# lighting for a 75 gallon freshwater planted tank?



## Aquamom (Mar 11, 2013)

Can anyone suggest what lighting I should get for this? There are so many options it is getting overwhelming!


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## Mlevi (Jan 28, 2012)

It depends on what kind of tank you envision. Are you looking at a low tech planted tank where you won't have any high light demanding plants? or are you planning to carpet your substrate with HC? 

Personally, I'd stay away from LED for planted. They aren't at the point yet where you get consistent results (some people swear by 'em, some hate 'em. Mileage varies too much). That leaves 3 budget conscious options... T8, T5, CFL twisted bulbs. T5's are more efficient than T8's however, in my experience, this is ONLY true if the fixture has great reflectors, otherwise T8 is competitive. For me, the best compromise between good growth, budget, and ease of upgrading, is CFL. I currently have T5, T8, and CFL, and I found (much to my surprise) that CFL lights gave me the most consistent returns. Plus it allows ease of change. A 16W 6500K GE CFL bulb emits 900 lumens. If you up that to 23W, it gives 1600 lumens. You can mix and match based on what areas of the tank need what level of lighting. Also, if i start with 16W, and then find I need more light, a 3pk of 23W bulbs is maybe $12, and I don't have to change anything else in my setup. What I'm giving up, is the ability to run those special tubes which emit in specific frequencies...but I don't know too much about those, and I find that neither do my plants 

I'm currently working on creating a hood for my main tank (36" x 12" footprint), and, with stainless steel reflectors, 3x23W 6500K bulbs, and all associated wiring, it still comes below $50. In comparison, a single cheap T5 24" 24W fixture and bulb cost me $30, and that's without a reflector.

If budget is less of an issue then Power Compact (PC), or a multiple T5 fixture, with split controls, where you don't have to turn on all lights all the time, would be the way to go. Otherwise, depending on the footprint of the tank, cheap 48" shop lights with 6500K tubes, T8's, T5's, CFL's are all options. 

Like almost everything else in this hobby, it all comes down to what you want to do, and how much $$$ you have, to do it with 


Just my $0.02.

Al.


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## pyrrolin (Jan 11, 2012)

If it is a 48 inch long tank, there is a very very cheap option for lighting. Home Depot has a 2 bulb 48 inch shoplight, t8 for 17.97 and you can get a pair of 6500 k bulbs for about 10. This is what I have over my 75 gallon and works just fine, have to hang the fixture though.

I'd guess it is about medium light.


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## Aquamom (Mar 11, 2013)

Thanks for the responses! I am pretty budget conscious. I'd like to keep the lighting under $100 if possible. I guess I will base my plants on what lighting I can afford! It will be a 48" long tank so I will look into the Home Depot option, although it will be in my living room so I do want it to look nice...


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## GAT (Oct 8, 2011)

http://www.homedepot.ca/product/4-ft-4l-t5-high-output-high-bay/825201

this might work for you.


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## Fishfur (Mar 4, 2012)

Hey Mlevi, where do you find the GE brand CFLs ? Only ones I've ever seen are the Phillips Daylight ones.

A note on those very inexpensive shop fixtures. Some designs do not have very good reflectors for tank use, and most are snow white, which may not be a colour you'd want. But you can easily spray paint them a darker colour, if you wished to do that. They even make a high heat black spray paint for BBQs, if you were concerned about the heat and the paint. 

But you want a reflector that sends the majority of the light downward to your plants, not out to the side. Very narrow reflectors can be a pain that way, and depending on their height from your eye, light escaping sideways can be pretty unpleasant, like staring right at the bulbs.

There's one version I've seen that costs approx' twice what the very cheap ones do, but has a wider, bright chrome reflector. Has a diamond pattern on the chrome like you see on big trucks. It would work better, and is not white. 

I also saw a pretty neat set up at Aquatic Kingdom.. though it's a DIY type, which may not be something you're up for. They used an inexpensive straight type of track light. Added a cord & plug, with spiral CFL bulbs in the individual fixtures. They mounted it under their existing reflector over their big plant tanks. The bulb fixtures usually allow the bulbs to be aimed, so you can take advantage of that to some extent. But you do have to DIY the cord and reflector.

Flourescent tube fixtures from a long time ago tended to have much wider, deeper reflectors on them which would work well over a tank. If you could find one of those, even if it doesn't work, fixing them is not difficult. Put in a new ballast, new fittings for the tubes, add a cord/plug. Again, only if you're into DIY. If I could find some of those old fixtures I'd be very pleased.. but I've repaired a number of them so it's easy for me to deal with them if they don't work.

