Serious Lighting Question - 125Gal

[LiQuiD]

So, I have finally acquired the tank of my dreams.. I got my 125 gallon, and am having a custom stand built for it as I type this. I have everything I need to get it set up and going, but since I will be trying to do Hi-Tec with CO2, I need to be sure I have proper lighting.

I currently own 3 - 48" Finnex 24/7 Planted Plus SE lights. The tank is 72" long and 18" wide from back to front. I have no idea what I should do for lighting this. Should I sell my lights and buy 30" lights? Anyone else have this tank and use it for a planted tank? Any help is greatly appreciated..

 

[coralbandit]

I am not trying to grow plants but have 2@ 36" 24/7 and 2@ 36" Beamsworks DAFSPEC on my 180g.
If you have a canopy then 30" are best as my 36" over lap a little but my 180 is 24 inches wide so no problem .I hang the lights on rails above the tank in the canopy for easy access to tank and seems right about 10" over water.
The DAFSPEC is on a timer to give midday burn from10-2 the 24/7 are on 24/7 cycle.
Enjoy your new big tank !Welcome to the 6' club !

 

[Funken_A]

Depends on how you want to lay out your tank.. You could keep the 48 inch and go high light requirement plants in the middle and then on the outside edges go with plants that require low to medium light requirements

It really comes down to tank layout / plant selection (some trial and error) and the light coverage necessary to have success you are searching for.

I always recommend lights you can have some variable adjustment. Something you can raise or lower or dim. Always important to be able to adjust light intensity when working out the kinks in a new tank.

 

[MattHunt]

Hi,

If you can find the PAR value for your lights then you can see if there will be enough light at the bottom of the tank for your desired plants