Need Help Choosing Lighting fixture

[D-DAY]

I plan to have a moderately planted tank with some grass and maybe a couple of swords and ferns. Wood and some smooth stones also. All this in a 30 gal 36"X12" shorty tank.

I have been racking my brain on the lighting system. I originally wanted just a standard hood with a 30 watt coralife, but I have been informed that it is not enough. So, I have been researching the Coralife Aqualight setups. It seems like it may suit my needs at 96watts. I just have a few questions.

1.) Do I need a glass hood with the Aqualight?
2.) Is the Aqualight wall plugable. Meaning 110W outlet, or do I have to do the Ballast wiring thing?
3.) Are there any other products out there like the Aqualight with say 60watts that would fit the 36" length of my tank?


Thanks for all the help guys.

 

[Guest]

1: I believe so.
2: It plugs right into the wall.
3: All-Glass makes both a twin tube and triple tube NO fluorescent light strip. All of the on-line fish supply sources carry them.

Now some advice. If you get the Aqualight make sure you get a plant bulb and not a reef bulb. And at 96 watts you are going to need CO2. Even with 90 watts you are going to need CO2. The biggest problem you are going to have with your tank which sounds like a 30 Breeder is that it is only 12" tall but 18" wide. No matter what light solution you pick you are not going to be able to light this tank front to back in a even manner with a single fixture. Do you have a canopy for this tank? The reason I ask is because if you do you would be better off with something like a AH Supply 96 watt kit. You can slightly bend the reflector to get a wider dispersal of light. I love the 30 breeder but they are a royal pain to light. You either end up with what amounts to a low light tank by using two standard single bulb strips on it or you end up with a high light tank by using enough light to evenly light the whole tank. The tank is wide enough and shallow enough to almost consider it two separate lighting options.

 

[Fruitbat]

D-Day...

While I'm no expert on lighting fixtures I would like to toss in here that if you choose low-light plants then the 30W fixture will be adequate. Java fern will grow pretty well at that light level. So will Cryptocoryne and possibly even certain types of Hygrophila. I certainly wouldn't count on the Swords handling the low light level though.

 

[Galerius]

I have the exact set-up you are describing (a 30 gallon long, 36x12x18), and I use the 96 watt Coralife Aqualight, and I love it. I use a glass top, and with the optional legs, the Aqualight sits about 4 inches above the tank. Since adding the light, my plants have taken off; so much so, that I have had to supplement the tank with plant nutrients and the the CO2 fizzy tabs until I decide on which full-blown system I want to get.

My current plants: Hygrophilia (is growing like wildfire), Rotala indica (got at PetSmart) took about 3-4 weeks to get "happy"...now are growing well, Dwarf Sagittaria....looked like it died at first...all green growth turned pale yellow and "died"...but a few weeks later, it began regrowing, now it has taken over the bottom of my tank...(lots of little "babies"), Anubias Nana Barteri...had to put some static cling window tint on glass section above this one to reduce the light and make it happy....it grows a new stem and leaf about every 2-3 weeks, Java Fern...ditto, and last, but not least...Duckweed....this stuff LOVES the Aqualight. Within 2.5 weeks, it took over the surface of my tank...I had to remove it to almost nil, as it was choking off the light from my other plants.