Ymir Posted October 15, 2011 Report Share Posted October 15, 2011 Hi all. I need some help on deciding lighting for my tank. It is time to help grade but I do not want or have the desire to become a led/t5ho/metal halide guru to work out the best option for my tank. My tank is: 150 cm long 48 cm wide 50 cm High I keep African cichlids and the tank has wood, rocks and finally, crypt and anubias species in there as well. So strong metal halides are probably not needed due to the low light requirement for these species. I have done some reading and the blue light spectrum is not good for the plants due to it being the wrong spectrum for photosynthesis. However, blue light make the cichlids "pop" in the tank. I am imagining that I will need a 50/50 mix of blue and whatever light the plants require. That way plants grow and fish "pop" What I need to know is what would people recommend. especially the maximum and minimum strength lighting for the plants. For the fish it is pretty easy, blue light is blue light (probably going to get proved wrong here :facepalm: ). And what type of lighting unit I need. Please help, I am tired if reading web pages of technical data and still confused. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Posted October 15, 2011 Report Share Posted October 15, 2011 Just use some T8 tubes. Hagen PowerGlos would be the best option as the plants grow well under them and they also make the fishes colours look very nice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phoenix44 Posted October 16, 2011 Report Share Posted October 16, 2011 50 high? Get some HOs. I light unit with 2 powerglo tubes should be sufficient. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ymir Posted October 16, 2011 Author Report Share Posted October 16, 2011 50 high? Get some HOs. I light unit with 2 powerglo tubes should be sufficient. Height from top of tank to bottom. I have read somewhere that the depth of water determines K rating (water penetration say between a 6500K and 10000 K :dunno: ). What size HO? T5 or T8 Can I get away with a 4ft light fixture or do I need 5ft light figure? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phoenix44 Posted October 16, 2011 Report Share Posted October 16, 2011 A 4ft T5 HO fixture will be adequate. I'd recommend the Hagen / GLO units. More expensive, but definitely worth it, and they have extendible legs so will fit on a 5ft tank snugly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Posted October 16, 2011 Report Share Posted October 16, 2011 Height from top of tank to bottom. I have read somewhere that the depth of water determines K rating (water penetration say between a 6500K and 10000 K :dunno: ). What size HO? T5 or T8 Can I get away with a 4ft light fixture or do I need 5ft light figure? You can't get T8HO, only T5HO. My tank's 50cm high and I have a few low-light plants and I get good results with two T8's. If your only planning on keeping Crypts and Anubias, T8's will be just fine. I have very healthy C. cordata and willisii, and my tubes are probably over a year old. If you do go for T5HO's though, get one of those Hagen double tube ballasts. That way you can mount the lights further apart to get even spread. The Hagen GLO canopies are narrow so the light would be a narrow beam across the middle of the tank, so the ballast is a better option plus it's much cheaper than the canopy fixture. You can also buy whatever reflectors you want, or you could just make your own. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smidey Posted October 16, 2011 Report Share Posted October 16, 2011 ah great, the very question i was about to post. the only difference between this tank setup and mine is my tank is 2.0m. the question I was going to ask about my tank is, I see there are single tube lights. Do i need a double tube or will a single be ok? My tank is 450 high & i only have val growing in my tank. what i am planning on buying is two 3 foot lights but unsure about one or twin bulb units. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ymir Posted October 16, 2011 Author Report Share Posted October 16, 2011 If you do go for T5HO's though, get one of those Hagen double tube ballasts. Umm what wattage would I need? sorry as mentioned pretty green (no pun intended) about this whole thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phoenix44 Posted October 16, 2011 Report Share Posted October 16, 2011 The wattage depends on the size of the tubes. A 4ft tube is 54W. The ballasts come in different wattages for the different tubes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ymir Posted October 16, 2011 Author Report Share Posted October 16, 2011 The wattage depends on the size of the tubes. A 4ft tube is 54W. The ballasts come in different wattages for the different tubes. OK. I think that I am pretty sorted. I have found this Aqua Japan 6x 5tho at http://www.fish-street.com/aqua_japan_6x_t5ho?category_id=144. I could do three in blue and three in power glo. Would that work? