purplecatfish Posted March 11, 2010 Report Share Posted March 11, 2010 It's time for a tank makeover... What would be 'low lighting' for the tank detailed below? In T8 and in T5? 2.5 metre long, 580 mm wide, 600 mm deep (100 mm of substrate and 50 mm of air at the top of the tank). Plants would be Anubias species on driftwood, Java Fern varieties also on driftwood, and Cryptocoryne species. Possibly also Cyperus helferii and Aponogeton (both of which reach the surface). The driftwood makes the Anubias and Java Fern about 300mm down from the lights What would be medium lighting for the same tank in a 600 by 600 patch? (I'm thinking of possibly having an Echinodorus patch surrounded with low lighting every else. Think spotlighted area on a dim stage). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SamH Posted March 11, 2010 Report Share Posted March 11, 2010 I'd go for a 150w MH as a spotlight, maybe double T8s for the rest? HTH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
purplecatfish Posted March 12, 2010 Author Report Share Posted March 12, 2010 Hi SamH, Unfortunately Metal Halides aren't an option due to the room layout. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spoon Posted March 12, 2010 Report Share Posted March 12, 2010 What about 12v halogen for the spot light Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ira Posted March 12, 2010 Report Share Posted March 12, 2010 Hi SamH, Unfortunately Metal Halides aren't an option due to the room layout. How does the room layout rule out metal halides? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
purplecatfish Posted March 13, 2010 Author Report Share Posted March 13, 2010 The tank is in the dining room which has an opening to the kitchen. The tank is beneath the opening so if I were to hang a metal halide it would be at eye level of either the diners or a person at the kitchen sink. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SamH Posted March 13, 2010 Report Share Posted March 13, 2010 Is it not possible to use a shade that comes down past the bulb or build it into a hood with fans? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phoenix44 Posted March 13, 2010 Report Share Posted March 13, 2010 Why can't we just accept that a MH is not an option? :roll: PC- your normal aquarium tubes will be alite for some swords, even if the tank is 2ft deep, and will illuminate what is just beneath them in an "A" sort of shape. If the tank has lids you can even use normal desk halogen lamps with the wrong spectrum light to illuminate the rest of it. the halogens won't do the swords any good but the effect is pretty neat. like a spot light. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
purplecatfish Posted March 14, 2010 Author Report Share Posted March 14, 2010 Currently there are 8 x 54w T5 worth of lights on the tank. Which is enough for the E. tennulus tennulus carpet and the E. osirus. There's approx .6w per litre or 298w per sq metre. But there is too much light for the Anubias so I'm thinking of downsizing the lighting on the end areas of the tank. I'm also looking at raising the drift wood so that I can see into the 'cave' areas that all the fish like to hide in (they like sitting in the shade), so the number of lumens will increase for the plants on the driftwood unless I go to low light levels. So back to the original question... What would be 'low lighting' for the tank? In T8 and in T5? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SamH Posted March 14, 2010 Report Share Posted March 14, 2010 I was unaware of the current lighting on the tank. Personally I'd focus all the T5s (if possible) on the focal point of swords and just have a double T8 strip running for the anubias. Also, forget the whole watts per litre theory, it's rubbish. HTH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
purplecatfish Posted March 14, 2010 Author Report Share Posted March 14, 2010 Also, forget the whole watts per litre theory, it's rubbish. Sort of like the inches of fish per gallon? :roll: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SamH Posted March 14, 2010 Report Share Posted March 14, 2010 Sort of like the inches of fish per gallon? :roll: Yes, exactly like that. Can't have a 12" Oscar in a 12 gallon tank but you can have 12x 1" fish Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ira Posted March 14, 2010 Report Share Posted March 14, 2010 Yes, exactly like that. Can't have a 12" Oscar in a 12 gallon tank but you can have 12x 1" fish That's why you use cubic neons per liter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SamH Posted March 14, 2010 Report Share Posted March 14, 2010 That's why you use cubic neons per liter. Uh-oh, here we go :roll: :lol: I think the WPG rule can only be used for heaters. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ira Posted March 14, 2010 Report Share Posted March 14, 2010 Uh-oh, here we go :roll: :lol: I think the WPG rule can only be used for heaters. Nope, should be surface area, not volume. :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SamH Posted March 14, 2010 Report Share Posted March 14, 2010 Nope, should be surface area, not volume. :lol: Oh. So I have a 60x30x30cm tank with a 45x25x25cm sump. Which wattage heater should I use and why? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phoenix44 Posted March 14, 2010 Report Share Posted March 14, 2010 jager 300W. cause nothing else is good enough :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SamH Posted March 14, 2010 Report Share Posted March 14, 2010 jager 300W That might work... if we were having boiled fish for dinner Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ira Posted March 14, 2010 Report Share Posted March 14, 2010 Oh. So I have a 60x30x30cm tank with a 45x25x25cm sump. Which wattage heater should I use and why? What's the average temperature of the room and what temperature would you like the tank to be? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phoenix44 Posted March 14, 2010 Report Share Posted March 14, 2010 That might work... if we were having boiled fish for dinner allow me to introduce you to the concept of a thermostat. :lol: any how.. PC did you get the answer you were looking for? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SamH Posted March 14, 2010 Report Share Posted March 14, 2010 What's the average temperature of the room and what temperature would you like the tank to be? Average room temperature is 18° Celcius and I would like the aquarium to maintain a stable temperature of 26° celcius. allow me to introduce you to the concept of a thermostat. :lol: In such a small quantity of water it would be switching on and off like a strobe light. any how.. PC did you get the answer you were looking for? Ah, the classic thread jack. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phoenix44 Posted March 14, 2010 Report Share Posted March 14, 2010 In such a small quantity of water it would be switching on and off like a strobe light. no Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ira Posted March 14, 2010 Report Share Posted March 14, 2010 What's the average temperature of the room and what temperature would you like the tank to be? The math is difficult to do, experimentally would be much easier. Plug a power meter into the tank, see how much it draws on average over a week. I'm working on figuring out the math for a vague simplified case approximation...If I do I will post it. I'm having trouble finding values... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ira Posted March 14, 2010 Report Share Posted March 14, 2010 Ok...Let's see...If I'm doing this right. We'll do a super simplified case of just taking into account the heat loss through the front, sides and back of the sump and tank because the top and bottoms will be relatively more insulated. The equation is Rate= h*A*Diff Temp h=Heat transfer coefficient A=Surface area Diff temp= obviously the difference in temperature. First we need to find out the heat transfer coefficient of the tank. This is basically the how quickly heat will transfer through the glass to the outside world. and is h= k/x where k is the thermal conductivity of glass(About 1.13w/(m*K)) and x is thickness in meters. We'll use 6mm in this case. That means h= 1.1/.006 h= 183 This is the number of watts lost per square meter per degree temperature difference. Next, we need to calculate the surface area of the tank plus the sump. Everyone should be able to figure this out on their own. So A= .89 square meters Difference in temp is 8 degrees. That leaves us with Rate=183*.89*8 Rate 1303 watts Which...Is a LOT more than I'd expect in practice. I think this will be basically the absolute peak heat loss in this situation before theair against the glass warms up and the temperature difference drops. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SamH Posted March 14, 2010 Report Share Posted March 14, 2010 Where's the mega-confused emote? So I need a 1303 watt heater?! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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