As Mlevi said, the CFL Daylight bulbs work well for plants and are quite cost effective as well. I've found they grow most things nicely. The exception is plants with very high light requirements, such as most of the popular carpeting plants on the tank bottom. 

Phillips makes a "Daylight" 6500 K spiral which the local Home Depot has, so they're what I've been using. Comes in 9W, 13 and 23 W . Right now I have 3x 23W on the 30 G tanks, and a pair of 13W on a 5G.. which makes it pretty high light.. it will grow almost anything. 

A tip * if the package you're looking at does not state the K value of the bulb or tube, you may find that printed on a bulb base or the end of a tube. Hopefully the pack will show you the bases. Might have to try a few packs or turn a bulb inside the pack to find the printed K value.

You'll get the most usable light from bulbs or tubes rated 6500 or 6700 K. They're meant to mimic bright daylight. Values vary from manufacturer to manufacturer but the popular, and very cheap ones labeled cool/daylight are around 5000 K. Won't grow high or even medium light plants, but should grow low light fine. 

Plant specific tubes or bulbs can have widely varying values. Their advantage is mainly for light garden use and lies in the specific colour spectrums they offer. They're not worth the extra cost. Colour spectrum does matter, but is not quite as important in most planted tank situations as it might be in a light garden where you can place plants within inches of the light source.


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## GAT (Oct 8, 2011)

@Karen,

I've seen GE bulbs at walmart, the new one near dixie had them 5 months ago.

I use shop light that looks exactly like this









I have standard 29 gallon tank and I use 23watt cfl daylight bulb so I would put myself close to high if not medium light range. Everything grows really nice but i haven't grown any red plants yet because I can't seem to find them for reasonable price.


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## pyrrolin (Jan 11, 2012)

that 4 bulb t5ho one is what I want to get someday for my 90, but it might be a little too high light. Anyone know if you are just run 3 bulbs instead of all 4? Or would 4 t5ho be ok for a 90?


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## Aquamom (Mar 11, 2013)

So if I wanted to have medium light plants, how many watts should I be looking for? Are there guidelines for that? Oh and it will be low-tech too. Are red plants high light? I may also get a 90g I haven't quite decided yet, would the extra 6" of height make much of a difference for lighting?


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## GAT (Oct 8, 2011)

Red plants require good light and CO2 as well. Some of them will have green leafs instead of red if you have low light. 

Height is very important in lighting. With that T5 fixture you can adjust light level by increasing the distance between the light and the substrate. Reflectors are very important as well. First few weeks you will have play day by day. I would start the light at maximum and height and see how your plants are doing and lower it until you get the desired effect. You can also do it the other way around as well.

If you want a low light then T8 would be better or even CFL. The fixture i posted above is ugly but if you can make an enclosure it will be fine.


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## LTPGuy (Aug 8, 2012)

+1 for HD T8 shoplight fixture for $17.

You can get two if you want even more light.

You can install only one bulb if you want less light.

If you want to upgrade to T5 or LED because you've learned more, it's no loss to reuse the shoplight for your basement or garage!

Because it's a light strip, the light are more evenly distributed so your plants will grow somewhat more vertical and evenly.

I find CFL are very cost effective, but the lighting is more spotty and plants tend to grow toward them. It's not pretty to see plant all pointing to one or two spot!

Also, because CFL bulbs are spiral and bulb shaped, it's not as effective when using a low profile canopy or reflector. This is why I am very interested in seeing what Al is planning with his stainless steel setup. Please post or send link Al!

I am sorry for being so wordy, but I hope to share my experience and learn from other who may agree or disagree.

As far as reflector goes, white paint is actually very good at reflecting light. The top reflector material is think is polished aluminum, but I've read on another forum that a member used a PAR meter to measure the effectiveness of reflector and aluminum foil (from your kitchen) is better than white paint and mylar!

Just because light appears bright to you does not mean that it will be bright to the plants. Our eyes are most responsive to green which is useless to plants. Most specification are tailor toward the response of our eyes.

One final note. Pick bulb with the highest CRI value. 6500K bulb typically have CRI of 85. The best bulb I've seen have CRI of 92 but comes only in T12 size. CRI indicates how real colour wise something looks to you.

From my experience, most plants available requires low to medium light. With two T8 over my 3x10gallons setup, Stargrass, a stem plant, will actually spread horizontally. Ludwigia Repens (apparent high light plant) grows tall and red. However, HC and glosso are growing a bit leggy.

