Lighting for a 40 breeder

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Fred Garvin

Aquarium Advice Newbie
Joined
Nov 26, 2017
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7
My tank is roughly 36x18, 17 inches deep. i plan of setting it up as a South american tetra tank with a few cories. I want live plants and i'll put in a few pieces of drift-wood. No CO2 and 1 or 2 over-flow filters, as needed.

I last had old-fashioned florecents. It seems every-thing is T-5s and LEDs now.
I don't know if I should get a couple LED strips. If that's enough light. 36 inch T-5s are hard to find. I can't find a ready-made hood. Much less 1 with room for a couple of filter over-flows.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!
 
I am big on the Beamsworks DA FSPEC with $5 dimmer I order on ebay. I have more then 5.
I also own fluval 2.0 planted[nice $$$] and the 24/7 ok for money but 1 out of 3 has bad transformer already....
https://www.amazon.com/Beamswork-FS...1511755260&sr=8-1&keywords=beamswork+da+fspec

https://www.ebay.com/itm/12V-5A-Swi...var=550580398790&_trksid=p2060353.m2749.l2649

I actually hang my 36 " lights above my 40breeders and still dim them a little.
I have the DA FSPEC on 24 and 48 also.NICE LIGHT...
Just got myself 10 more of the dimmers as they work on all LEDs I have that don't dim auto.
 
^^^ Nice, CB. This is certainly budget friendly fixture.
Do you have a link for the dimmers?
For the Beamswork if I want to use it “as is”, can I simply connect to a standard timer?
 
I wasn't wanting to hang the lights. I'd much prefer fixtures that will fit on the tank. Remembering that i need room for over-flow filters.


Barliman' it would seem with all this light, i could grow swords and other higher light level plants. Or am I dreaming?
Wouldn't 2-3 36 inch LED fixtures like you linked give sufficient light?
I don't want the tetras to appear washed out. i'll use a darker substrate.
And probably have a sand area for the cories.
 
My tank is roughly 36x18, 17 inches deep. i plan of setting it up as a South american tetra tank with a few cories. I want live plants and i'll put in a few pieces of drift-wood. No CO2 and 1 or 2 over-flow filters, as needed.

I last had old-fashioned florecents. It seems every-thing is T-5s and LEDs now.
I don't know if I should get a couple LED strips. If that's enough light. 36 inch T-5s are hard to find. I can't find a ready-made hood. Much less 1 with room for a couple of filter over-flows.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!
I have a Finnex 24/7 on my 40B which grows low to medium light "low tech" plants just fine. Funny thing is I dont use the 24/7 features . they are cool but after a while i never used them which = a waste of money. I have a Beamswork (forget the model) over a 55 growing Low/Medium light plants again "low tech" just fine . IMO Beamswork is a better bang for the buck. Paying extra for the cool features to me is not worth it. Want to go "High Tech" then just add two fixtures and co2 . if you go the CO2 route I suggest you dont skimp. get a decent reg @ greenleaf and dont forget your timer. trust me on that - I killed fish trying to save money
 
I saw several Beamswork fixtures that might work. They range in lumens from 2-5k. The tank is 18 inches wide so I could put 2 fixtures for better light distribution(unless 3 are suggested).

What do ya'll think is my best option in terms of lumens for 2-3 fixtures? Pretty sure i'll look into the $5 dimmer coralbandit mentioned. Or does that much light equate to, 'get CO2'?
 
Hello Fred...

Your post reads like you're keeping a basic, low tech tank. This is perfect for florescent lighting from your local hardware store. A 36 or 48 inch four bulb fixture and four T8 32 watt bulbs will provide more than enough light for a breeder tank with easy plants. Anubias, Java fern, Bananas, Hornwort, Water sprite and Penny wort are all good easy to grow plants. You can use a glass canopy to cover the tank and hang the lights above. I use this type of light with all my tanks. The lights burn very cool and last well over a year. The cost is no more than $60.00.

B
 
Thanks BBradbury! I know what shop lights are. i used them extensively when i was running multiple 20 longs.

I don't want to hang lights or have a glass canopy for that matter. I'd prefer the fixtures to fit. This tank isn't going in a 'fish-room'. The wife has input and she won't tolerate shop lights hanging free.

I just don't think a 5 inch wide LED fixture is going to be enough. that's why i asked for suggestions on what size lumen fixtures are recommended for an 18 inch wide tank. The Beamsworks come in 2k-5k and are $36-$55 each.

i wouldn't be surprised, if once the tank settles down, I try CO2. a kit seems to be Around $200 and I do like a thickly planted tank. With 20 longs only being 12 inches deep, that wasn't a problem
 
Barliman, it would seem with all this light, i could grow swords and other higher light level plants. Or am I dreaming?

Light in a tank can be deceptive to our eyes: what seems bright to us isn't so useful to the plants. But I've always thought of swords as low-to-medium light plants. At least, I don't recall any that require high light.

But, if you go without CO2 but with a high light, I think you're running the risk of problems with algae
 
So i ordered the 2k Beamswork fixture and it arrived broken. Returning tomorrow.
I've been looking at T5 fixtures ...4 bulbs, hopefully not too much light. for 'regular' plants. Around $81for the fixture and the bulbs might need replacing.
OR 2 2 bulb fixtures for $44 a piece, plus bulbs.

I need fixtures with a 'clean' look and had rather grow plants than algae.
Any advice would be helpful
 
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