90 gal lighting

[Cichlidlovers]

I got a new 90 gal today..yeah!!. At the lfs they had a lighting system that cost $250+lightbulbs, sorry can't remember specs. That is too expensive for me specially after paying $300 for the tank. So we went to walmart and got a 48" flourescent lighting system and 2x75 watt bulbs.
Will this be ok, I did get the glass lid for the tank? It looks like I can fit another fixture so that would be 4 regular 75 watt bulbs. Any ideas for do it yourselfers

 

[xxmoorishmanxx]

are u sure u have that right 75 watts seems high for a NO flourecent bulb (usually they are 40 watts), and VHO's at 48 inchs are 110 usually

 

[Cichlidlovers]

lol urgg my bad..yes it is 40 watts..so 2 40 watt bulbs

 

[xxmoorishmanxx]

ok, well i am no expert on fw but i know a little bit more about lights. Any amount of lighting is fine as long as u are happy with the brightness in teh tank and u are not trying to grow any plants. I believe what many people recomend for a planted tank is anywhere from 1.5-2 watts per gallon (u have just under one). If u are planning plants u could start out with low light plants such as java fern, which isnt as needy. Anything more than 2watts per gallon if i remember right would require u to get a c02 injection system i think because the plants use up the c02 faster if it is brighter.

 

[Cichlidlovers]

No live plants .. I am not brave enough, nor do I have the time to maintain them.
I just wanted to make sure that a normal flourescent shop light would work on a tank it seems to fit perfectly and will 4x 40 watt bulbs stress them out to much.. Would I still need a C02 injector?
As for aquarium bulbs are they 40 watts as well? could I just put those in the fixture?

 

[xray]

No 4x40 would do just fine. The lights are mainly for viewing in a fw tank without plants. Show us pics when you get it set up.

 

[Cichlidlovers]

That is great news and it saves me hundreds of dollars..

Will I have any algae problems?With that much light?
And you better believe I'll post pics...LOL.