Help with efficient lighting...
- Thread starter Myarbro
- Start date
Yeah, for the 72" tank, it was a complete fail. I learned a good lesson though, and they didn't go to waist! Both are on my 40 gallon now and look freakin awesome. Lights up the tank really really well and the glistening water effect is really nice. The wall behind the tank shimmers with the reflection. The moonlight setting is pretty nice too.
Now, on to more important issues. Getting the RIGHT lights for my 72"x18"x24".
First, what is the real difference between T5-HO and Metal Halide?
Also, JC, you suggested I NOT get 2x of the 3ft 4 bulb setup and said I should go with the 2 bulb. What if I did a 4 bulb with 2x white, and 2x blue (for night). Would the blue be too much for the plants at night?
Besides 2x of the 3ft. lamps (either 2 or 4 bulbs), depending on the answer I get for the previous question, I have 1 other option I was looking at in the MH section.
2x http://www.fishneedit.com/150w-metal-halide-pendant-lig.html
Would 2 of those, since they are a little small despite the watts, cover enough area for my 6ft tank? I like the idea of these because it seems to come with these mounting brackets that I can clamp onto the side of the tank, and have them hang over.
Also, they have T5-HO/MH combos that look pretty cool. I am assuming that would be too much light? Most of them are over 500 watts together.
Btw, all of these choices seem to have an area to choose Color/Temperature. Example...6700k, 10000k, 14000k, 20000k. What is all that who ha mean?
Once again, I really appreciate all this help.
Now, on to more important issues. Getting the RIGHT lights for my 72"x18"x24".
First, what is the real difference between T5-HO and Metal Halide?
Also, JC, you suggested I NOT get 2x of the 3ft 4 bulb setup and said I should go with the 2 bulb. What if I did a 4 bulb with 2x white, and 2x blue (for night). Would the blue be too much for the plants at night?
Besides 2x of the 3ft. lamps (either 2 or 4 bulbs), depending on the answer I get for the previous question, I have 1 other option I was looking at in the MH section.
2x http://www.fishneedit.com/150w-metal-halide-pendant-lig.html
Would 2 of those, since they are a little small despite the watts, cover enough area for my 6ft tank? I like the idea of these because it seems to come with these mounting brackets that I can clamp onto the side of the tank, and have them hang over.
Also, they have T5-HO/MH combos that look pretty cool. I am assuming that would be too much light? Most of them are over 500 watts together.
Btw, all of these choices seem to have an area to choose Color/Temperature. Example...6700k, 10000k, 14000k, 20000k. What is all that who ha mean?
Once again, I really appreciate all this help.
MH vs t5: MH have a much higher efficiency that t5 great color spectrum (I'll get to that shortly) but the start at 150 Watts and go up. You will need at least 3 for that tank so you will be blasting the tank with ~150 watts more light that a 72" Quad bulb t5. MH fixtures are more expensive, the bulbs are as well and to maintain spectrum MH bulbs have to be replaced more often or use supplemental actinic (spectrum) light. The do however have much greater depth penetration and give that ripply effect which you don't get with t5.
The fixture you are looking at will either cause bars to appear on the bottom of the tank from the two center braces or you will need 3 of them. I have a strip of algae free glass due to the shadow of my center brace.
Color Temperature is one of the ways to express a condensed version of the spectrum. Spectrum is the wavelength of light present, in visible light it's the color. If you want a physics lesson PM me. Baring a physical class the main thing to consider with color temperature is the look and growth rate of plants. Plants do best under blue light and red orange light. A lower color temperature gives of a more yellow light while a higher temperature will give you a more blue light. Any of the colors available will work it becomes more a function of preference.
The fixture you are looking at will either cause bars to appear on the bottom of the tank from the two center braces or you will need 3 of them. I have a strip of algae free glass due to the shadow of my center brace.
