# Newbie lighting question



## Ejack (23 Jun 2008)

Hi guys, this is my first post here on these forums, so please forgive me if I sound nooblish...I am 

Anyways, I've kept you're average tank for over 5 years now, but recently I've needed a hobby so I'm delving into the world of planted tanks  With hopes and dreams of owning a wonderful planted tank that I seen here and other websites and forums and the ones many of you guys have. 
The current tank I have is a 129l Bao Long RE5620 62x40x53cm which comes with 2x 20w 8000k tubes with refelctors. The aquarium roof itself is in 2 parts, the front part houses the 2 tubes with no room to attach an additional lamp. The Back half is basically and empty plastic box, where the tanks filter used to be (didn't get it with the tank so ended up buying an eternal one).

I'm gathereing from what bits I have been reading up on planted tanks and lighting, that the lighting in this tank wont be good even for a low mainteance low setup tank. If thats the case, what recommendations would you guys give on upgrading the lighting in this tank? I gather the back half is a good place to add an additonal light or 2, but Im a little uncertain with regards to types, brands, fittings let alone installation and modding. If someone could point me to a good article or post, or offer even a llitle advice, it would be much appreciated. Thanks in advance,


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## milla (23 Jun 2008)

How about ditching the hood and getting one these.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/3x24W-T5-Lighting ... dZViewItem

They usually go for around Â£30 or about Â£60 buy now.


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## JamesM (23 Jun 2008)

milla said:
			
		

> How about ditching the hood and getting one these.
> 
> http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/3x24W-T5-Lighting ... dZViewItem
> 
> They usually go for around Â£30 or about Â£60 buy now.


Mine blew up after two days 

They're sending a new ballast, but it doesn't say much for their quality


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## milla (23 Jun 2008)

Never had any trouble with mine.


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## LondonDragon (23 Jun 2008)

JAmesM said:
			
		

> Mine blew up after two days
> They're sending a new ballast, but it doesn't say much for their quality


Mine went after 6 months, they sent me a new ballast free of charge and just replaced and been working fine ever since.


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## Ejack (24 Jun 2008)

Ah cool, those lights look pretty good? I take it that it fits to all tanks and just balaces on top of the tank as the mounts are fully adjustable? 

Are there any other similar kind of lights out there that I can buy from a retailer rather than scambay? Wouldn't mind a few choices to look at and choose from.


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## milla (24 Jun 2008)

Try this :  http://www.ukpetsupplies.com/Details.as ... entId=1349

or this

http://www.aquaessentials.co.uk/index.p ... cts_id=836


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## Ejack (24 Jun 2008)

The "GLO T5HO Linear Lighting System 24W 58-101cm, Double" looks pretty decent, and not a bad price to boot 

Are they quite a well known we'll used by the community?


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## johnny70 (24 Jun 2008)

I have bought 3 so far from the German chap on eBay, quality is OK, no problems yet!

I also have the one from UK pet supplies, very nice set of lights, very high build quality, be warned though, no lamps are included! which it doesn't state anywhere, but that fine as I had them already

JOHNNY


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## milla (24 Jun 2008)

Not tried one, but they are made by hagen  and should be ok.  
Maybe someone on the forum has one, don't recall seeing any post about them though.
Also because it is hagen you will find that they become popular as they will be available in most LFS's before long.  However the Arcadia is one of hte best units avaialbe, you get what you pay for in this world.


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## johnny70 (24 Jun 2008)

forgot to say the are very bright, 2x24 watts over 100ltr tank for my apistos, very impressed

JOHNNY


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## milla (24 Jun 2008)

If you go for the GLO unit, as Johnny says you will need 2 tubes.  Don't waste your money on aquatic bulbs at Â£20 a piece
Check this thread out first  viewtopic.php?f=50&t=555


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## johnny70 (24 Jun 2008)

I went with the Osram Lumilux 880 Skywhite + Osram Lumilux 840 looks great!

JOHNNY


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## Ejack (24 Jun 2008)

Thanks guys, lots of very helpful information in here for me to ponder 



Have a nice day all


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## Ejack (25 Jun 2008)

Guys, quick question that I thought of last night whilst looking at the ukpetsupplies website.

I came across this http://www.ukpetsupplies.com/Details.as ... entId=1349

and was wondering if I could just by this single lamp, and still use my existing 2x20w 8000k tubes? Would that be sufficient enough lighting for a low tech setup? Or are my exisitng 2x20w bulbs the issue? It would also ean I get to keep the orgignal top cover of the tank (well, half of it anyways)

Sorry for necroing this post.


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## swackett (25 Jun 2008)

Hi,

I guess it depends on whether you want to keep your hood or not and only you can answer that question.

Regarding what lights you need the general rule of thumb is watts per US gal, although I think is based on T12 lights (T8 and T5 give off more light than T12).   For a low tech tank you want 1.5 to 2 wpg, therefore with your hood you have 40w which is 1.17wpg, if you add a single 24w to your hood then you would have a total of 64w which would be 1.88wpg which I think would be what you are looking for.

Cheers


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