Good luck. You can loose by starting out with the shoplight!


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## Fishfur (Mar 4, 2012)

I have to say, I've never noticed my plants growing toward any given bulb. Perhaps because they're in a window and get daylight ? Currently I have 3 bulbs, each in a ten inch round aluminum clamp lamp fixture. They are attached to a horizontal bar over the tanks.. which is held on by very nice acrylic supports J_T made for me. Three 23W spirals has grown most things pretty well. Very red plants don't do so well, but it may be lack of iron as much as lighting issues. So I don't have any of the really red plants. I will add C02 if life ever cooperates. Just learned I may need shoulder surgery to repair a tendon I've very nearly torn in half. That's not cooperation !!

Aquamom, be aware, most red plants need a lot of iron to grow well and have nice colour, as well as C02. Some also need soft acidic water, which may not be that easy to provide. Many use RO water when their tanks require this type of water quality, but it does not suit all plants nor all fish either. There's a lot of plants you can grow that don't have need of either C02, extra iron or acidic soft water though. Plenty of variety in foliage shapes, sizes, and there are some that will go pinkish or reddish nearer the surface even with relatively low light. So you aren't going to miss a lot not having the very red plants. But no denying they are very attractive.


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## Mlevi (Jan 28, 2012)

Fishfur said:


> Hey Mlevi, where do you find the GE brand CFLs ? Only ones I've ever seen are the Phillips Daylight ones.


I bought mine from Rona and Walmart. Walmart has the 16W and 26W version of 6500K CFLs...

At under $5 a bulb for 26W (if bought in pack of 3), its definitely a decent way to go. Plus, these are the 'full size', not the mini ones. I find that the footprint definitely makes a difference, as I had another brand bulbs with the same wattage and color temp, but in a smaller size (the diameter of the actual tube was smaller, as well as the number of turns were less or tighter), and it was nowhere near as bright as this.

I've been using the GE 16W ones since December, and haven't had a single one give me any issues. I haven't put in the 26W ones yet, as am working on a fixture.

http://www.walmart.ca/en/ip/ge-ener...omSearchBox=&addFacet=2004:GE+Lighting+Canada

Al.


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## Aquamom (Mar 11, 2013)

Sorry if this is a dumb question, but if using CFL bulbs, where do you put them? For example, I am going to be getting a new setup, so it will have a hood, with the long strip lights, can I just screw the cfl bulbs in there? I'm pretty sure you can't, right? Can someone post pics of their setup? I think the home depot shot light is a great idea, but I don't want it looking ugly and am afraid it would. I have a toddler, so although I do like diy projects I don't think I could do it right now. I guess I will be prepared to send a bit more. I am going to Big Al's today, anyone know of a good lighting system there that would suit a 75 gallon low tech medium lighting tank?

Also, would the requirements change much if I went from a 75 to 90g tank? Still not entirely decided there...

Thanks so much!


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## xriddler (Feb 16, 2012)

in the long run cfl's are more expensive and if you have to light up a 75 gallon you need a lot of CFL lamps im guessing 5 or six of the http://www.homedepot.ca/product/aluminum-reflector-brooder-clamp-light-150-10-1-2-inch/969081

Those are the recommended fixtures on the planted tank forum. the reason you need that many is because you need the spread of lighting to be even. Cfl bulbs also dont last as long so i think i read it was a 3-4 month period that they needed to be swapped out. my $0.02 are get a t5ho fixture you dont need that many plugs and its much less hassle. The amount you spend on the clamp cfl fixtures will be equivalent to t5ho.


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## balutpenoy2oy (Feb 17, 2011)

Aquamom said:


> So if I wanted to have medium light plants, how many watts should I be looking for? Are there guidelines for that? Oh and it will be low-tech too. Are red plants high light? I may also get a 90g I haven't quite decided yet, would the extra 6" of height make much of a difference for lighting?


Want to check this out......http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/showthread.php?t=184368


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## Aquamom (Mar 11, 2013)

Thanks for the replies! I am driving home with my new 90gallon! Didnt like any stands so I guess I will be making my own after all. May as well make a canopy while I am at it, which will cover up this http://www.homedepot.ca/product/4-ft-4l-t5-high-output-high-bay/825201 that was suggested earlier. According to the big als guy it should produce med-high light at the bottom. Hopefully he is right! Thanks for the info and links! Looks like I'm going to need a Home Depot trip next!


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## Mlevi (Jan 28, 2012)

Aquamom said:


> Sorry if this is a dumb question, but if using CFL bulbs, where do you put them?


