Freshwater Lighting Suggestions for Planted Tank Please

[Laura]

Hi Folks,
I've been checking out your site for a while now and your range of interests and knowledge is impressive.  I got bitten by the aquarium bug again when I got a tank for my son (okay - I just said it was for him....).  

I've since realized that I needed my own toy, and this is where I am looking for your suggestions with respect to lighting.  I have a tall 45 gallon (36"long x 24'tall x 12"deep) and I would like it well planted, I would really like the lighting to support some sort of carpet planting (in my research I've found some that do okay with low/med lighting) in addition to other plants.  I realize that it's a tall tank and that opinions differ as to whether a tall tank requires a higher watt per gallon than a shorter tank.

From the research I've been doing, low to medium lighting would likely do the trick for me as I want something fairly low maintenance and I don't yet want to get into CO2 systems.  I'm hoping to come to the Nov. meeting and hear the presentation on high light tanks, although I suspect I'm not yet at that degree of sophistication.

My problem is that I know I need a better system than came with the tank (one 24" 20w flourescent bulb - yeesh).  My partner is building a stand and canopy, so building a lighting system from scratch won't be an issue.  I've reviewed your past discussions on lighting in the aquatic discussions and have checked out some of the links and info provided.

Natural light will be poor, so I can't rely on that to augment the canopy lighting.  From the little (okay, nothing) I know about electrical components, I would prefer to get something with waterproof endcaps rather than something from Home Depot.

I've seen references to both AH Supply and Hagen Glo Mats and would really appreciate your input regarding these or something similar.  From AH Supply, would it be better to get a 2x36w kit (1.6 wpg - $63US not incl shipping/bulbs ) and get two different bulbs providing a range of spectrum, or a 1x96w (2.1 wpg) - $59US not incl shipping/bulbs) - are these 4 prong tubes only available through specialty/mail order, or can I pick them up at a bigger store (Big Als, Petsmart etc).  

Alternatively,  Glo Mat's are an option although esthetically, we would prefer the canopy to be no larger than the tank, thus I would be relegated to approximately 2 double 20w kits (1.7 wpg at 45$ each =$90 not incl bulbs).   From the info on AH Supply, their tubes are just shy of 36" thus the addition of the endcaps and framing would be just about right.

I must admit that in doing the research, my eyes start to glaze over with the lux, lumins and cf's, although I get the basics that ideally I should have the closest to full spectrum, over 5000K, and the highest CF possible.  I would very much appreciate any spoon feeding that anyone is able to supply either online or at the upcoming meeting. (ie go here and buy this...)

Thanks very much in advance.

Laura

[kennyman]

I put a splashgard in my diy canopy to protect the bulbs and other electrical from water deposits. I used a pane from an old storm window and cut it to fit. I found it hard to cut glass but others here have alot more exp with it. Anyways It's just something I thought i'd suggest for you to concider when desigining your canopy. I feel safe knowing the splash gard is going to keep water and humidity away from my diy electical job

[darkdep]

On the tanks where I have DIY lighting, I have the standard "sliding glass top" to protect the lights from any water (similar to what kennyman described, it's just not technically part of the canopy).  Then I have standard T8 bulbs using regular home depot endcaps and ballasts.  Cheap and Effective.

[BigDaddy]

Hello Laura and welcome to the forums.

Dwarf sag and echinodorus tellenus are both carpetting plants that do well in medium light (there are no low light carpet plants unless you try to carpet java moss).

The problem is:  your tank is 24 inches deep.  A lot of water for the light to have to penetrate.

Realistically, there are only two choices if you want a carpet plant to thrive, and thus, carpet   :lol:

Linear compact fluorescents or metal halide.

Metal halide is very expensive, and you couldn't use it with a hood without having to worry about serious heat issues, so I'll address compact fluorescents.

CF bulbs will be a good choice, but at that depth, you'll have to get a bit more than above average to compensate for the tall tank.  The standard 36 inch cf bulb is a 96 Watt bulb.  Essentially, that will give you a little over 2 WPG.  Now... if you get the AH Supply 1 * 96 Watt setup, you'd be okay, simply because AH has one of the best reflectors on the market which will certainly help to direct as much light into the tank as possible, cutting down on restrike and increasing bulb effeciency.

I would shy away from the glomats... simply because they are a normal output bulb (typically called NO bulbs).  NO bulbs would be less than perfect at that depth, and you'd likely be frustrated with your carpet plants.

Hope this helps.

PS - You can buy linear cf bulbs here in town.

[frollo]

Ditto for me about the sliding glass tops and there is no problems with condensation. I have a regular t8 builder basic no frills lighting from Home Depot. One of my factors for going with the t8 is that I can buy the bulbs easily and very reasonably priced at Home Depot or Rona.

[Laura]

Thanks everyone for your input - I really appreciate folks taking the time to provide their feedback.  There've been some great  suggestions and it's nice to have some perspective and experience to go along with web research.

Cheers,
Laura