Anyone know any good lighting fixtures I could purchase online? Not looking to spend a fortune but I only have 60 watts to my 125 gallon tank. And as you know it's not enough.
Thanks
Thanks
Need better lighting.
- Thread starter Smithmode
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It all depends on your tank setup; Such as is it low tech, high tech, low light plants, medium light plants, or high light plants. The correct lighting all depends on what direction you're taking your tank.... I can recommend all kinds of lighting systems, but it all depends on your setup; Do you intend on a co2 injection system? Are you wanting a setup with no co2 injection?
If I can do no Co2 that would be awesome. But it will be a medium light tank. Don't need extremely high light just enough. I guess about 3 watts per gallon?
If you can list the plants you are wanting to keep, we can offer you more helpful suggestions to which lighting would suit your situation.
As it sits, a regular 2 bulb 64watt T8 shoplight will be PLENTY of light for low to medium light plants. Unless your tank is over 30" tall.
As it sits, a regular 2 bulb 64watt T8 shoplight will be PLENTY of light for low to medium light plants. Unless your tank is over 30" tall.
As of now I have anubias(broad leafs, petite, and some regular ones.) got a thing of octopus grass or whatever, some swords and crypts. Got the standard 6foot tank(125
gallons, I think it's like 25 tall. But the plants are dying. It's next to the back sliding door I even open the blinds sometimes.
gallons, I think it's like 25 tall. But the plants are dying. It's next to the back sliding door I even open the blinds sometimes.
a 125 is a taller tank, I gotta ask, are you willing to get a fixture that you hang above your tank or are you getting something that rests at the top? The distance from the light to the substrate makes a difference, in both how well a light can be spread evenly across the tank, and the intensity of that light
without co2 you're going to want to not over-do your lighting or else you're going to run into issues. what are you using now?
without co2 you're going to want to not over-do your lighting or else you're going to run into issues. what are you using now?
2-30 watt pro glow bulbs. The highest I can find here :/ and hanging from above is a no go. I have thought about adding some Co2 but like the one from dr foster that's rated for 80 gallons. I'm not sure if that would help or not.
Watt means essentially nothing btw, its more about if your lighting is t5 or t8 or led or what have you, and ultimately and at the core of it all, its about the level of PAR your lights are producing.
Different types of lighting can achieve greater PAR values while using less Watts, making the idea of watts per gallon essentially useless. So, find out what kind of bulb your fixture is, and I'll assume that its either that the lights are next to each other and not one in front of the other right?
I forget offhand how long a 125 is and the exact dimensions of that kind of tank, but the most important thing for you will be to get no more than medium light and have it be evenly distributed across the tank. Any more than medium lighting and you'll be needing to inject co2 into the water, there is no additive that will be worth your time when we are talking a tank this large, as there is nothing that is anywhere as good as straight co2 injection. Liquid carbon additives are okay but they aren't a replacement for the gas in the slightest.
Next, you'll want to be sure you know about how to fertilize and feed your plants nutrients for them to grow. The biggest misconception about planted tanks IMHO is that you just need light to grow them and that's it. The truth of it is that a planted tank is a giant balancing game between available nutrients (marco and micro, macro being nitrogen, potassium, and phosphate, and micro being trace elements like iron and calcium among other things), available carbon, and the amount of light. Putting it simply, if you have an off balance of any one of these three factors you're going to be dealing with issues and not be truly satisfied with the tank.
Read up on it as much as you can, The Planted Tank is a good place to look, as well as Aquarium Plant Central, and I'm sure there are many others that exist that are good to look at. If you want names to think about in the planted aquarium world, Tom Barr is one I recommend looking into, as he basically defined how to properly grow plants in carbon injected tanks with ridiculous amounts of lighting. There are plenty of people out there that can talk the artistic side of planted tanks but I feel few of them have the science behind it down in the same way Barr has it.
Different types of lighting can achieve greater PAR values while using less Watts, making the idea of watts per gallon essentially useless. So, find out what kind of bulb your fixture is, and I'll assume that its either that the lights are next to each other and not one in front of the other right?
I forget offhand how long a 125 is and the exact dimensions of that kind of tank, but the most important thing for you will be to get no more than medium light and have it be evenly distributed across the tank. Any more than medium lighting and you'll be needing to inject co2 into the water, there is no additive that will be worth your time when we are talking a tank this large, as there is nothing that is anywhere as good as straight co2 injection. Liquid carbon additives are okay but they aren't a replacement for the gas in the slightest.
Next, you'll want to be sure you know about how to fertilize and feed your plants nutrients for them to grow. The biggest misconception about planted tanks IMHO is that you just need light to grow them and that's it. The truth of it is that a planted tank is a giant balancing game between available nutrients (marco and micro, macro being nitrogen, potassium, and phosphate, and micro being trace elements like iron and calcium among other things), available carbon, and the amount of light. Putting it simply, if you have an off balance of any one of these three factors you're going to be dealing with issues and not be truly satisfied with the tank.
Read up on it as much as you can, The Planted Tank is a good place to look, as well as Aquarium Plant Central, and I'm sure there are many others that exist that are good to look at. If you want names to think about in the planted aquarium world, Tom Barr is one I recommend looking into, as he basically defined how to properly grow plants in carbon injected tanks with ridiculous amounts of lighting. There are plenty of people out there that can talk the artistic side of planted tanks but I feel few of them have the science behind it down in the same way Barr has it.
Hybrid is spot on.
You should be able to grow crypts and anubias with that lighting. Although crypts can be stubborn if they were recently planted.
Are there any tank inhabitants? You will want some nitrates in the system for the plants to use
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You should be able to grow crypts and anubias with that lighting. Although crypts can be stubborn if they were recently planted.
Are there any tank inhabitants? You will want some nitrates in the system for the plants to use
signature
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"And if I can't have everything, well then just give me a taste"
