# What lights ?



## rudirudi (18 Jan 2012)

Hi all
Just returning to the hobby after about 8 years,my plan is to have a planted tank with Discus.Things have moved on so much in the time i've been away,with lights i have not heard of,although it would seem T5's are popular.I am planning a tank which would be 48inx24inx30in high,with this depth of tank what would be the best lights to use,if it is T5's how many tubes would I need and at what wattage',can these be combined with other types of lighting,any other information about lighting would be greatly appreciated.

Regards

Rudi


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## thingymajig (18 Jan 2012)

what are you wanting to grow?


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## rudirudi (18 Jan 2012)

The last tank I had was a marine tank,prior to that I had numerous freshwater tanks and like most aquarists tried to grow plants with little success,I pictured a tank probably with giant vallis at the back with crypocorryns and similar,one thing I would like to grow,and this would seem to be the the concensus is various mosses and riccia.I would imagine since you posed the question I would need different lights for different plants,I must admit I had not even considered that.As you can probably tell my plant knowledge is limited,I would appreciate any input.

Regards

Rudi


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## ceg4048 (19 Jan 2012)

Hello,
        You don't need different lights for different plants. Any light can grow any plant. If in the past you had poor success growing plants then there is a 99% probability that you were not paying attention to the plants nutritional needs.

If the tank that you are planning to get comes with a hood the the lights that come with the hood will be fine for growing plants regardless. 

What you have to decide fundamentally before you begin is whether you want have a high growth rate, high maintenance CO2 enriched tank or whether you want a low maintenance non-CO2 enriched tank. This will determine what level of lighting the tank can handle.

Cheers,


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## rudirudi (19 Jan 2012)

Hi
I have been doing a lot of reading and looking at other tanks,I will be using CO2 and carrying out large water changes using RO water,it is suggested you carry out 50% water changes,the tank I plan to set up will hold about 130 gallons(I am considering a trickle filter plus a large cannister filter,havent done the math yet but for 10 x's the volume per hour they will need to be quite serious pumps,I'm concerned it will be like a washing machine in there,obviously with marine tanks this is the norm,I just assumed it would be more sedate in a planted tank),going back to water changes.it would require 60ish gallons of water a weekto be changed,thats not taking into consideration the water in the sump.I have been looking at substrate,ADA stuff looks good but real expensive,will be posting quetions about substrate at a later date,anyway,thanks in advance for any info.

Regards

Rudi


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## ceg4048 (19 Jan 2012)

Hi,
   Most of the information you need can be found in the Tutorial section of the Forum here => viewforum.php?f=34

You should start with the Topic entitled Setting up a 'higher' tech planted tank which lays the foundation for a CO2 enriched tank. The other Topics in that section describes in greater detail the specific issues that are related such as CO2 techniques, CO2 monitoring, nutrient dosing and lighting.

A 130 gallon CO2-enriched tank ideally requires 1300 GPH of rated flow and that flow needs to be distributed properly across the tank, however, if you avoid excessive lighting then you don't need that much flow. If you insist on T5 then for this size tank I would suggest you limit the lighting to no more than about 200W maximum, 100W of which should be disabled for the first 6-8 weeks. Then you will find that you can get away with much lower flow ratings, less nutrient requirements, less CO2 injection rate and of course smaller water changes if you so desire.

If you do not wish to spend a lot of money on ADA sediment then you can use much cheap substitutes such as Kitty Litter. Do a forum search for the term "Kitty Litter" or "Cat Litter" and you will find lots of useful info. Also check the sticky Topics in the Substrate and Lighting Sections.

Cheers,


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## rudirudi (19 Jan 2012)

Thanks for the reply,as soon as I found this site I read the tutorials,very interesting and imforatlve,I have not decided on T5's yet,I  have read about other types of lighting,compact flourescents seem to get quite good reviews,the jury would seem to still be out re LED's,are halides used for planted tanks?
I have researched substrate, the price seems to vary a great deal,I would be happy to pay the extra money for ADA stuff
but of course if someone has achieved good results with other,cheaper materials I would like to hear ,the kitty litter might be a goer but will do more research before I decide,thanks again for taking the time to respond,

Regards

Rudi


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## foxfish (19 Jan 2012)

Hi & welcome to the forum.
That sounds like a nice tank you have planed.

Lighting is often a contentious issue as some folk just dont believe you can grow plants under relatively low lighting & will insist on using huge amounts of light right from the start - however you tank is pretty deep!
Halides are definitely used but normally only over open topped tanks so you can adjust the height, in fact you might want to look at a pair of 150w metal halides or perhaps even 3 x 70w.
That would give you either approx 2.2 w per gallon or 1.5 w pg but with the opportunity to raise & lower the lights to suit the other parameters in your tank.
Trickle filters are great (I use them myself) but you have to be careful with their construction & also with the amount of water you flow through them as they can "gas off" all you precious C02!
In my mind discus are best kept in relatively quiet water & with plenty of shady retreats - well designed spray bars situated just under the surface can offer high flow rates without jetting water around the tank to much but give a nice even flow & turnover rate.
You could get away with even lower light if you used a planting design that only used plants in the upper layers of the tank, this could be achieved with lots of roots & using plants that grow attached to the wood.


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## rudirudi (19 Jan 2012)

Thanks Foxfish you have cleared a few things up,I will defo consider Halides,I think it is a common misconception(certainly mine) that you need enormous banks of powerful lighting to grow plants successfully.If using halides, would they be the same ones I used on my marine set up or is there some magic plant growing one that costs a small mortgage.I built the sump for my marine tank soI will build the wet and dry filter myself and will be posting questions later for tips and suggestions for it.

Regards

Rudi


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## foxfish (19 Jan 2012)

I bought my 70w halide with a 6500k bulb for £40 brand new & delivered from Ebay but I am sure there are expensive ones out there if you prefer!
The light spectrum is more about your own personal preference than the plants.
Check out this thread for some interesting light info...viewtopic.php?f=35&t=17797


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## rudirudi (19 Jan 2012)

Looked on ebay for 70w halides could;nt find any but will keep looking.but I did find on another site twin 54w t5 luminaire for £90,which seems reasonable.Also whilst surfing fell upon a guy who makes acrylic tanks he got back to me and said he could make me a tank 120 x 60 x 75h for £575,always fancied an acrylic tank,he would also make me a wet and dry for £200 to my design and hes only about 30 miles from me.not sure about prices for acrylic but that doese'nt seem too far off.Anybody know of a site that supplies cabinets I would be interested to hear from them.

Regards 

Rudi


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## foxfish (20 Jan 2012)

Those prices sound very reasonable to me but find out if the corners are mitered or butt jointed, also consider importing an acrylic tank as you can then get a round corner, one piece front & sides tank.
Ref the lights - there are lots of MH lights but they are not specifically for aquariums ... http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/NVC-Slimline- ... 6fc4a267b3


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## rudirudi (20 Jan 2012)

will contact the acrylic tank maker and make sure the tank is exactly what I want,will probably go with T5's ,thanks for your help all.

Regards

Rudi


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