lighting

[sivart33]

so i have a 120 (24 high, 18 wide, 72 long) gal with nothing in it yet besides rock, wood, water, sand. (cycling)

i want to get some lights for it but where should i get them, i am proficient with wiring and home depot lights are looking best for cost. i understand about the "k" rating, lums and watts, but all the lights i see at home depot do not post lums on there lights. anyone recomend lighting i should get, maybe wattage (yes i know wattage does not work well anymore).

-should i look for t8,t12, PC lighting?
-is there a link to a diy lighting (home depot) on here that i have not found yet?
-i have a 4 foot t12 lighting already ( 80 watt total but only 4000 lums) anything i can get to up the lums?

was planning on hanging lights above with about 6-12 inches above the water level for air current.

 

[sivart33]

4600 Lumens
to be exact

 

[Brian_Indiana]

What fish will you put in it? For Africans, I always liked the combo of a 50/50 and 10K. I also prefer T5 bulbs and fixtures.

 

[jcardona1]

What type of planted setup will this be? No co2/no ferts/low light/easy plants? Or a high tech setup?

 

[sivart33]

no co2, no ferts( maybe some in the future) med light to low light, can always upgrade later.

 

[jcardona1]

Ok, if you want to hang the lights 6-12" above the tank, I'd recommend going with a PC fixture. Using T8/T12 and then raising them may give you too little light to even grow some basic plants.

 

[MadRussian79]

I've had luck with both VHO florescent and PC lighting. MH would be overkill for that set up. Given that it's a 6 foot tnk you could go with 1 6' VHO setup with two bulbs. The down side is that you will have to order the bulbs online since I haven't seen any store that carries 6 ft VHO. The 6 foot PC fixture costs more. Both are being phased out for LED which right now are supper expensive. The VHO will be a bit cheaper over time but you have more flexibility with a PC fixture as far as color.