Converting 75 gallon Cichlid tank to 75 Gallon Planted tank

[FSM]

2x54W T5HO is plenty to grow tons of plants, especially if you use CO2.

Odyssea lights get very mixed reviews. They have poor quality reflectors, but other than that I can't tell you much about them.

Another cheap option is to get 1 or 2 four foot shop lights from home depot/lowes. They cost about $15 for 2x32W T8, excluding bulbs. You might have trouble fitting two over your tank though. The fixture I have is 6.5 inches wide, I got it at Lowes for $20. 6500k daylight bulbs are no more than $5 each.

Last time I was at Lowes I noticed that they had a similar fixture that looked a bit thinner, it was black though, so the reflector part would need to be spray painted white.

 

[stratusfearrr]

I'd reccommend trying to find a current light on ebay. they sell their used(refurbished) ones for excellent prices. you could get the 4x54 light, and only use three of the bulbs. These are excellent fixtures. That would give you your 160 or so watts over your tank. i got thier current nova extreme 4x39 watt light (normally $250+) for about 100 bucks since it was refurbished. No problems with it yet. other than a slightly not-so-silent fan. but thats not a big deal

 

[FSM]

If you have a 3x54W T5HO fixture with nice reflectors you are going to have a thriving algae swamp unless you use CO2.

 

[slintzen]

so 2x54watts in a 75 gallon tank will be fine to grow alot of plants? nothing elaborate, but a nice background of plants with some in the foreground?

 

[slintzen]

I talked to the "resident expert" at the LFS nearby and he told me I should go with an "All Glass Aquariums" 110 watt CF light on my 75 gallon. They want $189 for it. I have found a coralife 130watt CF fixture (48") at drs Foster and Smith for $142 plus shipping.

Does anyone have any opinions about which brand of lights would be the best for the money in that range?

Thanks

 

[FSM]

A 3x54W Catalina Aquarium fixture is about $175 shipped, including the legs. It has two switches so you can run 1, 2, or 3 bulbs.


A refurbished 2x54W Current USA fixture is about $70-$80 shipped on ebay.

 

[Riiz]

I have a 3x54watt Catalina over one of my 75gals and love it. Plus it was alot cheaper than my other fixture a Current Extreme Pro, and the catalina fixture came with my choice of bulbs.

 

[jptjpt]

I am currently setting up a 75G for my church and have been looking at the Catalina light strip (either 3 or 4x54w) myself so I would agree w/FSM and Riiz. The Catalina light gives you alot of options and is good for the price offered. 2x54w would not allow you to grow some of the carpeting foreground plants although you still would have a limited selection, and they would grow much slower. Also with a 2x54w strip, you will definitely have a shaded area in a 75G tank since it is 18" deep. A 2x54w strip works better for a 55G tank since it is only 13" deep, (all other dimensions being the same as a 75G). If you can afford it, I would go w/the 4x54w strip that has separate switches. Then you can put them on different timers to let all four lights run for a couple hours a day, then cutting back to 2 or 3 lights for the rest of the time. You would have more control/flexibility this way, and your choices of what kind of plants to grow would also broaden.

 

[slintzen]

Well, I went with a Coralife 2x65w Light, and will later at a coralife 56w in the front of the tank at a later time (when I add CO2) I also picked up a Fluval 405 Canister filter that will replace my Penguin Bio-Wheel over time. (After the bio balls build up)

I made an initial mistake of mixing 50lbs. of Red Flint small gravel with my old large aquarium gravel. I spent the morning sifting it apart. ;-)

Now, I will add some more Red Flint sand and some Flourite (maybe black sand for a nice effect).

I think I will start with simple Anacharis for the background and go from there. Being sure to choose plants that do not require high light.

 

[slintzen]

I added a bag of Red Flint sand, and 2 bags of original Flourite. Put back in a few of the decorations the kids wanted, now I am waiting for the last bit of cloudiness to disappear, and I will go get some anacharis and some foreground plants to start with.