lights and fertlizer question

[Pipedreamer86]

OK so when I clean my tank, I take the hood off, and all the light fixtures, and I attach a clip on metal light to the side of the tank( The light is actually the basking bulb for my painted turtle).Anyway, I notice every time that I do this that I actually like the lighting from this clip on fixture way more than I like the lighting from the regular hood lights that came with my tank. Its just a metal fixture for a reptile from the pet store. My question is, if I bought a few of these metal fixtures and a glass top for my tank(or topless, im just iffy because of the cat. Its a 150 gallon aquarium, i fear coming hom to her drowned and the fish dead) what kind of bulbs would i need? Is this a plausible idea for a tank i am working on heavily planting? my intention was low light but these bulbs/fixtures seem to put off more light... any thoughts?

On a side note can anyone reccomend a good, affordable liquid fertlizer? thanks.

 

[Rivercats]

I'm not sure about those fixtures over water unless there would be a glass lid or something. This part of the question is over my head.

As for ferts instead of liquid which is expensive for a large tank look into dry ferts. GLA sell a macro/micro package for $20 which would last I bet a year in your tank and it gives you all the proper macro and micro nutrients you need. Can't get much cheaper than that.

 

[aqua_chem]

I will depend on the dimensions of the tank, especially the depth. It also varies on the type of bulb you use, the quality of the reflector on the thing, etc, etc.

That being said, on a large tank you're going to need 4+ fixtures to reasonably light the tank. Assuming you need to buy all the lights, you're going to quickly approach the cost of one of the cheaper T5HO lights (Coralife, Odyssea, etc). It might just be easier from a financial and logistical standpoint to just buy a traditional fixture and call it good.