# Lighting Help Please



## Tabatha (Dec 29, 2007)

I'll be setting up a 50 gallon tank hopefully within the next month and I need help with choosing lighting. This topic always stumps me.

Tank dimensions are 30" long x 19" wide x 20" high. I plan to use 80lbs of Eco-complete + 20lbs of Tahitian sand. Haven't decided on plants yet.

Unfortunately, no one makes 30" T5s, also, I can only afford one fixture so I need the most bang for my buck. This tank is actually 2 & 1/2" wider than our Osaka!

I was thinking of getting the Hagen Glo or Coralife.

Any recommendations and comments welcome!


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## Ciddian (Mar 15, 2006)

shoot... hmm.... I have a 36 inch coralife fixture you can have for free... 

I am not 100% sure if it works.. It flickered when i got it (shipped) then went off. So i dunno if its the bulb or the ballast. 

Its slightly loved.. LOL one part of the plastic that shields the bulb was snapped.. but it still slides into place.


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## Tabatha (Dec 29, 2007)

Wow, that's so generous! Do you think it might just be a short in the wiring?


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## Ciddian (Mar 15, 2006)

I think it should be okay... Just the bulb was clunked a bit too hard. It came from BC. LOL  if you want it just lemmie know. The bulb might cost you a bit...


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## Tabatha (Dec 29, 2007)

What kind of bulbs does it require?


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## wtac (Mar 17, 2006)

It could be either 1 or 2x96w...retail for new bulbs are ~$80-100/bulb. Online @MOPS is ~$55. IIRC, they require square pin bulbs.

HTH


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## jrs (Mar 18, 2006)

There is a new product out there which is called T2 lighting. I will see if I can find the link. You can only buy it online though.


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## Tabatha (Dec 29, 2007)

Is T2 better than T5?

I need to read more... (elevator muzak)


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## jrs (Mar 18, 2006)

It is a new product without much testing. If it follows the trend of T12, T8, T5 then in theory each bulb (if it has an individual reflector) should have less restrike and therefore higher efficiency.

http://www.americanaquariumproducts.com/Aquarium_Lighting.html


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## wtac (Mar 17, 2006)

The main problem with the thinner tubes is breakage due to shipping and handling. T2's are pretty thin, 2/8" thick and the packaging would have to be pretty cumbersome to protect the bulb for lengths greater then 24" I would assume as 60" and longer T5's breakage rates are high.

As jrs mentioned...bang on!


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## Tabatha (Dec 29, 2007)

jrs said:


> It is a new product without much testing. If it follows the trend of T12, T8, T5 then in theory each bulb (if it has an individual reflector) should have less restrike and therefore higher efficiency.
> 
> http://www.americanaquariumproducts.com/Aquarium_Lighting.html


Great article, easy for dummies like myself to understand.

Here's what I absorbed:

KELVIN: Heat or energy output of a blub. 6400K is the approximate rate at which plant chlorophyll absorbs light. The lower the "K" the more yellow (i.e., 4500K), the higher the "K" the more blue (i.e., 20,000K).

NANOMETER: Red light is the first to be filtered out in an aquarium and can only penetrate a short distance. Orange and yellow are next, blue penetrates the deepest. Most plants need actinic and infrared. Fresh water plants prefer light with more red and yellow in the spectrum, blue is supplemental.

LUX: A measure of the intensity of light; one LUX is equal to one lumen per square meter. Maximum LUX should not be more than 100,000 - 120,000.

PAR: Photosynthetic Active Radiation which is the spectral range of solar light from 400 to 700 nanometers that is needed by plants for photosynthesis. Chlorophyll is most effective in capturing infrared and blue light (ultraviolet).

LUMENS: Quantity of light used as a measure of the total amount of visible light emitted.

** You can figure out lumens per watt by dividing the lumens your lamp lists by the wattage listed.

** Knowing your lumens per watt is often more important than watts per gallon.

WATT: A measurement of how much energy our light fixture is using, NOT of light output! (I knew that.) For high light requirements, at least 1" per watt is required when comparing tube style fluorescents. Another aspect of watts is the output of lumens per watts actually used.

