# Recommendations on lighting



## dZilla (Dec 30, 2010)

Looking to do a planted tank in either a 110g tall or 90g. Wondering if anyone can give me recommendations on lighting options for lights for said tanks. (links would be great). Low to medium options would be great. I am also not against any DIY options that might be available.

I've always tried doing planted (small 10g & 20g with DIY CO2 and CF lights) but wanting to try something bigger, and well before I start just adding water and plants and fish I'd rather have all the right equipment right away. 

And if someone can correct me I am assuming CO2 is a must in a tank this size?

Any help would be greatly appreciated


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## EDGE (Aug 24, 2010)

Depends on what plant you are trying to grow. low to medium light plants around 1w 1.5w T5. high light plants 2w+ T5.

3 to 4 tubes of HO T5 will be sufficient. 3 tubes for moderate light. 4 tubes for high light.

Even 2 tubes of HO T5 will work, but limit your selection to low light. (2nd dot on the Tropica forum for lighting requirement) The higher you go, the more CO2 and fertilizer you will need.

check the spec on this tank 2x 30 watt no CO2..

http://www.pbase.com/plantella/330hnlme
http://www.pbase.com/plantella/image/127996912


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## Melad360 (Feb 3, 2011)

if you want low light, then yes probably 2 or 3 lamps will do. how deep is the tank? that also affects how much light reaches the bottom of the tank. if it is 2 feet deep, then probably go with 3 lamps, but if its less then 2 lamps will do. i have a 112 60x18Wx24H and i have an ATI powermodule 6 lamp system on mine. that will get to high light zone. 

CO2, like EDGE said, will increase as you increase light. are you going pressurized? or DIY? i recommend to go with pressurized because fluctuating CO2 brings on algae. you dont want that. check out jlaquatics.com, bigalsonline.ca and aquariumsupplies.ca for nice 2 or 3 lamp fixtures. i find MOPS (aquariumsupplies) has the cheapest price, but not much sellection, and JL to have the most expensive for shipping, and BA having great shipping and decent prices with lots of selection. check out the wave point and zoo med fixtures. also check out the teklight fixtures from MOPS, and the double GLO fixtures from petsandponds.com (or .ca).


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## Nanokid (May 18, 2010)

EDGE said:


> Depends on what plant you are trying to grow. low to medium light plants around 1w 1.5w T5. high light plants 2w+ T5.
> 
> 3 to 4 tubes of HO T5 will be sufficient. 3 tubes for moderate light. 4 tubes for high light.
> 
> ...


those tanks have 1000$ of filters on it!


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## target (Apr 21, 2010)

On my 90 I have 2 of these:

Hagen GLO T5 Electronic Flourescent Lighting System (2-54W)

One for 2 48" 54w T5 Ho bulbs, the other for 2 24" 24w T5 HO bulbs.

The bulbs are all Coralife. 54 Watt Coralife Colormax T5 Fluorescent Bulb (48 Inch)

I have one 48" colormax, one 48" 6700K, one 24" colormax, and one 24" 10000k. Each bulb had its own reflector.

I don`t feel that Co2 is a must with that size tank. You will have to dose something, but so far I have just been using metricide and haven`t run into problems.


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## dZilla (Dec 30, 2010)

When you say metricide is this what we are talking about?

Amazon.com: MetriCide® 28 High-Level Disinfectant / Sterilant: Office Products

How long does 'one gallon' of this stuff last for? dosing in a 110g tall tank (48x18x30(H)).

I'd like to do pressurized CO2, but if this stuff is more cost effective then I might switch.

Or excel

Amazon.com: Seachem Flourish Excel 2 Liter: Home & Garden

so its 1capful (approx 1ml) every day (or every other day), on a 110g tall tank, that'd be 2 (capfuls), so a 2 litre jug of excel would last well forever? lol....

It seems like Metricide is well far more cost effective.... If i do decide to go this route and someone wants to buy a couple jugs of the stuff when I order it let me know.

I do a lot of reading on threads but it just doesn't seem to make sense to me hence why I am asking all these noob questions but as I said I'd rather have all the information I need at the beginning before starting a planted tank, (and not have my wife yell at me when I need to buy more things lol)

Thanks for all the knowledgeable information so far


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## EDGE (Aug 24, 2010)

Pretty much the same, people use metricide 14. http://www.bcaquaria.com/forum/plants-algae-ferts-ei-co2-lighting-13/basic-guide-carbon-dioxide-81/.

Personally, I would rather use DIY CO2 than metricide. At least then I can tell if something is out of balance with the tank when I see an algae outbreak. Metricide is an algaecide.


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## dZilla (Dec 30, 2010)

I guess on a 110g DIY CO2 might get expenisve.. but I don't know.....

So with the above questions as well, I have another
2) I have a 90g and a 110g (same footprint only 30" (H) ).. the 110g tall is drilled and sump ready, what are going to be the shortcomings with using a sump when trying to do a planted tank? What are the benefits? Am I better to go with just the 90g?


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## 2wheelsx2 (Apr 21, 2010)

The sump is a actually a great idea. There are 2 negatives with a sump:

1. Loss of CO2 - the splashing from the overflow can cause loss of CO2. But you can mitigate that by upping the CO2 injection rate and sealing the sump.

If you are not injecting CO2, then it doesn't matter, but it brings up the next one which is a big concern:

2. Plant matter clogging the overflow from drawing the water down. You can solve this by having large enough gaps in the baffle and by cleaning it out, but if you have small fish/shrimp, that may be a problem in them going down the drain so to speak.


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## Nanokid (May 18, 2010)

best lights are swirly flouresents from wall-mart. t-5s are over priced and do the same job.... seriously! save yourself some money and make a DIY hood with 8 6700 k "eco" friendly bulbs. it will cost you under 100$ 

as for the sump. not good for planted tanks.


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## 2wheelsx2 (Apr 21, 2010)

Nanokid said:


> as for the sump. not good for planted tanks.


This is not true at all. There are many fine examples of CO2 injected and non CO2 injected planted tanks on various plant forums which are sumped. The methods just need to be modified a bit. In some ways, sumped tanks make way more sense in larger tanks.


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## dZilla (Dec 30, 2010)

Yea if you could elloborate more in the 'not good for planted tanks' comment that'd be great...

Any threads/links to a DIY lighting for what you mentioned above as well?


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