New planted 65 gal. Is 96 watts of light what i should buy?

[Alchemy129]

Hey guy's, first off i read the stickies and got alot out of em but I still would like some specific information before i spend 100 bucks or so. I just setup up a 65 gal (36x18x24) about a 2 weeks ago and when I bought it i just grabed a black 36" single strip light strip with a 24" bulb. Was planning on ordering anyhting more then that online to save money anyway. After looking at it for a second i've realized how woefully inadequate it was, its a 17 watt bulb. My eclipse system 12 gallon tank has a 13watt power compact in it! Anyway i can take the strip back no problem as i clarified this when i bought it. The question is how high do i want to go if i don't plan on ever adding CO2 and i don't want to be scraping massive amounts of algae? I'm thinking the 36" Freshwater Aqualight 96W 6700K by Coralife would be a good choice, i just wish the casing was black. Any suggestions where to get ablack 96w? Would a 130 watt setup that's only 24" long be better or would i have dark on the ends?
Thanks.... I know you get this kinda question alot.


Edit-
Just for a little fun i added two mini freshwater 18w aqualights i had lying around to the tank to see how it looked and it was like night and day the fish colors and tank itself was much more vibrant, it turns out my current light just sucks all around, after turning off the mini's i realize how dull the lighting curretnly is and am motivated to fix the issue. By the way if you need to know my tank specs i have a XP3 going full blast and i have a 250 watt stealth and i have glass tops for a light to medium planted community tanks with wahts going to be lots of small fish.

 

[David14259]

I started my planted tank just like you, not wanting to bother with CO2 at all. I caved in and put a DIY system in last week and I have to say, DIY CO2 is really very easy and cheap to do. In just a week I can see a HUGE difference in my plants.

96Watts is only about 1.5WPG for your tank, which will work with low light plants.

BTW, I put a 40Watt CF retro kit in my Eclipse 12, there is hope for that tank yet.

I'd recommend going with a DIY CO2 setup and shooting for at least 2-3 WPG.

 

[squawkbert]

My 46g bow isn't as wide as your tank's 18", but it is about as deep and I run a single 96W PC (6700K). My reflector & ballast are from AH-Supply (as good a reflector as is available). It is not quite adequate for Cabomba (generally considered a med or high light plant) as I tend to lose low leaves. I'm growing Sword, Bacopa, Crypt, Anubias and some fern I inherited too.

So, if you want to be able to grow low light plants, a single 96W PC will probably work well enough for you (if you get an awesome reflector). If you want stem-to-stern leaves on more demanding plants, you should probably look at a pair of PCs that will deliver more wattage. I'd suggest a pair of 96W ones, but I son't know if you're interested in pressurized CO2...

AH-supply: great reflectors & retrofit kits, very good ballasts, I'd buy PC bulbs elsewhere (mine broke after 2 months).

 

[Alchemy129]

David- Well i appreciate your help, but i meant what i said about Co2 never happeriing, its not because i don't understand it and want to pay for it. I have enough stuff in the tank now i don't want to add a co2 diffuser, this tank is about the fish first and the plants are just a smaller bonus. I don't want to get too crazy with it. It's just that I have some low to maybe medium light plants that i don't want dying on me and i want to see my fish better. It 's a lightly planted tank but I expect the plants to grow into a medium planted tank with more adequate lighitng. So is 96watts about as high as i want to go without adding Co2? and anyone know where i can find a freshwater 96 watt fixture thats black instead of silver?

 

[Purrbox]

I'd say that you've picked out the perfect fixture for your plans. It doesn't leave any flexibility for future upgrades, but you sound pretty certain about what you want. For a comparable black fixture, I'd recommend looking at the Current Satellite fixtures. You'll probably need to replace the bulb with a full daylight, as these are geared for SW use and are generally half actinic light. Tri City Tropical even carries refurb units which allow you to save a little more money.

 

[squawkbert]

Keep in mind - 96W PCs get quite hot.

 

[Hoovercat]

Having owned a 90gal and kept it planted I would say you can use significantly more light. The depth of your tank makes it lose light intensity in the substrate area. I think you would be happier with either a 2x96 with one of the bulbs 50/50actinic or a 2x65. I'm not sure that they make a 2x65 in 36" though. The 2x96 allows more flexible options anyway.

I understand you wanting to not add CO2 but in my 90 I had 4x55 plus 40watts in a t12 tube and the tank still behaved like it was at the CO2 threshold. I belive either setup I described will be managable with light fert dosing and no CO2 injection.

If the diffuser if the only aspect of CO2 you find distasteful you certainly don't have to have it in your tank. Just speak up and we'll tell you how to avoid it.

 

[Alchemy129]

I've been searching for a black 36" 96 watt fixture online and stumbled upon this site, http://catfishlighting.com/body_pclights.htm The light i'm looking to get is the one thats $70.95 w/ shipping included and I get to choose what type of bulb i want to go with it instead of having to buy a bulb seperately like i would have to do if i bought another brand. Would Iwant to get a 67K bulb or a 12k bulb? This seems like a really good buy considering i get to pick the bulb i want from the beggining and its black so it fits all my needs perfectly, please tell me its not a crappy unit, anyone use the Catfish lighting brand before? they seem kind of new to the scene. Is this a good buy?

 

[Wizzard~Of~Ozz]

Ideally? 10000K, it offer the best penetration of deep water (reds get filtered out very fast)..

Given the options, 12000K would be better.

 

[Alchemy129]

Even for a planted tank?, i thought 6700 was ideal for plants? Well thats better new anyway casue i'd imagine the 1200k would be brighter and make the tank look better anyway.

 

[Purrbox]

Anything from 5000K to 10000K (even the 12000K that Wizard Of Ozz recommended) should work well for plants. The 6700K bulbs are probably the most commonly available and selected from planted tanks, but they aren't necessarily the best. The Kelvin rating is really just a representation of how the light will look to us, and has minimal bearing on how useful it will be to plants. Lower K ratings will appear more yellow while higher K ratings will appear more blue. In large part it's just personal preference as to what you feel makes the tank look best.

 

[Alchemy129]

Anything from 5000K to 10000K (even the 12000K that Wizard Of Ozz recommended) should work well for plants. The 6700K bulbs are probably the most commonly available and selected from planted tanks, but they aren't necessarily the best. The Kelvin rating is really just a representation of how the light will look to us, and has minimal bearing on how useful it will be to plants. Lower K ratings will appear more yellow while higher K ratings will appear more blue. In large part it's just personal preference as to what you feel makes the tank look best.

So your suggesting the 12k bulbs as well? I'm more concerned about how much they will help the plants then how they will look, but from what both of you are saying the 12k is the best in both areas versus the 6700k, correct? I'll order the 12k ones then and i guess i might replace the bulb with a 10k one in a year or so.

 

[Wizzard~Of~Ozz]

I'm sure it won't make a difference, I run 4x65w CF 10000K, 2x32W ODNO 2x (total 96W) 6500K and a 32w 50/50 10000K/actinic.. I prefer the bluer light (yellow is so blah)..

Also, I wouldn't get to dead set against Co2, It is cheaper then Excel, and I wouldn't buy fish with the assumption I didn't have to feed them.. Nor would I buy plants with the assumption that they don't need carbon. I'm not saying it won't work, because it will, but the health of the plants may suffer (esp. if you don't aggitate the surface) and it may also make the fish suffer (o2 deprivation)

 

[Purrbox]

I'm saying that either of the bulbs available to you should work fine. Pick the one that you prefer the looks of. My personal preference would be to go with 6700K bulbs, but I like the look of a tank that is slightly yellow to one that is on the blue side.