Color Temperature is one of the ways to express a condensed version of the spectrum. Spectrum is the wavelength of light present, in visible light it's the color. If you want a physics lesson PM me. Baring a physical class the main thing to consider with color temperature is the look and growth rate of plants. Plants do best under blue light and red orange light. A lower color temperature gives of a more yellow light while a higher temperature will give you a more blue light. Any of the colors available will work it becomes more a function of preference.
Yikes, well I definitely don't want to shell out the money for 3 of those MH lights.
I would like to do 2x http://www.fishneedit.com/t5ho-3ft--2lamp-aquarium-light.html with all white bulbs and 14000k (and with what you said, this should have more of a blue appearance? color temp. That would be 156 watts total. That's what JC suggested. I COULD do the 4 bulb, but if I don't have to, I really don't want to spend the extra money.
I would like to do 2x http://www.fishneedit.com/t5ho-3ft--2lamp-aquarium-light.html with all white bulbs and 14000k (and with what you said, this should have more of a blue appearance? color temp. That would be 156 watts total. That's what JC suggested. I COULD do the 4 bulb, but if I don't have to, I really don't want to spend the extra money.
ok here's my input 
you can get the 4x bulb fixture, but i wouldnt turn on those others at all. you gotta remember these are T5HO bulbs. they are EXTREMELY bright. even though the blue light is not good freshwater plants, it's still light regardless, and lots of light. youre gonna end up having several hours of light which i'm sure will give you algae problems. if you want a night/moon light, get some cheap LED light strips, or make some yourself. dont rely on the T5HO as a moonlight.
vladflorof covered the MH lights pretty well. while it's possible to get it to work, youre gonna need multiple fixtures. it will not only get expensive to buy the fixtures, but also to run them. electricity costs will not be cheap. your tank will be good with 4x 39w bulbs, thats a total of 156 watts, compared to 450+ watts of metal halide lighting, it's just overkill for no reason. as for the T5HO/metal halide combo, no way. it's way too much light.
the K rating of a bulb refers to its color spectrum it puts out. freshwater plants need lighting in the 6-10,000K range. the higher the K rating, the more blue the light is. blue light is for corals and reefs, not freshwater. youre trying to simulate sunlight in shallow rivers and ponds, not sunlight that hits the ocean. and the best lighting to do that with is 6-10,000K.
and lastly, many folks try to stuff as much light as they can over a planted tank. reality is, a freshwater planted tank DOES NOT need that much light. it's a totally different animal than a reef tank. most of these intense light fixtures you see are built for reef tanks, not freshwater planted tanks. people they think they need tons of light for freshwater plants. quickly do they realize they are only able to grow algae instead of plants. this is because they have way too much light. lighting is your gas pedal, and its super easy to overdo it here. overdo it and planted tank days will be numbered and you will hate this side of the hobby.
take it easy with the lighting, provide ample amounts of co2 and ferts, and youll create a stunning display. with lighting, my opinion is that LESS IS MORE. stick to the medium/high light category according to the chart and DO NOT go beyond this. these are tried and true methods from the guys over at plantedtank.net. take a look at some of their tanks, then look at their lighting. youll see it's not super intense.
and i speak from experience. i learned the hard way about lighting. i was being stupid, i thought i could put a bunch of lights over my old 55g. when i started, i was running a 4x54w T5HO fixture, 4ft long. a few weeks into the planted tank hobby, this is what i got:
after i pulled my head out of my ass and listened to the experts about having way too much light, i cut it down to just 2x bulbs, only going for about 6-7 hours a day. this is what i ended up with. no more algae problems
you can get the 4x bulb fixture, but i wouldnt turn on those others at all. you gotta remember these are T5HO bulbs. they are EXTREMELY bright. even though the blue light is not good freshwater plants, it's still light regardless, and lots of light. youre gonna end up having several hours of light which i'm sure will give you algae problems. if you want a night/moon light, get some cheap LED light strips, or make some yourself. dont rely on the T5HO as a moonlight.
