raise them further up from the water as they are horizontal pendant fixtures, which I have done to keep the green water from continuing. But I was sort of hoping that I could use the second light for another 75g that I plant to put in the opposite corner.:D
What do you think?
My previous experiment left me with 2 - 250 watt Metal Halides that run on off of a dual ballast. I currently have one 75g tank that I am growing plants in. It already has DIY CO2 (which will turn into a cylinder within a month) running into it and from the charts it looks like it has fairly good CO2 saturation. It is planted heavily with mostly stem plants, a few rosette swords, lilaeopsis, and java fern.
500 watts seems like way too much light for a tank this size at 48x18. And it probably is as the water started to cloud/green up a little. And 250 watts seems like just right yet still on the high side where I would like it.
What I want to know is can I go with one 250 watt bulb over the center of the tank and not lose too much light, maybe 4-6" above the surface. I have read that usually MH bulbs only cover about 3 sq foot. So I am a little concerned that the plants on the sides would suffer from the lack of light on the sides (there are currently ludwigias, aureas, and ambuias there now).
I guess my other option is to stick with both bulbs but just raise them further up from the water as they are horizontal pendant fixtures, which I have done to keep the green water from continuing. But I was sort of hoping that I could use the second light for another 75g that I plant to put in the opposite corner.:D
What do you think?