My 55g Rescape/build Journal

[Aqualady40]

History on tank:
This tank use to house 6tb's, 3 gourami's, 1rubber-lip, and 1 red tail shark, which all have been moved my 40B except for the rts. Pool filter sand subtrate. I have 2 filters, both made for 50 gallon tanks. I tried low light plants, anacharis, which died. I have 3 pieces of driftwood, one really large and 2 s/m. There is 1 round disc bubbler.

Current tank build stat:
Black Momba (rts) is still in tank at the present by herself.
I am currently cutting 2 pieces of glass to trade out original hood/top.
I will be picking up 4 clip-on lamps this weekend.
I am going to use 4 CFL bulbs.


Ideas/questions I have and if anyone have ideas/answers, please state it:
Which CFL watt and k do I need (will have 4 lamps and glass tops) that will penetrate to the subtrate?
Which live plants (low-mod) thrive and look good in a 55g (w/o needing Co2)?

Note: I simply want ideas for setup and which fish can stand their ground with a RTS that is almost 3 inches (maybe 3 or lil bit over, not much over)

Picture below is what tank currently looks like

 

[Wroberson]

I use CFL's. I have 6. They are called "daylight bulbs". The bulbs are 14/60 watt bulbs in hoods. I would love to be able to raise my lights as it makes scraping algae from the back glass easier with light. However, I also like the hoods. 4 60 watt bulbs is 240 watts of light for 40 gallons. You may get close to 6 watts of light per gallon.

When you're at home Depot or Menards look in the lighting department for "high bay" fixtures. These things hang from the ceiling each with one bulb. The high bay will direct all of the light downward to where you want the light. You'll also be able to increase the watts for medium to high light.

When dealing with CFL's as I have used them to grow plants indoors, they only offer an effective range of 12 inches. This might be the most important thing I can say on this. 12 inches from the light bulb. After 12 inches the lumenosity lowers so instead of 60 watts at 10 inches, you're only going to get 50 watts at 15 inches.

So with that said, I suggest looking for cheap incandescent hoods. I picked mine up at petmountain for 14 bucks however there's a minimum for free shipping. They were 25 at the pet shop. Another place to look is the oldest dirtiest petshop in town. They might sell used hoods and you can get them for 5 bucks each. Because the CFL have a ballast, they are a tight fit in the hood.

 

[Aqualady40]

I use CFL's. I have 6. They are called "daylight bulbs". The bulbs are 14/60 watt bulbs in hoods. I would love to be able to raise my lights as it makes scraping algae from the back glass easier with light. However, I also like the hoods. 4 60 watt bulbs is 240 watts of light for 40 gallons. You may get close to 6 watts of light per gallon.

When you're at home Depot or Menards look in the lighting department for "high bay" fixtures. These things hang from the ceiling each with one bulb. The high bay will direct all of the light downward to where you want the light. You'll also be able to increase the watts for medium to high light.

When dealing with CFL's as I have used them to grow plants indoors, they only offer an effective range of 12 inches. This might be the most important thing I can say on this. 12 inches from the light bulb. After 12 inches the lumenosity lowers so instead of 60 watts at 10 inches, you're only going to get 50 watts at 15 inches.

So with that said, I suggest looking for cheap incandescent hoods. I picked mine up at petmountain for 14 bucks however there's a minimum for free shipping. They were 25 at the pet shop. Another place to look is the oldest dirtiest petshop in town. They might sell used hoods and you can get them for 5 bucks each. Because the CFL have a ballast, they are a tight fit in the hood.

will you post a pic of your lighting setup

 

[Aqualady40]

Am I not posting this in the right place? This is like the 3rd one I have tried to get suggestions and seems I get one or two if that....I guess newbies are bypassed...

 

[Cichlid Kid]

Or... you could go with a 4light bathroom vanity with the daylight cfl's as i have on my one 40b. "This pic is immediately after i built the stand and installed the lights. Since then though all of my plants are doin swell.

 

[Aqualady40]

I definitely like that idea but how will I get vanity over tank? I have very very high vaulted ceiling (no getting way up there) so hanging is out the equation.

edit..what watt and k's are your bulbs