CRI: Colour Rendering Index. 5000K = daylight.

Now I have to sit down and figure all this out for my tank. 

It would be great if someone created a calculator whereby you type in your tank dimensions and voila! It spit out a number of lighting options.


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## jrs (Mar 18, 2006)

Also keep in mind that there are different type of chlorophyll each absorbing at its own peak wavelength. There are also accessory pigments absorbing at their own peak wavelength. Point being that different plants do best with different lighting. That is why many people will have multiple K rated bulbs in their fixtures.


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## Tabatha (Dec 29, 2007)

Oh sure, you just had to toss that in there to make things difficult huh? 

What is the rage of acceptable lumens per gallon? That wasn't mentioned in the article.


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## Pablo (Mar 27, 2006)

wtac said:


> The main problem with the thinner tubes is breakage due to shipping and handling. T2's are pretty thin, 2/8" thick and the packaging would have to be pretty cumbersome to protect the bulb for lengths greater then 24" I would assume as 60" and longer T5's breakage rates are high.
> 
> As jrs mentioned...bang on!


I've had to return several "broken on arrival" ehem ehem... cough... T5s


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## Pablo (Mar 27, 2006)

Tabatha said:


> Oh sure, you just had to toss that in there to make things difficult huh?
> 
> What is the rage of acceptable lumens per gallon? That wasn't mentioned in the article.


I personally use the "AH GAWD!" scale.

If your eyes hurt and when you look directly at the bulbs and you go AH GAWD its good


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## Tabatha (Dec 29, 2007)

Well, I think that after all that, I'm going to stick with Hagen Glo, a double since the tank is so wide, with Power Glo bulbs;

1 Power GLO bulb = 
Lumens: 2200
Watts: 40
Lumens per gallon: 55

Remarkably, the Hagen Flora Glo wasn't recommended for fresh water plant growth as it has a yellow cast!


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## Pablo (Mar 27, 2006)

Tabatha said:


> Well, I think that after all that, I'm going to stick with Hagen Glo, a double since the tank is so wide, with Power Glo bulbs;
> 
> 1 Power GLO bulb =
> Lumens: 2200
> ...


The LIFE GLO seems to work really well too.


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## Ciddian (Mar 15, 2006)

its a 1x96 watt there just for info  PC


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## Tabatha (Dec 29, 2007)

Ciddian said:


> its a 1x96 watt there just for info  PC


The one you have at home? How would I rig that over the tank? We have vaulted ceilings in every room (kinda like a Viceroy) so hanging things from the wood ceiling isn't an option...


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## wtac (Mar 17, 2006)

Pablo said:


> I've had to return several "broken on arrival" ehem ehem... cough... T5s


LOL!

"No problem sir, I'll get you a replacement right away!"


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## wtac (Mar 17, 2006)

Tabatha said:


> The one you have at home? How would I rig that over the tank? We have vaulted ceilings in every room (kinda like a Viceroy) so hanging things from the wood ceiling isn't an option...


You can buy the "legs" that are secured in the side channels of the light unit. Get the black legs as the material that they are made from are not as brittle as the clear ones.

HTH


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## Tabatha (Dec 29, 2007)

wtac said:


> You can buy the "legs" that are secured in the side channels of the light unit. Get the black legs as the material that they are made from are not as brittle as the clear ones.
> 
> HTH


The problem is that the tank is 30" but the light is 36".

With the Hagen, if you get a slightly shorter light, you can adjust the legs, they're also very sturdy.


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## wtac (Mar 17, 2006)

Forgot to mention, you can adjust the legs in the channel of the CL light to fit onto the trim. A 3" overhang isn't too bad, you can put a plant under the overhang unless you're like me, it has to look "right" in the room setting...LOL!


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## Ciddian (Mar 15, 2006)

like he said...


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