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Artem Posted October 16, 2011 Report Share Posted October 16, 2011 Thats a bit of an overkill if you are only keeping some crypts and anubias. I think you would end up switching 3-4 of them off to keep algae from blooming anyway Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simian Posted October 17, 2011 Report Share Posted October 17, 2011 Hi guys Couple of tips/warnings on previous discussion 1. A rift lake setup with few plants will benefit hugely from the addition of some green light, typically a plant tank will prefer not to have green as it wont benefit the plants and would prefer more light in the red and green spectrum's. Green light has the advantage of not supporting photosynthesis, hence higher light for viewing but less algae growth. I have a good portion of green on my E Yellow/Dem tank and when I fitted my new tubes (old ones were still new) the difference was huge, especially the yellows 2. Photosynthesis occurs in both Red & Blue spectrums (thats why many grow tubes look purple) the red gives vegatitive growth and blue gives flowering/fruiting growth (or vice versa I forget exactly and cant be bothered looking it up) 3. Beware of staggered lamps on your aquarium it will give you overlaps and hence, light and dark areas (it can look like poo if you're not careful) 4. You get what you pay for when it comes to tubes, my hood I'm building will end up with the tubes costing more than the fitting! I'm doing my 5 footer's lighthood very soon and am using 4x4' t5 HO tubes, the small gap at each end will limit algae growth on the end glass, and I will be modifying the reflector to throw the light to the back of the tank to minimise algae growth on the front glass. I personally like growth on my rockwork in an african tank, the fish will graze on it and give fry get all the micro organisms that live in it. I'm going to take it one step further on a planned tank and add additional LED high intensity directional light onto my rock spires so the algae grows there in preference to less desirable locations, like the glass HTH Owen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ymir Posted October 17, 2011 Author Report Share Posted October 17, 2011 4x4' t5 HO tube setup is what I have been looking for but actually trying to find one that does not cost the earth and can be shipped to NZ has been the problem. I would also like a slim line type as it is less visually intrusive. With time and patience and I will find one. Something like this would be brilliant http://www.aquariumguys.com/current-nova-extreme48.html or http://www.thereefshop.com.au/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=5_8&products_id=1549 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
myfishybuisness Posted October 17, 2011 Report Share Posted October 17, 2011 http://www.trademe.co.nz/pets-animals/fish/lights-lamps/auction-415574235.htm This is pretty good i thought Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jennifer Posted October 17, 2011 Report Share Posted October 17, 2011 Low lighting is so underrated. High lighting is good for growing algae unless you have a very short photoperiod or a lot of healthy plants and a good fertilisation regime. I personally wouldn't put more than two normal T5s or T8s over that tank with those plants. I have a tank that is near the dimensions of yours and it has two T5s over it. It is chock full of crypts but I still have to keep the photoperiod at around 7 hours per day or I get algae, even with carbon and ferts twice a week. There is no need to pay extra for fancy overpriced tubes, especially for a low light tank like that. Pick a broad spectrum set of colours you like and you'll be fine. If you really want to pay a lot, get LEDs - twice the intensity with half of the energy usage and a much longer life span. Just my 2 cents. :smln: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cichlid_fan Posted October 17, 2011 Report Share Posted October 17, 2011 I recently upgraded the lighting on my 5foot tang display tank ,was using a double t8 aquaone ,upgraded to a reefoctopus four foot quad T5 -2 blue,2 white with led moonlight.Thought it would be abit overkill when I first saw it ,but now that it is on the tank running,its awesome,tank looks much better,shows fishes colours to their fullest. Not sure if you can get this brand in nz,but quad T5 is way to go IMO. http://www.reefoctopus.com.au/v2/pub/products.cfm?range=6E29531E-16E6-397A-98BE05AB3612D121 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ymir Posted October 17, 2011 Author Report Share Posted October 17, 2011 Well that settles it. I was staring to lean towards the OCTOPUS HORIZON 4FT 4X54W T5HO Marine Fish Tank Light. Just have to find out how much for shipping. :dunno: :facepalm: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cichlid_fan Posted October 17, 2011 Report Share Posted October 17, 2011 They're a nice light ,has a slight 'hum'(twin cooling fans) .I got mine $330(aus) a week ago , not sure who would ship to nz though Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simian Posted October 17, 2011 Report Share Posted October 17, 2011 Low lighting is so underrated. High lighting is good for growing algae unless you have a very short photoperiod or a lot of healthy plants and a good fertilisation regime. I personally wouldn't put more than two normal T5s or T8s over that tank with those plants. I have a tank that is near the dimensions of yours and it has two T5s over it. It is chock full of crypts but I still have to keep the photoperiod at around 7 hours per day or I get algae, even with carbon and ferts twice a week. There is no need to pay extra for fancy overpriced tubes, especially for a low light tank like that. Pick a broad spectrum set of colours you like and you'll be fine. If you really want to pay a lot, get LEDs - twice the intensity with half of the energy usage and a much longer life span. Just my 2 cents. :smln: I appreciate what you are saying Jennifer, and typically for a Asian or South American tank I'd agree 100%. IMO you cant beat the punch and effect of high quality & intensity lighting when you are showing off your African rift aquarium I personally only leave all my lights on when I am actually viewing my aquariums, with 1/2 power for the plants (if its a planted or semi planted setup) and the same if I am about the house but busy. The lighting hardware for my current project only cost $155+gst, its an Industrial fitting and not at all pretty, but as its going inside a new custom hood and I'm a sparky its not an issue. So its really not hard to spend more than that on tubes Hope that clarifies my position Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.