Marineland aquatic plant LED system

[aaron7353]

With the huge interest nowadays in LEDs, I couldn't help but take notice. I am working with a 125 gallon tank that is 72" x 18" x 21". Is this fixture ( http://www.marineland.com/Products/...led-aquarium-lighting-for-aquatic-plants.aspx) sufficient for a 125 gallon planted tank that is being dosed with dry ferts? I'm even thinking of doing DIY pressurized CO2, so I need good lighting. My main concern after PAR of course is if one fixture is sufficient. I know I'll need 2 36" fixtures to span the tank, but with an 18" tank width, will this be enough? What is a cheap accent to the system that i could use in lieu of buying more than 2 of these fixtures?

Any other LEDs that are recommended besides the Marineland one?

 

[xxUnRaTeDxxRkOxx]

You could go with a Odyssea 72" T5HO quad system: http://www.aquatraders.com/72-inch-4x80W-T5-Aquarium-Light-Digi-Timer-Fixture-p/52327p.htm

DIY co2 really won't do anything for such a big tank, anything above 55 gallons is just to big for a DIY co2 system. I would recommend investing in a co2 injection system since the Odyssea T5HO lighting fixture is pretty low in price. Because DIY co2 was designed for smaller tanks it wouldn't be able to supply enough co2 to suffice a 72" tank.

 

[aaron7353]

You could go with a Odyssea 72" T5HO quad system: http://www.aquatraders.com/72-inch-4x80W-T5-Aquarium-Light-Digi-Timer-Fixture-p/52327p.htm

DIY co2 really won't do anything for such a big tank, anything above 55 gallons is just to big for a DIY co2 system. I would recommend investing in a co2 injection system since the Odyssea T5HO lighting fixture is pretty low in price. Because DIY co2 was designed for smaller tanks it wouldn't be able to supply enough co2 to suffice a 72" tank.

I was planning on doing DIY injection/pressurized CO2. Any manufactured systems that you recommend?

 

[xxUnRaTeDxxRkOxx]

Well it depends how much you're willing to spend, in my case I live on disability so I plan on getting a Milwaukee MA957 regulator, and a 10lb co2 tank. But if I had the money I'd go with the carbondoser electronic co2 regulator and a 20lb tank.

 

[HybridHerp]

for a 125, if you are doing co2, you need to do a proper pressurized system, with a regulator and a cansiter and all that.

No paintball co2, no DIY yeast, you need a proper regulator.

Now, as far as your lighting goes, because you cannot do high light without having co2.....if you want LED, I suggest you look into getting these TWO fixtures....a RayII and a Monster Ray, both from Finnex. Its a good combo for high light, and gives off a nice color combination. You can't really just do one fixture with LED on a tank as wide as a 125 though...LED's don't spread light very well they only shoot light straight down.

Now, T5-HO things are better than LED when it comes to the spread of light, but I would recommend, for a tank your size, doing nothing less than a 4 bulb fixture of a quality build. I use a catalina fixture, and it is nice, but I would go looking around. Its not enough for it to just be t5-ho, it needs to have a good distance between the bulbs and good reflectors, individual reflectors in fact, so that each bulb is being reflected separately of the others. It vastly increases your light output and is what you need for a tank as tall as a 125. However, you may opt to go for a 6 bulb fixture even, simple for more light and more spread of said light, and the ability to run different colored bulbs in order to maximize the appearance of your tank.

I wouldn't skimp out on anything if you are going the high-tech route on your tank, I'd go big or go home. Going in the middle is only going to lead to regrets, and ultimately more money spent.

 

[brich999]

i LOVE my kessil a150w 6700k and 3 would be about the price of 2 of the marineland fixtures. sleek and bright, plus amazing shimmer with 32w coming from one small chip. did lots of HW and ended up going with kessil, but my tank is rimless and really liked the look of a pendant and the flexibility it gave me