Hey.. So I am looking to setup a native tank with lots of native plants but I have an issue. My fish tanks dimensions are 48x24x30 so my tank is quite tall. I'm not loaded on cash so what kind of lighting can I get on the cheap to work with a tank this deep?
150 gallon lighting help
- Thread starter Devin VandeVelde
- Start date
Depends on what type of planted tank you intend to set up, such as low tech, or high tech. This will help with what type of lighting people suggest... Will you be using a co2 injection system? What type of fertilizers do you plan to use? What fertilizer dosing regime for the tank? What type of substrate will be used?
All of this matters when setting up a planted tank, however since you have stated you don't have alot of $$$ I recommend the following...
Lighting - 48" Odyssea T5HO Quad this way using 2 of the 4 bulbs will give you sufficient lighting for a low tech planted tank... http://www.aquatraders.com/48-inch-4x54W-T5-Aquarium-Light-Fixture-p/52325p.htm
Type of Fertilizers - I would go with dry fertilizers because they cost alot less than premixed solutions like Flourish, you can get a digital scale from ebay for a couple of dollars this way you can measure the exact amount of each fertilizer to dose... http://greenleafaquariums.com/aquarium-fertilizers-supplements/micro-macro-fertilizers.html
Fertilizing regime - I would go with EI (estimative index) because it's easy to understand and follow, and use an aquarium fertilizer calculator to tell you how much of fertilizer the tank needs, and how often... - http://yanc.rotalabutterfly.com/
Co2 system - Automated injection system can be costly, but are well worth the money in the long run... http://www.co2art.co.uk/collections...plete-aquarium-co2-system-for-tank-up-to-500l
Substrate - I would go with Special Kitty All Natural Kitty Litter because it's dye and fragrance free, and has a high CEC which is what you want with planted substrate, make sure to rinse it really good to remove any dust particles that will cloud your tank, and then I would cap it with 1/2" of pool filter sand. Remember it has to be Special Kitty ALL Natural Kitty Litter...
Because the Odyssea Quad lighting system has a timer it allows you to program what time the lights come on, and what time they turn off, here my old lighting schedule for my 45 gallon long high tech planted tank...
9am 2 front bulbs turn on
11am 2 rear bulbs come on giving me a 3hr light burst with all 4 bulbs on
2pm front 2 bulbs turn off
4pm rear 2 bulbs shut off
But that was for a high tech planted tank, for a low tech tank I would go with this lighting schedule...
8am 2 front bulb turn on
12noon 2 front bulbs shut off and 2 rear bulbs turn on
4pm rear 2 bulbs shut off
For the co2 injection system I would plug it into a digital timer, and set it to turn on 1hr before any of the lights come on, and set it to shut off 1hr before the final lights shut off. I also recommend a WavePoint Ultra Growth Wave bulb to replace one of the rear bulbs because it's specially designed to hit both chlorophyll peaks in plants, so I would have 3x6500k bulbs and one WP Ultra Growth Wave bulb in the light fixture.
All of this matters when setting up a planted tank, however since you have stated you don't have alot of $$$ I recommend the following...
Lighting - 48" Odyssea T5HO Quad this way using 2 of the 4 bulbs will give you sufficient lighting for a low tech planted tank... http://www.aquatraders.com/48-inch-4x54W-T5-Aquarium-Light-Fixture-p/52325p.htm
Type of Fertilizers - I would go with dry fertilizers because they cost alot less than premixed solutions like Flourish, you can get a digital scale from ebay for a couple of dollars this way you can measure the exact amount of each fertilizer to dose... http://greenleafaquariums.com/aquarium-fertilizers-supplements/micro-macro-fertilizers.html
Fertilizing regime - I would go with EI (estimative index) because it's easy to understand and follow, and use an aquarium fertilizer calculator to tell you how much of fertilizer the tank needs, and how often... - http://yanc.rotalabutterfly.com/
Co2 system - Automated injection system can be costly, but are well worth the money in the long run... http://www.co2art.co.uk/collections...plete-aquarium-co2-system-for-tank-up-to-500l
Substrate - I would go with Special Kitty All Natural Kitty Litter because it's dye and fragrance free, and has a high CEC which is what you want with planted substrate, make sure to rinse it really good to remove any dust particles that will cloud your tank, and then I would cap it with 1/2" of pool filter sand. Remember it has to be Special Kitty ALL Natural Kitty Litter...
Because the Odyssea Quad lighting system has a timer it allows you to program what time the lights come on, and what time they turn off, here my old lighting schedule for my 45 gallon long high tech planted tank...
9am 2 front bulbs turn on
11am 2 rear bulbs come on giving me a 3hr light burst with all 4 bulbs on
2pm front 2 bulbs turn off
4pm rear 2 bulbs shut off
But that was for a high tech planted tank, for a low tech tank I would go with this lighting schedule...
8am 2 front bulb turn on
12noon 2 front bulbs shut off and 2 rear bulbs turn on
4pm rear 2 bulbs shut off
For the co2 injection system I would plug it into a digital timer, and set it to turn on 1hr before any of the lights come on, and set it to shut off 1hr before the final lights shut off. I also recommend a WavePoint Ultra Growth Wave bulb to replace one of the rear bulbs because it's specially designed to hit both chlorophyll peaks in plants, so I would have 3x6500k bulbs and one WP Ultra Growth Wave bulb in the light fixture.
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Is that kitty litter fish safe...? Also, why would I have to turn two bulbs off and two others on if I could just have four bulbs running for like 7 or 8 hours a day... Isn't more light better in such a deep tank?
Special Kitty All Natural litter is fish safe, but it has to be all natural like this
As for keeping all 4 bulbs on, the reason I didn't recommend it is because the more lighting plants get it increases the need for an automated co2 system... Plus more light also increases the plants need for more nutrients which means going with a Classic EI dosing regime and daily dosing of fertilizers.
As for keeping all 4 bulbs on, the reason I didn't recommend it is because the more lighting plants get it increases the need for an automated co2 system... Plus more light also increases the plants need for more nutrients which means going with a Classic EI dosing regime and daily dosing of fertilizers.