lighting help!

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Cliffz

Aquarium Advice Freak
Joined
Jan 17, 2007
Messages
266
Forum,
I recently changed my 55 gal into a "live" plant tank. (with fish) I'm a newbie with plants!
I changed the substrate to Eco -Complete. I now have to change the lighting. I am looking at two systems that I would appreciate your advice on.
Current Dual Satellite 4x65w with lunar lites/fan
Coralife Dual Aqualite 4x65w with lunar lites and 2-fans

Any feedback on these systems or others is greatly appreciated! Budget stands at around $200-250.
Thanks
Cliff
 
ok some one will correct me if i am wrong, but you do not need lunar lites.

i would go with THIS light without the lunar lights. i would replace the 2-65 watt actinic with 2 more-65 watt 10,000k compact fluorescent bulbs.

now with that said...

that is a lot of light... you will NEED Co2 (probably pressurized system) and lots of fertilizers.

is that what you are wanting? if it is then great stop reading at this point.

if it is not then i would go with THIS light.

or if you want a cheap option.... ;) go to your local hardware store and pick out a florescent shop light that is 48" long. use that just get cheap bulbs that are 6500K. (usual called Daylight)

so... option #1 would require CO2 and Ferts

Option #2 would certainly benefit fit from CO2 and Ferts but they may not be necessary (you will not be able to grow a lot of "high light" plants with this though)

Option #3 your plant choices would be limited, but you would not need CO2 and much if any ferts.

so tell us what you are looking for and we can help you put it together :D
 
If you are set on going high light route and are just trying to decide between brands, both of the fixtures that you listed are good. The main differences are their appearance and that the Current fixtures have a tendancy to have louder fans. As JDogg mentioned, if you want to get the full benefit of the the fixture any 50/50 bulbs (dual actinic or actinic/daylight mix) would need to be replaced with daylight bulbs which will add to the initial expense of the fixture.

While the lunar lights aren't necessary, they are rather cool. I would definately recommend getting them if they're in your budget. They provide no benefit to the plants, but are a nice way to view the tank at night.
 
I am with JDogg, let us know what type of system you really would like to run, High Tech, What type of plants, CO2, and the like. The people on this site can be a great help, just let them know what you are wanting to do.
 
I agree lunar lights are not necessary in FW setup. I have noticed that the Coralife fixtures can be ordered for FW and SW. I ordered mine through BigAlsonline and was given a FW and SW option so I didn't have to worry about changing out bulbs. Just a thought and I don't know if it applies to the fixtures you were looking at.
 
Folks,
Thanks for the quick replies!!!!
I do not want to get into any high end CO2 setups right now. Maybe an inexpensive DIY kit in the future. (wife would flip right now!) Im trying to have a nice live planted tank with the correct substrate and lighting for now. Yes- you are correct in saying they do give you a freshwater/saltwater option when buying the Coralife. I dont know the difference--you mentioned bulbs?
Do I need the dual strip? 4x65w or should I go with 2x65 and save a few bucks?
Currently have anubious nano, amazon swords, bannana plants, java fern, small amount of dying java moss tied to driftwood and what looks like a piece of sod grass.
Thanks again for your patience with this green horn (plant joke) :)
Cliff
 
If you are trying to stay away from CO2, I would recommend that you stay at or below 2 WPG, will probably need to do a few ferts, but should ba able to get by with out CO2.

The difference in FW to SW lights, is that the FW will have bulbs in the 5000 to 10000 Kelvin range, and the SW will have 50/50 bulbs (dual actinic or actinic/daylight mix).
 
Even the 2x65watts could be pushing you into CO2 territory. Since compact flourescents are more efficient than flourescents, that fixture goes from being just a bit over 2WPG to well over it and as a result is probably closer to medium high light instead of just medium light. It's usually somewhere between medium and medium high light that a tank starts to require CO2 to avoid problems.

As to what makes a fixture SW vs FW, you are correct that it's the bulbs. The actinic bulbs are used in SW because they benefit Corals, however they are nearly useless in FW tanks. Now what you could do is use a daylight and a 50/50 bulb in the 2x65watt fixture. This should give you lots of plant options, but because only 75% of the light is usable then you should be able to get away without CO2. When buy light fixtures, it's a good idea to plan for the future. If you think that you might want to convert this to a high tech tank in the future, the you could go ahead and buy the appropriate fixture. Then you either don't turn on the bulbs you don't need at the moment or use actinic bulbs to bring down the amount of light to where you want it.

As far as CO2 goes, I wouldn't recommend trying DIY on a 55 gallon. While it can and has been done, it's a real hassle and headache. Once you get to this size tank you're better off saving up the money and going straight to Pressurized.
 
Purrbox and drobertson,
Again--thanks
I think the idea of buying the dual setup-Coralife or Current and keeping one set of bulbs off is a great idea, considering eventually I would go the CO2 route.
Now--question
The lights ship with 2-65w 6700-10k daylight bulbs and 2-460nm atinic blue bulbs
Is this what I want? I heard plants use 5000-6000 range for photosynthesis? Will the 2 65 watt daylight bulbs be enough for good plant growth?
Maybe im outta my league here?
Help!
 
No, you are not out of your league, You just need to decide how many watt per gallon that you want to start on your tank.

2 x 65watt- 6700-10k = 130watts / 55 gal = 2.36Watts per gallon

4 x 65watt- 6700-10k = 260watts / 55 gal= 4.72watts per gallon

2 x 65watt- 6700-10k + 2x 50/50 bulbs = 195watt / 55 = 3.54 watts per gallon.

Remember that much over 2 watts per gallon and you are going to need CO2.
 
Drobertson,
Ok--so for now I should go with the Dual setups that come with 2x65w daylite and 2 atinics and dont turn on the blue atinics.
Eventually I buy 2 -50/50 to replace the atinics and introduce CO2? Am on on track now?

ooh--its a Micro sword that plant that looks like sod! How long does it take java moss to attach itself to driftwood?
Last thing--go with the Coralite Aqualite or Current Satellite lighting solutions? both have a bonus of having lunar lights! The Coralite has 2 fans--the Current one.
thanks again
Cliff
 
I have never used either one of those fixtures. You would probably be better starting a thread in the General Hardware/Equipment Discussion area of the forum.

If you are not going to turn on the 2 blue bulbs, you might check to see if they will swap them out for the 50/50, then you will not need to replace them later.
 
thanks!
Just posted in hardware!! You mentioned big Als online?
 
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