150 gallon (29" tall) lighting

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12 Volt Man

12 Volt Man

Arapaima
MFK Member
May 24, 2007
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canada
Hello all, I am looking for lighting suggestions for a 150 gallon Aqueon/All-glass tank. the tank measures 72x18x29 tall.

I had originally planned on two 36 inch doulble flourescents (it will be non planted) but the LFS seems to think I will want more wattage for a tank that tall for it to look good.

I am looking for a balance between good looks and not crazy algae.

I think alot of the high output compact lighting might be a bad choice for a non planted tank. I don't want green water or algae everywhere.

I currently use Hagen Powerglo florescents and I really like them..but will it be enough with black gravel?

any suggestions on how to light big tanks would be appreciated.

thanks,

12 Volt
 
The LFS veiw is to tell you more light is needed, this way they may make another sale. No more than standard fluoresent tubes will be needed to adiquately light the tank and fish.
 
Bderick67;2169958; said:
The LFS veiw is to tell you more light is needed, this way they may make another sale. No more than standard fluoresent tubes will be needed to adiquately light the tank and fish.
Click to expand...


^^agreed^^

if it's unplanted you'll be fine what the dual lights. it does sound like they are trying to make a sale.
 
I actually don't think they are trying to scam me, since I worked there for 8 years and know everyone there very well.

I think it has to do with the fact that the majority of them working there really like the 'newer' lighting - power compacts, T5's, etc.

they feel that standard flourscent lighting is a little 'outdated' compared to the stuff out there now, and to be honest, I agree that it is.

back when I started working there, you had two options: standard florescent, or incandescent (or metal halide for reef).

Now, there are lots of great options, but a lot of them are very bright - and costly..
 
Most high end lights have a specific use either planted or reef if you are not planning on doing either of these thing that the standard strip lights are fine. an extra 6" of water is not going to affect the amount of light in the tank unless your filtration can't keep up with the tank stock then it won't matter the tank will look like a mess
 
great news. I was browing the LFS and found a whole stack of brand new All-glass 3 foot twin tube strip lights on sale from $150 all the way down to $80!

I could not pass up the deal and bought two of them - even though I am not setting up the tank for a little while yet..

I just tested them and they work fine, I did warranty one of them for the extra $25 (two year warranty).

one thing is for sure, the All-glass bulbs suck compared to the hagen powerglo's - much duller (granted they are a lower wattage for the same length).

I am happy I got these for such a good price - they have the nice electronic quickstarts and the nice aluminum inside for max. reflectivity (the Perfecto ones are just painted white inside and you lose a lot of brightness that way)

yay! :)
 
I went back to the store to look at what else they had on sale and they had All-glass 110W 36 power compacts for sale at the same price as the strips I bought..

I was all set to just exchange them...until I went and looked at the replacement cost of the bulbs LOL almost $50 each, and I know from using them at the LFS I used to work at, you dont get the long lamp life with T5's and PC's that you do with standard flourescents.. We found that they generally only lasted about 6 months or so...which equated to $400 per year in replacement bulb costs alone...in the first year with the powerglos, the replacement costs will likely be Zero. lol

so I didnt echange them :)
 
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