if you had a reef set up then im assuming you have metal halides? i dont think power compact fixtures can penetrate the bottom of the tank too well. use mh bulbs in the 6700-10000k temp range. 400 watts will be enough for a high light tank.
What is the best lighting for.....?
- Thread starter freshhubbywifey
- Start date
If he means 400 watt MHs, x2 eualling 800 watts .......
OK I am new alse to the fresh water ave. BUT I have been into salt for awhile and just because she has had a salt does NOT mean she has to have MHs (She had T5s). As a matter of fact some of the most successful tanks have VHO or T5s on them, and as far as the suggestion of 400 watts MHs, thats absolutly crazy, MOST corals in a salt tank dont even need that much, youll melt them down, most of the Acros in salt can get away with 250s. ..MAYBE if she kept all HIGH light plants in there BUT on the botton, they might have a chance...YOU DO NOT NEED 2x400s.....I am and will be doing the ahsupply lighting systems...
Just courious anyone running 2x400s on a 24" deep planted FRESH WATER tank???
freshhubbywifey - I think you mentioned 2x250W in another thread... even that might be quite a bit. When you jump right into a high light tank be prepared to do a lot of work and if everything isnt well balanced (light/fert/co2) youll have a nasty algae outbreak.
How is you budget? Dont forget a couple hundred on a co2 rig for a high light tank.
FWIW I would think 2 halides would be good coverage for that size tank, but I'd not go over 2X175 personally. And with 2x175 or even 2x150 you can put in a couple ahsupply 55W kits for extra fill lighting and also to provide lower light ant sunrise and sunset (just burn the halides for 4-6 hrs midday). But unless you already have some of the gear, MH is going to be a more expensive route. Plus they are a little harder to fit in a canopy. The cheapest route for great lighting is ahsupply.com and if you want T5 for a little more you can get a Tek Retrofit kit.
And dont forget the WPG rule of thumb breaks down a little with larger tanks. For a 120g, 2wpg will probably grow just about anything. If you have much more, it better be sequenced so its not at full power very long.
How is you budget? Dont forget a couple hundred on a co2 rig for a high light tank.
FWIW I would think 2 halides would be good coverage for that size tank, but I'd not go over 2X175 personally. And with 2x175 or even 2x150 you can put in a couple ahsupply 55W kits for extra fill lighting and also to provide lower light ant sunrise and sunset (just burn the halides for 4-6 hrs midday). But unless you already have some of the gear, MH is going to be a more expensive route. Plus they are a little harder to fit in a canopy. The cheapest route for great lighting is ahsupply.com and if you want T5 for a little more you can get a Tek Retrofit kit.
And dont forget the WPG rule of thumb breaks down a little with larger tanks. For a 120g, 2wpg will probably grow just about anything. If you have much more, it better be sequenced so its not at full power very long.
Straight scoop. No guessing.
Go to www.ahsupply.com
Get 55 watt kits. Mount them front to back. Not side to side. The WPG rule breaks down on large tanks. On a 4' long 120 gallon tank 2.5 wpg is a LOT of light. Anything over that is a full time job. People get kind of nuts over the height of a tank. Tell them you have a 55 gallon tank which is 21" tall and they don't tell you that you need big powerful lights to get to the bottom of the tank. Add 3" and they go bonkers. Must be a magic 3".
So at most you would need a 6x55 watt kit and stagger the lighting.
You will need a pressurized CO2 system at those lighting levels. You will also need to brush up on your fertilization of aquatic plants. All that "bad" stuff you did not want in your reef tank, nitrates and phosphates, well we add them to our planted tanks.
As suggested one good place to start is my Guide.
Go to www.ahsupply.com
Get 55 watt kits. Mount them front to back. Not side to side. The WPG rule breaks down on large tanks. On a 4' long 120 gallon tank 2.5 wpg is a LOT of light. Anything over that is a full time job. People get kind of nuts over the height of a tank. Tell them you have a 55 gallon tank which is 21" tall and they don't tell you that you need big powerful lights to get to the bottom of the tank. Add 3" and they go bonkers. Must be a magic 3".
So at most you would need a 6x55 watt kit and stagger the lighting.
You will need a pressurized CO2 system at those lighting levels. You will also need to brush up on your fertilization of aquatic plants. All that "bad" stuff you did not want in your reef tank, nitrates and phosphates, well we add them to our planted tanks.
As suggested one good place to start is my Guide.
Alright sounds good, thanks everyone for your input. Will put up further updates when we get it all together, thanks. And rexgrigg I have your link that someone gave me and will do plenty of reading from there.
Last edited:
Forget it Im a putz....I found em,.....this is the item # Get one of these 30554 and one of these 30552
