Help with efficient lighting...

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
and here's why my tank was a very high lit tank. according to the sticky about lighting, each bulb was giving me 65 micromols of PAR, at about 18" off the tank's bottom. multiply that by two bulbs, and you get 130 micromols. that EXCEEDS the high light category, and is not even shown on the chart.

when i had 4 bulbs running, it was 260 micromols of PAR!!!! :eek: the chart tops at 120 micromols for high light. i had more than 2x the recommended amount for high light. that is why i was hit with a massive algae problem in record time
 
and Myarbro, i cant stress enough the important of a hanging light fixture. it gives you tons of flexiblility as i mentioned. if you see that youre getting algae or just arent getting the growth you want, just adjust the height of the fixture. it's really easy and avoids all the headaches down the road.

i wish i would have known these things when i first started :)
 
Ok, I will find a way to hang them. I will probably go for the adjustable things you linked from Catalina. As far as the bar, and how to attach to the tank, I will have to put some serious thought into how I would do it or where to get it.
 
Myarbro;4286567;4286567 said:
Ok, I will find a way to hang them. I will probably go for the adjustable things you linked from Catalina. As far as the bar, and how to attach to the tank, I will have to put some serious thought into how I would do it or where to get it.
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it's really easy. i just attached a 2x4 to the back of my stand, vertically. added some brackets/hangers to hold the conduit and that was it. easy!
 
Cool. I will give it a shot. Just ordered the lights. Can't wait for them to get here. :)

Now that I got my lighting and Co2 all figured out, it's time to start researching what plants I want. I definitely want some kind of moss to grow on my large driftwood centerpiece. Also want some kind of grass growth on the bottom. I'll be doing some heaving digging on PlantedTank.net
 
awesome. keep us posted with your progress :thumbsup:
 
T5HO is the best way to go IMO. I run 4 T5HO bulbs on both my 25g and 40g tanks. I don't think it would be to much light for a 100g. I know my plants would still grow under 2 bulbs. jcardona1, Your pea soup tank! wow I'm not sure all what was going on there but it was not just because of 4 T5HO. I think you must of not had enough filtering too much fertilizing leaving lights on to long to get pea soup. Your fixture looks the same hood on before and after pics. The pea soup would actually be perfect tank for Otocinclus's!
 
MyGiants;4286808;4286808 said:
T5HO is the best way to go IMO. I run 4 T5HO bulbs on both my 25g and 40g tanks. I don't think it would be to much light for a 100g. I know my plants would still grow under 2 bulbs. jcardona1, Your pea soup tank! wow I'm not sure all what was going on there but it was not just because of 4 T5HO. I think you must of not had enough filtering too much fertilizing leaving lights on to long to get pea soup. Your fixture looks the same hood on before and after pics. The pea soup would actually be perfect tank for Otocinclus's!
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my algae was not caused because of too much light? that is absurd! 110% of the problems in a planted tank is caused by too much and/or not enough co2. lighting is ALWAYS the problem. increased lighting means your plants demand more ferts and more co2. when you cant provide enough, your plants suffer and the algae takes over. cut the lighting, you reduce the demand for everything else. the plants are healthy and out-compete algae so it doesnt pop up.

filtration? :ROFL: filtration cannot remove green water, unless youre using a diatom filter.

and too many ferts doesnt cause algae. the problems start when you dont have enough ferts and the plants dont have the nutrients to compete with algae. under EI dosing, you always have excess ferts in the water so they are always available for the plants as they need them. then you 'reset' the levels every week by doing a 50% water change.

it is the same fixture. it has 4 bulbs, each on two switches. i just cut down the photoperiod and only used two bulbs, on one switch.
 
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