Lighting question for 6' tank

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fishbum

fishbum

Piranha
MFK Member
Nov 10, 2007
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I just bought a 6 foot,180 gallon tank(72''x24''x24'') that I plan on keeping some SA cichlids,pictus,maybe some tin foil barbs,and maybe a pleco.Because of the fish I want to keep,I plan on having little to no plants at all.I have never kept a plant free tank,and am not sure about lighting.This is what I am looking at. Will 2 of these 36'' lights be suitable for this tank and fish?My biggest concern is I don't want to grow algae,and not be able to have plants to keep it at a minimum.
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=3578+3733+3800&pcatid=3800
 
dude i have a way way cheaper solution, go to lowes, walmart home depot and get a 48" double T5 light. that alone should get you light, and its only $10, is you want more lighting just buy and second one and over lap them, and dude you will always have algae.

make a algae scrubber, then you wont have algae !!! click the site in my sig for more info on it
 
I'm going to have a hood,but not a canopy,and I'm not looking for cheap alternative ideas,thanks for the idea though.
I have lots of planted tanks that never have algae.I have also had tanks with fake plants in the past and know that if you keep the lights off,or on only a couple of hours a day,algae will be kept to a minimum.But they will eventually need to be cleaned.Cleaning algae is not a problem.I know how to do that.
I really just wanted to know if anyone knew if the light I linked will nicely light up a 2' deep tank.
 
well i have a 72" 150 and i use the triple bulbs t8 lights of the same variety my tank is 30" deep its kinda blurry but you get the point im running an aqua glow in the center @30 watts and the other 2 sides are 25 watt all glass bulbs cant think of the k ratting on them and i dont have an algae issue in my tank

IMG_0165.JPG
 
fishbum;3330826; said:
I just bought a 6 foot,180 gallon tank(72''x24''x24'') that I plan on keeping some SA cichlids,pictus,maybe some tin foil barbs,and maybe a pleco.Because of the fish I want to keep,I plan on having little to no plants at all.I have never kept a plant free tank,and am not sure about lighting.This is what I am looking at. Will 2 of these 36'' lights be suitable for this tank and fish?My biggest concern is I don't want to grow algae,and not be able to have plants to keep it at a minimum.
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=3578+3733+3800&pcatid=3800
Click to expand...

My 6ft 125g has the single bulb version of that hood. It has 2x 36" hoods (but the 36" hood only holds a 24" bulb...). I use 20W Aqua-Glo 24" bulbs.
 
I have a 180 same dimensions and I built a hood. Then I went to homedepot and bought a regular florescent ballast that would do 4 3' or 4' bulbs. I hooked it up and bought 2 3' Actinic blue bulbs and 2 3' 10000k bulbs (love the color it makes when they mix; real crisp white with a tint of blue). I leave the lights on 12 hours a day, have no plants and have never had alge. I run about 900gph through a pretty good filtration so that might help. If you don't want alge stay away from the shop lights, you can use the fixtures as long as the aquarium bulbs you buy match the watts of the ones you are taking out, otherwise you will burn out the ballast or the bulb quickly. You also want to stay away from the lower k bulbs like the 6700k because those will promote the growth of alge. You can get those fixtures and I think you'll be happy with how deep they penetrate and light up the tank but if you start to see alge growing check the k and change em to the actinic blue and 10000k mixture.
 
Thanks Loch Ness.I think I'll go with the fixture I linked and change the bulbs.
900 gph,what kind of filtration are you using?
 
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