HaNs Posted May 5, 2007 Report Share Posted May 5, 2007 Hi I planing on getting 2 new tanks made up. One tank will be around 1m long, planted and have dwarf puffers, the other one will be around 1.1-1.3m long and have minimal plants and fish such as oscars/pelco/silver dollars in it. What lighting/type of lighting will be best for my tanks? What are common size's for tubes and connections for the lights? What specs do the bulbs have/what specs do i need? What about night lighting? moonlighting and blue lights for night or day? What are common tank widths and heights? What thickness glass? 10mm? I will be making the stands myself out of ply and staining them black and then sealing them. I have all my filtration sorted(or over filtration 8) ) Would it be a good idea to run the 2 tanks of a fx5? I am also in the process of building my own filter that does 3800l/h with a alot of media. I could use a pump that does 5800l/h or is this over kill? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ira Posted May 5, 2007 Report Share Posted May 5, 2007 Metal halides would be best for the planted tank, regular T8 fluoros for the unplanted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HaNs Posted May 5, 2007 Author Report Share Posted May 5, 2007 Metal halides would be best for the planted tank, regular T8 fluoros for the unplanted. What lengths do they come in? Can i pick both up at the hardware stores? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ira Posted May 5, 2007 Report Share Posted May 5, 2007 Good luck finding metal halides in a hardware store. And they come in lenghs of Ummm...I dunno, about 3 inches and 4 inches. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TM Posted May 6, 2007 Report Share Posted May 6, 2007 standard type tanks are 36 x 18 x 18 6mm glass, 48 x 18 x 18 6mm glass or 36 x 24 x 24, 48 x 24 x 24 10mm glass. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpidersWeb Posted May 6, 2007 Report Share Posted May 6, 2007 Metal Halide isn't like flouro tubes, they're a small bulb that produces a lot of very intense light. You'd really want to run compressed CO2 etc as well to keep things in balance, as well as a gravel substrate like Daltons Aquatic mix to keep everything in balance (as MH gives off a lot of light). They also need to be suspended above the tank, not just sit on top. Are you planning on wiring everything up yourself? or purchasing lighthoods that you can just sit on top and turn on? I'd just use two T8 daylight tubes for the normal tank, simply because it'll be cheap to setup, and bulbs are a dime a dozen. T5 for the planted will cost a lot more to do, but be worth it IMO. Lighting really depends on how far you want to go. It's all a matter of balance. If you have lots of light you need the ferts and carbon to back it up. T8 is cheap and parts can be obtained easily at any electronics wholesaler or even Mitre10 mega or bunnings. T5 produces more light and is much thinner (almost half) so its more flexible. MH produces a more intense light, and is considered a necessity for tanks deeper than ~600mm but the heat it gives off and the smaller coverage area can make it a PITA. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpidersWeb Posted May 6, 2007 Report Share Posted May 6, 2007 Oh and plecos will ruin your plants, oscars will dig them up, and silver dollars LOVE eating plants, so I wouldn't put any plants in the second tank hehe, maybe just a single T8 then Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HaNs Posted May 6, 2007 Author Report Share Posted May 6, 2007 So 2 X T8's for the big tank? And how much are the T5's and how many? Do i just go in and ask for t5/8s? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HaNs Posted May 6, 2007 Author Report Share Posted May 6, 2007 oh and i will be making my own hood and getting the lights put in by a mate who is a sparky. I will work out what size tanks i will be making tomorrow and post up. Any suggestions on tank makers in the north island that dont charge the world? With surface area of the water in tank...am i trying to maximize it so i dont have to put o2 into the water? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ira Posted May 7, 2007 Report Share Posted May 7, 2007 Port Nicholson glass in petone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HaNs Posted May 7, 2007 Author Report Share Posted May 7, 2007 Port Nicholson glass in petone. Got contact details? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gatito Posted May 7, 2007 Report Share Posted May 7, 2007 One tank will be around 1m long, planted and have dwarf puffers Where on earth are you getting dwarf puffers? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HaNs Posted May 7, 2007 Author Report Share Posted May 7, 2007 Where on earth are you getting dwarf puffers? I hope to have 4 or more puffers, i am going to try and breed them. I am have the tank heavily planted Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ira Posted May 7, 2007 Report Share Posted May 7, 2007 Got contact details? Well, we're not allowed to post a company's contact details on the board...But... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HaNs Posted May 7, 2007 Author Report Share Posted May 7, 2007 Cheers, any other glass makers in the upper NI? I have called a few and got prices Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gatito Posted May 8, 2007 Report Share Posted May 8, 2007 I hope to have 4 or more puffers, i am going to try and breed them. I am have the tank heavily planted But where? There are quite a few forum members after dwarf puffers but no one has them in stock :evil: Sorry to go off topic, and i'm not planning on getting there asap and disadvantaging anywhere else, but i would like to know where they are in stock Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HaNs Posted May 8, 2007 Author Report Share Posted May 8, 2007 But where? There are quite a few forum members after dwarf puffers but no one has them in stock :evil: Sorry to go off topic, and i'm not planning on getting there asap and disadvantaging anywhere else, but i would like to know where they are in stock No one has them in stock. I have a supplier who could bring in later in the year Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HaNs Posted May 11, 2007 Author Report Share Posted May 11, 2007 New tank sizes Tank 1 1200 x 500 x 500 Tank 2 900 x 500 x 500 Tank 1 will be semi planted with java fern and what ever else my fish dont rip apart Tank 2 will be fresh water for about 1 month and then turned into a brackish tank with what ever plants survive I looking at doing florescent lights(think thats what they are), metal halide are looking to be very expensive. Are 6500k lights fine?or should i go higher? Do i need one or two per tank? Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HaNs Posted May 17, 2007 Author Report Share Posted May 17, 2007 Can any one help me with the lighting? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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