how do i know how much light i need?

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toyotasrfun

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Jul 4, 2006
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mississauga Canada
hey
so here's the thing
i should be putting the deposit on my 225 gallon aquarium this coming week
now what i'm wondering is this..
i'de like to build a light setup for the aquarium..
i went to the local hardware store.. they have metal halide stuff i can buy, they have t5 stuff i can buy and they have t12 stuff i can buy
what bulbs are going to be enough to grow high light plants like madagascar lace, etc?
here are the dimensions of my tank
72"x24"x30"
the tank will indeed be 30 inches in height..
i realize i will need lots of light.. help is appreciated..
 
ALOT. atleast a few hunderd watts for a good planted tank. i would suggest prolley two 300 watts, one on each end. or you could do like 4 150-175s or something. but i would prolley throw 500-600 watts of light at it for a true planted tank. but your gonna need co2 at that point. if you dont want that then i would prolley do a pair of 150 haildes and some t12s to even it out and grow some plants.
 
Howdy,

with 30'' height you do not quite have to move to metal halide, yet. Power compacts do the trick. I have a tank of the exact same dimensions and successfully run Coralife aqualight freshwater (4x96W). :thumbsup:

HarleyK
 
VHO T8's 4 x 48" bulbs 440watts
6500k bulbs are $4 each VHO ballast run about $30-50 each
about $120 total
thats pretty hard to beat
 
those prices sound Fantastic in comparison to what i've been spending
i'm going to check home depot tomorrow.. i'll keep you all posted!
thanks for that!
do i have to look into metal halides and stuff too?
will these be adequate to grow my plants well?
 
no you really dont have to go MHs. in a tank that size i personally would but to each their own.
 
alright.. i went ot the home depot.. the metal halide AND the t5's seem to have vanished completely..
not kool.. the hunt begins again in a little while.. i'll keep you all posted though..
 
cwlodarczyk said:
This is one of the best sources for lighting for FW planted tanks: www.ahsupply.com
Click to expand...

I agree. I have installed their DIY systems on all my tanks with canopies. Cheap and I have never lost a ballast, which is a common failure mode for most of the other brands I have tried.

Coralife is the other one I would recommend without reservation if you need a complete fixture. Their bulbs are great too.

The thing to remember with bulbs is power compact bulbs have a higher light output per watt than T8s. I think even more than VHO bulbs.

I would get the AHsupply stuff. A ballast that runs 55w can also run 35 and 65 bulbs, which allows you to do some tweaking of your light levels after the fixtures are in place. I ended up going with 330 watts on my 180. Eventually I took off 110w when I decided to grow only tall plants.

Madagascar lace, I hope you are aware, really prefers cool temps. It struggles in the high 70s and up. The most lovely ones I have seen were grown below 70F.
It's worth a try, but if it doesn't do well you might try moving it to an unheated tank and see if it perks up.
 
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