efficent lighting

[jimmie d wad]

i have a 30"tall 300 gal. its stocked with 14 rbp and 3 large plecos.i've always had live plants, and want to get some going in this tank.wonder what brand of lighting is the best from an energy consumption point.not sure if i'd go with halid or some sort of florresent.right now there are 4 4' floresent and 3 incadesent cfl in there.

 

[jimmie d wad]

best kind of lighting for this kind of set up?

 

[jpac716]

I would say move up to metal halide fixtures aquatraders has some nice ones for sale for decent prices.

 

[jimmie d wad]

any knowledge on if a 175 watt mh will be powerfull enough to get usable light 30" down to the bottom of my tank?im looking at getting 3 of these fixtures and then would add some power compacts.or would you just go with more or larger mh?

 

[anarekist]

I would normally recommend LED's but i've noticed that my water lettuce has started to die off and become smaller (leaves, roots) after i started using my LED hood, they grew alot better when i used my VHO CF lights but that was drawing about 440 watts in only a 4 foot space where's my LED drew about 80 watts..

HPS and MH lights are still the most efficient light sources but they all have huge power draws.

 

[Newt]

Sorry to be OT, but: Aren't you worried about the Plecos destroying the plants?

Anyway, even with the tank depth of 30", the lighting you have now should be enough for jungle vals, anubius, java ferns, moss, and Sagittaria platyphylla. MH is so expensive and IMO you don't need it unless you are going for an Amano style tank with CO2. HO T5's can punch down to the bottom like MH, and they are cheaper, run cooler, and need replacing less often (18 months to 2 years for some better bulbs.) Run 6 to 8 HO T5's the length of your tank and you could grow just about anything.

 

[jimmie d wad]

those are most of the plants im thinking or having. Thanks

 

[JasonG75]

I would say move up to metal halide fixtures aquatraders has some nice ones for sale for decent prices.

Whatever you do STAY AWAY from Mh unless you want an algae farm, since you dont have co2 in place, and the right ones are god awful expensive.

Actually it appears (from the pic) you have decent lighting to grow jungle vals, anubius, java ferns, moss. The only think about the jungle val is that I am not sure you have enough substrate for that. I really cant tell from the pic that well but it looks like maybe an inch of substrate? Also your substrate in inhert, so you would need to use root tabs and dose N to for the Vals. Vals really only need 2 things Decent lighting and Nitrogen.

What I would do IF this setup was mine. Buy 4 bags of eco complete, take the flower pots out. Attached Anubias, and ferns to DW. Also I would attached Java moss to the DW as well. I would go to Wal Mart and buy 3 posterboards and cut them to size and cover the back.

 

[jimmie d wad]

yea there is no where near enough substrait for plants.i would need to add 2-3" more minimum.i have a 5 gal pail of some german brand iron rich gravel i can add into the tank

 

[JasonG75]

But yea, you might run into problems with the Giant Plecos.

Typically the smaller variety plecos do not munch on plants.