how much light for my tank?

[BlueMoon]

Hi all,

Just wondering if someone could recommend the correct lighting for my tank.

I currently have a Aqua one single tube 60cm long 20W bulb for my 50cm H X 75L X 40 W.

Anyway I want to turn this into a planted tank and there is no way enough light

Just wondering what light hood and bulb/s wattage I would need to give good lighting.

Cheers

Amy

[alanmin4304]

With 500mm high and only 75mm long you will only get 600mm tubes to fit and I have a tank 600mm x 600mm with 3 x 600mm growlux tubes that is growing baby sword plants well but it only has 400mm of water in it. If you think about it---my 1200mm tank with 2 x 1200mm tubes has the same light over the plants as a 600mm tank with 2 x 600mm tubes. You will need 2 or 3 tubes and then adjust the time they are on by the results. I would use one grolux and one cool white or two growlux and one cool white, others would swear by daylight (6500k) You pays your money and takes your pick.

[whetu]

Yep, as Alan pointed out, the depth of the water is the issue here. The deeper the water, the more of the useful light you 'lose' before it gets to the bottom of the tank.

This combined with the short length of the tank, means you will be limited in the amount of lighting you can add.

My suggestion would be to consider lowering your water level as well as increasing your lighting. You would need to plan this approach carefully to make sure your tank is still aesthetically pleasing once the water is lowered.

Perhaps you could get some drift wood that could emerge from the water at the back of your tank, and grow some plants on it partially out of the water? (Various mosses could look nice, as well as plants like anubias).

Another method I have used is to supplement the long light tubes with spot lighting using readily available "power saving" bulbs in cool white/daylight spectrum. This means putting together your own light fittings, so if you're into a bit of DIY I'm happy to explain how I did it. It allows you to spotlight specific plants that have high light requirements while having lower general lighting in the rest of your tank.

Have fun!

[Zev]

Another method I have used is to supplement the long light tubes with spot lighting using readily available "power saving" bulbs in cool white/daylight spectrum. This means putting together your own light fittings, so if you're into a bit of DIY I'm happy to explain how I did it. It allows you to spotlight specific plants that have high light requirements while having lower general lighting in the rest of your tank.

Have fun!

Hmmm.. this is an interesting concept, it would make for some stunning diversity of plants in a tank.

When you consider a bank of VHO T5 lights over a tank, it gives you a flat, uniform spread of light.

I think the 'spotlight' method would give you a more visually interesting tank, that has light and dark areas, and would get you away from the brightly lit 'box' type look of VHO lighting.

It would be like running banks of fluorescent lights in your lounge that replicate daylight throughout the entire room, rather than a lower amount of light that highlights specific areas of interest.

[whetu]

Hmmm.. this is an interesting concept, it would make for some stunning diversity of plants in a tank.

When you consider a bank of VHO T5 lights over a tank, it gives you a flat, uniform spread of light.

I think the 'spotlight' method would give you a more visually interesting tank, that has light and dark areas, and would get you away from the brightly lit 'box' type look of VHO lighting.

It would be like running banks of fluorescent lights in your lounge that replicate daylight throughout the entire room, rather than a lower amount of light that highlights specific areas of interest.

yes zev, that's what I was trying to achieve when I set out. If you can imagine a couple of tubes at the back of the tank to provide general lighting, then a spotlight or two at the front giving "pools" of light on particular plants - especially ground-cover plants when you're trying to achieve the look of a brightly lit clearing in a forest with a kind of mini-meadow growing there. Now imagine elsewhere in the tank a red plant also standing in its own pool of bright light.

Well if you can imagine that, you'll just have to keep imagining because I haven't actually achieved it yet! :lol:

I've recently brought my spotlights out of the garage to give it another go. I stopped using them because the light fittings themselves weren't very attractive - I used bathroom heat lamp shades hoping they would be resistant to damage from condensation (they weren't) and hoping the vents at the top would allow any condensation out (they didn't). Also the shades are white which makes the top of the tank look like it belongs in an operating theatre!

Things I would/will do differently:

- Paint the shades black on the outside (or whatever colour goes with your decor). Ideally have them powder coated so they are resistant to rust etc.

- Paint or line the inside of the shades with reflective material to maximise the light that gets into the tank

- Always use the lights with a glass cover on the tank so condensation can't get in.

I bought the shades from a lighting shop (not cheap - you may find some cheaper in an online auction). I then bought all the other components from a DIY electrical store:

Cables

bayonet bulb fittings

In-line switches

3-pin plugs

Putting it all together was pretty simple.

Worth a try if you can get all the bits cheap. I considered buying old desk lamps or bedside lamps from auctions and cannibalising them, but in the end found it easier to buy exactly what I wanted and make it from scratch.