You have to fashion a fixture of some sort. I've used different types at different times. From those $2 bulb holders from CanadianTire, to modifying old track lighting strips from goodwill. I'm working on one right now. Will post in the DIY section when complete. If you search online though, you will see tons that people have fashioned (both for CFL and shop lights)

CFLs 'work' for smaller tanks due to various reasons. For example, buying a T5 fixture for a 36" tank is way more expensive than for a 48" tank. If you have a 30" wide tank, then its even worse as you either go with 24" fixtures, or you have to hunt for the 30" (most stores, even fish stores, don't carry the 30" anymore).

If you are buying a new tank, in terms of lighting, you are better off getting a 48" or more tank, because that has the best lighting options. I'd start out with shop lights with daylight tubes (if on a budget). You'll find a lot of users on this forum and others online, who have fashioned some sort of hood, or a contraption to hang the shop lights over their tanks.

If you have the budget, then on a 48" footprint, you have tons of options for dedicated aquarium fixtures. Depends on one's pocket and comfort level, and the vision for the tank. Going low budget can sometimes bite you if you change plans down the road. However, it is hard to shelve out $100 to $300 in one shot to get a dedicated aquarium fixture, especially if you are just starting out and have all the other tank setup costs lurking at the same time.

The choices have become more available today, but I remember 25+ years ago, when I got my first tank, All you had, was incandescent bulbs or T12's that cast a green glow over your tanks, and the mechanical ballasts hummed louder than your average air pump  Substrate was soil from the backyard. Plants were either what you collected from the nearest river, or what your fellow hobbyists decided to part with. We still enjoyed our tanks just as much.

Guess what I'm trying to say is, do your research, then go with the choices that make sense to your vision, your budget, and your comfort. At the end of the day, its about what makes the right fit for you.


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## Fishfur (Mar 4, 2012)

I have not noticed that CFL spiral type bulbs wear out so quickly as that. I've some that have been running over 8 months and the plants show no differences I can see. I have no comparative graph to show how tubes and bulbs may differ, but my opinion is they are no worse than tubes and might even last longer than tubes. Only time will tell. For small tanks, I think they are pretty cost effective, and even the ones over my 30G tanks are still good after 7 or so months. 3 in 30 inches.. for a 48 inch tank, you would need more than that, for sure. Probably six at least, maybe 8. So they'd cost more than tubes for larger tanks, unless you have another use for them once they retire.

And that's a point I'd like to make. If you have lighting on your tank that of any type that would be usable in other fixtures as well, then after those tank lights have to be replaced, you can still reap years of useful light from them in those other fixtures. So that 48 inch tank, if it used 8 bulbs, you'd have 8 bulbs to use in lamps or any other standard fixture, and quite possibly never have to buy another bulb for most of your lamps.

It's not always possible I know, but it's a shame to waste all that light. Some tubes will fit some fixtures, but one thing I like about the CFL spirals is I can use them in almost any lamp or fixture I have after they are retired from the tank. 

I greatly dislike the fact that my light garden tubes, which are four footers, have to be tossed when they are too dim for the garden. I have no other light to put them in where the reduced output won't matter, such as a garage, and they'll run for years longer. Even Value Village won't take them, it's quite annoying.


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## Mlevi (Jan 28, 2012)

Fishfur said:


> I have not noticed that CFL spiral type bulbs wear out so quickly as that. I've some that have been running over 8 months and the plants show no differences I can see.


Me neither. I'd think that since they're the same technology as the fluorescent, they'd last atleast as long, or close. Unless 'restrike' is a major factor due to their shape. I've had them on my tanks for less than a year though, so I don't know. However, so far, I haven't seen any degradation in terms of plant growth.

Would be interesting to find someone who has consistently used them, and noticed a pattern.

Al.


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## Fishfur (Mar 4, 2012)

One reason they should have a pretty decent reflector, to help reduce the losses from restrike.. I plan to carry on using them, so eventually I'll have better info on them longer term. I will never have room for a tank longer than 30 inches as long as I live here, so they're practical for my uses.


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## xriddler (Feb 16, 2012)

Going for med-high lighting you should really consider a co2 system even if you go for diana walstad method there is not enough co2 produced for a highlight system.


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## Aquamom (Mar 11, 2013)

xriddler said:


> Going for med-high lighting you should really consider a co2 system even if you go for diana walstad method there is not enough co2 produced for a highlight system.


I don't want to have to worry about co2, kinda trying to go natural and low maintenance. Should I just get a double t5 then? Maybe I will start a new thread for that question this one is getting long...


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