Lighting for a 450 gallon tank?

[Ari7667]

My family and I have a 450 gallon 24" depth, 8' long, and 42" tall acrylic tank on the way. We are trying to get all the supplies before it gets here. Problem is we do not know much about fish tanks.

My question is what kind of lighting would work with this tank. I saw a video of a guy who had an 800-gallon tank 40" tall, and he used the Fluval second generation lighting. My mother believes we need something bigger and more expensive.

We plan to put Cichlids in the tank.

What do you guys suggest for lighting?

Any other tips would be much appreciated.

-Thank you

 

[mrrobxc]

Are you going to have plants?

Due to the depth, if you want plants, you’ll have to go with a pendant LED alight aquaticlife Halos or Kessil Tuna Suns.

If fish only, any standard LEF strip will work like finnex or current USA.

I use finnex bars on my 280 and have the aquaticlife halos for my 30” tall 535.

 

[Ari7667]

We are going back and forth on the plant idea. At the moment leaning to no sense I want to put Mumba cichlids, and they tend to eat the plants. Also, it being such a deep tank if I have to move things around it will be hard. The decision has not been finalized.

I'm looking at the finnex lighting, the marine+ 24/7SE the 48" with 46.2 watts. Would four of those be sufficient?

Or with my size tank should I stick with the halos?

How do these compare to the Kessil? I believe that is what we were looking at before.

-Thank you for your help

 

[Ari7667]

Scratch that I looked at the current USA and found the Orbit Marine™ IC PRO LED It has a 126 Watt. That has to be big enough right?

-Thank you

 

[mrrobxc]

I’d get halo’s. You suspend them over the tank and they have the intensity to grow plants if you ever wanted to.

If you will never have plants, you can go with the current. At that point, it’s just about basic illumination. You can use two shops lights for that.

 

[DN328]

If you dont plan to grow plants, then to be honest any light will do. The fish dont really care.

That said, I would suggest you go with LED as suggested. I started with T5HO, just because I didnt want to spend money on what I really wanted initially, but ended up doing so later.

Do you or your mom care about aesthetic and controllability of the lighting. Where will the tank be and do you have a budget in mind. There's a broad range in pricing.

 

[Ari7667]

This is basically our showcase of our house. Our worry is that it will look dark. Whatever will make the fish look the best.

I like the features of the current and that it is the same idea of the one we have on our 55 gallon. But if the halos would be better.

-Thank you for your help

 

[Ari7667]

If you dont plan to grow plants, then to be honest any light will do. The fish dont really care.

That said, I would suggest you go with LED as suggested. I started with T5HO, just because I didnt want to spend money on what I really wanted initially, but ended up doing so later.

Do you or your mom care about aesthetic and controllability of the lighting. Where will the tank be and do you have a budget in mind. There's a broad range in pricing.

We want to get a good item for the price. We have already spent so much on the tank we just want to get what will look the best.

The tank will be in our living room right as you walk into the house. It will be placed in between upper and lower cabinets.

We want to make this tank the centerpiece of our house. So we want lighting that makes the fish look as nice as possible.

-Thank you for your help

 

[DN328]

OK. If it is the central attraction, and, you want lighting that is flexible for future with plants, then how about Ecotech Marine XR15's made for Planted/Freshwater?

You maybe able to get away with 3, but 4 would be better and you could run lower output. They will defintely light up your 450. Let me know if you have any questions. I've got pictures if needed just to get an idea too.

 

[mrrobxc]

OK. If it is the central attraction, and, you want lighting that is flexible for future with plants, then how about Ecotech Marine XR15's made for Planted/Freshwater?

You maybe able to get away with 3, but 4 would be better and you could run lower output. They will defintely light up your 450. Let me know if you have any questions. I've got pictures if needed just to get an idea too.

Agreed. Eco tech, kessil, and halos would all work