Advice on Lighting Upgrade

Mulla

Mulla

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May 16, 2003
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Hi All,

Looking at upgrading my light system so I can have more plants, at the moment only a few low light plants manage to survive in my tank and I wanted to basically have more variaty in there.

Currently I have the following:
120Gallon Tank
2x 36w 10,000K CFL
1x 40W 6500K FL

I've had a look at some quad T8 FLs but to replace that many T8s on a yearly basis is a bit cost prohibitive so I have been thinking Metal Halide, even tho it's expensive initially, I have been told you don't need to replace them as often and the globes seemed to be cheaper than T8s and also you use less globes since they are much more powerful.

I saw a 400w x2 Metal Halide setup that suits my budget, my question is, with that much wattage am I asking for trouble if I don't have CO2? I don't want to go down the CO2 path.

Also can I use a lower power globe in them like replace them with 2x 150w or something like that? Or are they a "set" wattage like the CFL / FL's?

Thanks in advance for any tips / hints!
 
Swap the 10000K's out for some 6500K's.
I run 2, 96 watt 6700K's on my 125. its a little less light than I want but most low light plants are ok..

I'd reccommend some inexpensive T5HO fixtures and run daylight (6500K -ish) bulbs.
they are inexpensive to buy, and to operate, and are really all you need.

Metal halides are overkill (IMHO) for anything less than a reef tank, or something more than 24" deep.
if you run metal halides, you are going to experience a lot of power consumption,and alot of heat. You might even need to run a chiller to keep your water temp in range.
 
The Zigman said:
Swap the 10000K's out for some 6500K's.
I run 2, 96 watt 6700K's on my 125. its a little less light than I want but most low light plants are ok..

I'd reccommend some inexpensive T5HO fixtures and run daylight (6500K -ish) bulbs.
they are inexpensive to buy, and to operate, and are really all you need.

Metal halides are overkill (IMHO) for anything less than a reef tank, or something more than 24" deep.
if you run metal halides, you are going to experience a lot of power consumption,and alot of heat. You might even need to run a chiller to keep your water temp in range.
Click to expand...

Thanks for sharing your personal experience. Still 2x 96watt is a fair bit more than what I have.

Even if I get rid of the single normal FL reflector and replace that with a double T5 (2x 55w). I'll then have a total of 182w that's going to be less than 2x 96watt still. I believe I need minimum of 2watt / gallon to grow anything half decent?

The thing is... I can find MH globes for around $30 a pop where as T5's are like $45. In the long run I just find MH might be cheaper?
 
Mulla said:
Thanks for sharing your personal experience. Still 2x 96watt is a fair bit more than what I have.

Even if I get rid of the single normal FL reflector and replace that with a double T5 (2x 55w). I'll then have a total of 182w that's going to be less than 2x 96watt still. I believe I need minimum of 2watt / gallon to grow anything half decent?

The thing is... I can find MH globes for around $30 a pop where as T5's are like $45. In the long run I just find MH might be cheaper?
Click to expand...

mh can also be a heat concern. t5's run much cooler, excellent penetration and easily last 18 months as compared to PC lighting lasting 12 months.
t5's give you the option to mix bulbs also.
 
Thanks all for your advice. Unfortunately, I'm in Australia so those links won't help but it's true that equipment here are way overpriced :( Might upgrade the single T8 FL reflector to a double T5HO or something, the quad T5HO is just going to cost way too much during light replacement time!

I'll then end up with 182w over 120gallons, hopefully I'll have better luck at growing plants!
 
Mulla said:
Thanks all for your advice. Unfortunately, I'm in Australia so those links won't help but it's true that equipment here are way overpriced :( Might upgrade the single T8 FL reflector to a double T5HO or something, the quad T5HO is just going to cost way too much during light replacement time!

I'll then end up with 182w over 120gallons, hopefully I'll have better luck at growing plants!
Click to expand...

there is a wide variety of plants you'll be able to grow. they arent all high light thank goodness!
 
I read that 6500K range lights were better for plants but I hade a experianced guy who gets awsom results run 10000K lights. What is the general feal for color for plants?????
 
Arkangel77 said:
I read that 6500K range lights were better for plants but I hade a experianced guy who gets awsom results run 10000K lights. What is the general feal for color for plants?????
Click to expand...

Color spectrum should only be used to determine the visual preference, it matters very little to plant growth.

I get good growth whether I use a 5000k or 18000k bulb, provided I have enough light, CO2, and nutrients.
 
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