Need help setting up lighting

I've been out of the hobby for over a decade but I ended up with a
great deal on a huge acrylic tank (79.5x18.25x24) that I just couldn't
pass up. However, I've never dealt with an acrylic tank before and
noticed that there are two "holes" cut out of the top piece for
lighting hoods (I'm assuming). These are 23x7. I am planning on setting
up a planted aquarium in this tank and need a lot of advice/help on
selecting the proper lighting. Is it even possible to provide enough
lighting using these two openings for a planted tank? If so, does
anyone have any suggestions on what I should get? Is there a pre-made
kit that would fit my needs? I've read in a couple of sites that I
should be using a combination of compact flourescent and metal halide.
Is this accurate? I'm not very knowledgeable about lighting and would
appreciate any help/advice anyone can give.

Thanks!
K Stringer

wrote:
I've been out of the hobby for over a decade but I ended up with a
great deal on a huge acrylic tank (79.5x18.25x24) that I just couldn't
pass up. However, I've never dealt with an acrylic tank before and
noticed that there are two "holes" cut out of the top piece for
lighting hoods (I'm assuming). These are 23x7. I am planning on setting
up a planted aquarium in this tank and need a lot of advice/help on
selecting the proper lighting. Is it even possible to provide enough
lighting using these two openings for a planted tank? If so, does
anyone have any suggestions on what I should get? Is there a pre-made
kit that would fit my needs? I've read in a couple of sites that I
should be using a combination of compact flourescent and metal halide.
Is this accurate? I'm not very knowledgeable about lighting and would
appreciate any help/advice anyone can give.

Thanks!
K Stringer

Hi,

If you have the money I would go for metal halide pendant lighting as it
looks amazing over a planted tank, as it does with marine. I'm not sure
what these holes look like themselves it might be better if you could
upload a picture somewhere so everyone could have a look. Most metal
halide lighting for your size tank would probably be using T5 lights or
similar along with maybe 2 150w bulbs for the main lighting. It's not
cheap by any means. I was thinking about it recently about lighting a
juwel rio300 and I thought I could get two Aquamedic 150w 55cm pendants
which are about £150 each and that woule look pretty cool.

It will be interesting to see what everyone else says on here though.

Neil

I'm not sure I can swing the Metal Halide lights. Based on the math
I've seen floating around on the web, I'm looking at needing about 1.5
Watts per gallon and I'm estimating the tank is about 200 gallons based
on the measurements. Is it possible to get good enough lighting using
compact flourescents? The 24" hood just doesn't seem big enough to hold
enough bulbs to provide adequate light.
When I was referring to the "holes" in the top, keep in mind that the
tank is acrylic so the top is non-removable. Holes have been cut out of
the top to allow for the various things that would need access to the
tank (such as lighting hoods, filter tubes, heater, etc.) The two holes
that I saw that had been used for lighting were rectangular in shape 23
in. wide by 7 in. long and they were spaced evenly apart (2 of them) on
the top piece of the tank. You're right, it would be much easer to show
a photo. I'll get one when I get home and put a link to it. Is there
another way I can do this on the newgroup?

My biggest concern I guess is trying to find a 24" hood that holds (I
guess) 4 bulbs that I could put at least compact flourescents and maybe
(if I can afford it, a Metal Halide bulb. I feel so lost though that
I'm just now sure what kind of pre-assembled kit that can give me what
I need.

-Kevin

KStringer wrote:
I'm not sure I can swing the Metal Halide lights. Based on the math
I've seen floating around on the web, I'm looking at needing about 1.5
Watts per gallon and I'm estimating the tank is about 200 gallons based
on the measurements. Is it possible to get good enough lighting using
compact flourescents? The 24" hood just doesn't seem big enough to hold
enough bulbs to provide adequate light.
When I was referring to the "holes" in the top, keep in mind that the
tank is acrylic so the top is non-removable. Holes have been cut out of
the top to allow for the various things that would need access to the
tank (such as lighting hoods, filter tubes, heater, etc.) The two holes
that I saw that had been used for lighting were rectangular in shape 23
in. wide by 7 in. long and they were spaced evenly apart (2 of them) on
the top piece of the tank. You're right, it would be much easer to show
a photo. I'll get one when I get home and put a link to it. Is there
another way I can do this on the newgroup?