vladflorof covered the MH lights pretty well. while it's possible to get it to work, youre gonna need multiple fixtures. it will not only get expensive to buy the fixtures, but also to run them. electricity costs will not be cheap. your tank will be good with 4x 39w bulbs, thats a total of 156 watts, compared to 450+ watts of metal halide lighting, it's just overkill for no reason. as for the T5HO/metal halide combo, no way. it's way too much light.
the K rating of a bulb refers to its color spectrum it puts out. freshwater plants need lighting in the 6-10,000K range. the higher the K rating, the more blue the light is. blue light is for corals and reefs, not freshwater. youre trying to simulate sunlight in shallow rivers and ponds, not sunlight that hits the ocean. and the best lighting to do that with is 6-10,000K.
and lastly, many folks try to stuff as much light as they can over a planted tank. reality is, a freshwater planted tank DOES NOT need that much light. it's a totally different animal than a reef tank. most of these intense light fixtures you see are built for reef tanks, not freshwater planted tanks. people they think they need tons of light for freshwater plants. quickly do they realize they are only able to grow algae instead of plants. this is because they have way too much light. lighting is your gas pedal, and its super easy to overdo it here. overdo it and planted tank days will be numbered and you will hate this side of the hobby.
take it easy with the lighting, provide ample amounts of co2 and ferts, and youll create a stunning display. with lighting, my opinion is that LESS IS MORE. stick to the medium/high light category according to the chart and DO NOT go beyond this. these are tried and true methods from the guys over at plantedtank.net. take a look at some of their tanks, then look at their lighting. youll see it's not super intense.
and i speak from experience. i learned the hard way about lighting. i was being stupid, i thought i could put a bunch of lights over my old 55g. when i started, i was running a 4x54w T5HO fixture, 4ft long. a few weeks into the planted tank hobby, this is what i got:
after i pulled my head out of my ass and listened to the experts about having way too much light, i cut it down to just 2x bulbs, only going for about 6-7 hours a day. this is what i ended up with. no more algae problems
stick with 10,000k or less. i like all 10,000k, some people like to mix it up with a 6500kMyarbro;4286362;4286362 said:
I'm torn between the two bulb and 4 bulb fixture. So I'm not sure which to suggest. Also if you are proficient with tools you could go with these and build your own hanging fixture.
http://www.fosterandsmithaquatics.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=3578+3733+13822+19811&pcatid=19811
http://www.fosterandsmithaquatics.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=3578+3733+13822+19811&pcatid=19811
If you want a tank like jcardona1 then yeah go with the dual 2 bulb fixtures. There are a few species of plants you wont be able to keep but those are for the hard core plant guy who do nothing but maintenance or have large portion of their maintenance automated.
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_dLSVgS5Ax...uRAl4wjtv4/s1600-h/Takashi+Amano+Big+Tank.jpg
jcardona1: Awesome tank
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_dLSVgS5Ax...uRAl4wjtv4/s1600-h/Takashi+Amano+Big+Tank.jpg
jcardona1: Awesome tank
Thank you guys both for the help. I think I will settle with the 2x 2 bulb at 10000k then. If I find that I want more in the future, I can always add. Plus, this way, it won't break my wallet as well.
I will also look into getting some very low watt blue LED strips to give me the desired night effect.
I will also look into getting some very low watt blue LED strips to give me the desired night effect.
ah...Amano's amazing monster tank!!!! but i disagree on the plant species thing. that tank i pictured was considered extremely high lighting, even with two T5HO bulbs. that is why i had green soup with 4x bulbs, it was epic extreme overkill.vladfloroff;4286458;4286458 said:
a tank like my 55g would have no problems growing any plant. i had a full carpet of HC, and a carpet of blyxa japonica. both of these plants are considered high maintenance high light plants and they flourished in my tank. i even had low light plants in the there like anubias, java fern and mosses. everything grew like weeds
