New 90 gallon planted tank lighting question

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Bullfrog

Aquarium Advice Newbie
Joined
Dec 11, 2007
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I am with a lot of forum help going to set up a 90 gallon corner flow tank with the depth being 24".This tank will have a oak 17" tall canopy,open in the back.I want to have this tank heavily planted.In the book Encyclopedia of Aquarium Plants by Peter Hiscock he says if you go to this depth you sold consider metal halide's.What do you think?And does anyone use the All Glass MegaFlow #3 sump filter? :?:
 
Metal halide lighting would certainly do the trick but it can generate a lot of heat, especially beneath a canopy. You will want to seriously consider fans if you go with MH lights. If you do, I would suggest two 150w MH lights, and those only if you also have a CO2 system.

I would suggest T-5 high output lights as an alternative. I believe Hiscock's book predates the introduction of T-5 lighting. T-5s have considerable light output per watt while remaining very cool and you can pack a lot of them in a small space. They would be an excellent solution for a 90G with a canopy. CurrentUSA makes a series of T-5 lights called the Nova and Nova Extreme series. They are now quite affordable and give you a lot of options as far as spectrum. Most of the large online retailers carry them.

Hope this helps :)
 
Thanks for your help. I am going to use C02 system and if I use a high heat light I would use fans as well. I did not realize that the book predated T-5 lighting that is probably the way to go. Do you know if you can very the bulbs that come in the lights at any of the online retailers? And do these come in retro kits?
 
Most of the online retailers do not allow you to switch the bulbs that come prepackaged with their fixtures. I know Current does make two versions of most of their Nova fixtures: one that comes with actinic lights for SW and one that comes with 6700K and 10000K lamps for FW.

You can get retro kits for T-5. I recommend www.hellolights.com if you're looking to build your own system. Their prices are great and they have excellent service.
 
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