My biggest concern I guess is trying to find a 24" hood that holds (I
guess) 4 bulbs that I could put at least compact flourescents and maybe
(if I can afford it, a Metal Halide bulb. I feel so lost though that
I'm just now sure what kind of pre-assembled kit that can give me what
I need.

-Kevin

well probably in this instance I'd go for t5s, they give a really strong
bright output and are a lot smaller so you could fit them inside easily,
plus you can get t5 starters just like you would for an old style t8
bulb and then you could fit them in easy. I think I can visualise the
tank but you're right it would be better with a picture, or perhaps
someone else with more knowledge than me can point you in the right
direction.

http://www.arcadia-uk.info/news.php?...=8&lan=en&id=5

I appreciate the information. I think I should rephrase my question
though. I'm looking for a 24" hood that can accomodate 3 or 4 separate
20-24" compact flourescent bulbs. My first problem is trying to find a
hood that does the job. I went to the pet store today and the 24" hoods
that they sell only have one 15 watt bulb in them, which is not even
remotely close to how much light I'm going to need for a tank as big as
mine. The second problem I have is trying to find bulbs that are 50
watts each in the size(s) that I'm looking for and will provide the
right spectrum of light. I'm shooting for 300-350 watts total between
two 24" hoods on the tank. Hopefully that clarifies the problem a
little better. I can't seem to find anywhere that sells anything like
what I'm looking for so far.

On Thu, 28 Jul 2005 20:54:13 -0700, KStringer wrote:

I appreciate the information. I think I should rephrase my question
though. I'm looking for a 24" hood that can accomodate 3 or 4 separate
20-24" compact flourescent bulbs. My first problem is trying to find a
hood that does the job. I went to the pet store today and the 24" hoods
that they sell only have one 15 watt bulb in them, which is not even
remotely close to how much light I'm going to need for a tank as big as
mine. The second problem I have is trying to find bulbs that are 50
watts each in the size(s) that I'm looking for and will provide the
right spectrum of light. I'm shooting for 300-350 watts total between
two 24" hoods on the tank. Hopefully that clarifies the problem a
little better. I can't seem to find anywhere that sells anything like
what I'm looking for so far.

Hi there,

Check out www.hellolights.com. I've only seen 24 inch hoods that hold 2
bulbs max. But if the tank is wide enough you could do 2 of them. You
could do a DIY hood with 3 or 4 96w CF.

John Cuthbertson

In article .com,
says...
I've been out of the hobby for over a decade but I ended up with a
great deal on a huge acrylic tank (79.5x18.25x24) that I just couldn't
pass up. However, I've never dealt with an acrylic tank before and
noticed that there are two "holes" cut out of the top piece for
lighting hoods (I'm assuming). These are 23x7. I am planning on setting
up a planted aquarium in this tank and need a lot of advice/help on
selecting the proper lighting. Is it even possible to provide enough
lighting using these two openings for a planted tank? If so, does
anyone have any suggestions on what I should get? Is there a pre-made
kit that would fit my needs? I've read in a couple of sites that I
should be using a combination of compact flourescent and metal halide.
Is this accurate? I'm not very knowledgeable about lighting and would
appreciate any help/advice anyone can give.


The holes are for feeding and general access to the inside of the tank. The large
tanks leave the center uncut to provide valuable front-back support. Acrylic is
very transparent to light and you can shine whatever lamp you like through the
center support without regard to it being over the center or directly over water.
In fact, you might prefer to cover the openings to minimize evaporation, CO2 loss,
etc.

So, you can use longer lamps. The 96W power compact is typically a tad over 34".
Two of those, end to end, would provide decent coverage over a 79' tank. Four in a
2x2 arrangement would provide a LOT of light in that tank. Coralife makes good
units, available with lamps suitable for planted tanks. For example, the 36"
Aqualight with two 96W compact fluorescents. You could put two of those side by
side. If you are interested in a DIY solution, you can buy the gear from AH
Supply. AH Supply provides very good reflectors and ballasts that will operate the
lamps at full rated power - I don't think any commercial solution would provide
more light from the 96W tubes.

The metal halides are probably good lamps but in practice it is easier and cheaper
to light your plants with modern flourescents like the power compact or T5.

Thank you so much! That's exactly the information I was looking for!

My sincere gratitude :-)

-Kevin