Advice on lighting a 3ft planted tank

[lisapie]

I'm trying to decide how full on to go with the lighting fixture for my new tank. I've calculated the WPG but I don't like to rely on that alone, coupled with the fact the tank is 3x2x2 so it will be quite deep.

The tank will have ADA New Amazonia as the substrate and I plan on dosing liquid CO2 to start, with hopes of moving up to a proper CO2 setup sometime in the future (probably not for another 12 months or so). The tank will be heavily planted, and I'm aiming to try some medium to high light requiring plants.

With the lighting fixture I'm tossing up between 4 x 39w tubes, or 6 x 39w tubes. Obviously there's only so far I can go in terms of lighting before it becomes obsolete due to a lack of CO2.

Would love some advice from more experienced planted tank peeps, as all I've ever dealt with is low tech setups.

[Squiggle]

If you are set on using fluros then I would definitely recommend using T5 slimline fluros as you will only need a maximum of 4 cause they are a higher output. Have you considered using LEDs as they are high output & low wattage. If you have a hood for your tank, you could get strips of LEDs & stick them too the underside of the hood & you van have as many strips & different colour temperatures as you want. They are very easy to cut & solder :encouragement:

This is how I've setup my lights on the underside of the shelves of my rack

[mr_c265]

Or you can use real man LED's (or overcompensating man moreso)

They're LED floodlights, you can get them off Ebay with a power cord. Id suggest 3*30W or if your happy for the power, 3*50W.

[John.]

I'm building a 4x50w LED set-up for my 6x2x2, I will have a DIY thread when everything arrives. I'm going to be using the same emitters that are in those LED Floodlights, but mount them differently :)

[KiwiBigD]

With that depth I hate to say it but LEDs won't cut it. I've found problems with depth being only 45cms deep, you have another 15cms to cater for.

Personally I'd be going with 6x39s, having used 4x54s on a 60cm tank I can tell you I didn't have enough light for either penetration or coverage. Plants requiring medium light suffered badly, most mosses were okay.

[MrShrimp]

The disadvantage of led is that it doesn't show the true colors of the plants( e.g red color) but it can penetrate deep down a tall tank without using to much power. T5 is much better at growing plants then led by far but t5 do need to replace tube every 9 month because if you don't then the spectrum will change and promote lots of algae. I would use 4 x t5 and 1 strong led ( flood light) to penetrate down to the bottom. Just my opinion.

[lisapie]

Unfortunately my options are kind of limited as the tank doesn't have a hood, and I'm in a rental unit so I can't drill into the roof. I considered building an aluminium frame to sit over the tank to hang the lights from, but I think keeping it simple is my best option for now, so a basic HO T5 strip light with brackets for the edges of the tank is my only option. I'd love LEDs but a complete unit is a little out of my price range.Just need to do some more calculations and research I think and decide if 156 or 234 watts for the tank is going to be best.

They're LED floodlights, you can get them off Ebay with a power cord. Id suggest 3*30W or if your happy for the power, 3*50W.

Those LED flood lights look amazing, one day when the roof belongs to me all my lighting fixtures will be hanging.

[Squiggle]

Those LED flood lights look amazing' date=' one day when the roof belongs to me all my lighting fixtures will be hanging.[/quote']

You don't need to hang them from the roof, if your going to make an aluminium frame then you only need one cross beam to secure the lights to :encouragement:

[mr_c265]

You don't need to hang them from the roof' date=' if your going to make an aluminium frame then you only need one cross beam to secure the lights to :encouragement:

[img']http://i1284.photobucket.com/albums/a580/Betta_lover/hilarious-fail-funny-photos-you-had-one-job28jpgpagespeedcedX9b2aMS9M_zps364239ad.jpg

I swear thats the 2nd/3rd super hero fail you've put up, do you have a collection?! So good though haha.

Squiggles right, no need to hang anything.

[lisapie]

if your going to make an aluminium frame then you only need one cross beam to secure the lights to

Hahahaha, correct. You guys are full on with the suggestions, which is very much appreciated, just not sure my bank balance is going to appreciate it as much. Neither will my Dad who will no doubt be tasked with creating the frame for me.

Looks like it's back to the drawing board in terms of lighting options, will look into how I can get some LED floodlights into the mix. If not I'll go with the 6 x 39w, as I can turn either 4 or 6 of the tubes on, so if the lighting is too much I can tone it down a bit.

Pretty sure my list of hardware etc. I posted at the start is going to be completely different by the time I actually get it set up.

[lisapie]

Squiggles right' date=' no need to hang anything.[/quote']

That setup looks great. Is that just a wooden frame resting on the tank edges? Or does it go down the sides of the tank? Bit hard to see from the pics. That might be easier for me to put together... and with a bit of edging I could probably hide the fixtures from view as well.

[Squiggle]

Pretty sure my list of hardware etc. I posted at the start is going to be completely different by the time I actually get it set up.

Evolution is the key to getting the right setup' date=' the new rack I want to setup has changed a few times & I'm still on paper :encouragement:

[img']http://i1284.photobucket.com/albums/a580/Betta_lover/images8daysaweek_zps30a7f8cf.jpg

[DG17]

I use to have a 6x2x2 with just tubes when I kept crypts swords blyxia lotuses and so forth and they did the job with good soil and co2 but once I changed it to 6ft worth of HC it was a different ball game so before looking at what lights too get I'd be looking at the plants you have and supplimentation and your co2 set up if any. Lights are obviously the major part when it comes to healthy strong plants but supps,co2 and substrate are just as important. Look at it this way lots of light with no supps and good co2 and substrate is like trying to get big and training hard without the right food and proteins haha.

So maybe work with what you have. If you want LEDs with your tank depth look into the plants you have.

I had a 3x2x2 with different ferns crypts Mosses and swords and a very basic light set up but good co2, seachem plant products and Eco complete and everything looked crazy and grew beautifully..

Hope this helped a bit.

[mr_c265]

That setup looks great. Is that just a wooden frame resting on the tank edges? Or does it go down the sides of the tank? Bit hard to see from the pics. That might be easier for me to put together... and with a bit of edging I could probably hide the fixtures from view as well.

Everything i have is DIY just about.

That frame is plywood and it just rests on the ugly plastic edging of the older tanks. You can obviously use substantially thinner plywood, i just used that one as it's free for me.

Better to change your hardware/setup before you start than after, learnt that one the hard way.

[lisapie]

Evolution is the key to getting the right setup' date=' the new rack I want to setup has changed a few times & I'm still on paper :encouragement:

[/quote']

I know that feeling Squiggle. This tank has been in the making since my first planted tank 10 years ago. I have more word documents with lists, and excel spreadsheet with calculations than I know what to do with. I know all to well about the value of being patient, planning, and getting things right from the start. With my chronic indecisiveness I suspect this tank will be a few months in the making, but at least it makes for a good tank journal!

[Squiggle]

I used to be indecisive but now I'm just not sure, lol :encouragement:. Sometimes the best ideas aren't the best when you think about it. :dejection:

[lisapie]

I use to have a 6x2x2 with just tubes when I kept crypts swords blyxia lotuses and so forth and they did the job with good soil and co2 but once I changed it to 6ft worth of HC it was a different ball game so before looking at what lights too get I'd be looking at the plants you have and supplimentation and your co2 set up if any. Lights are obviously the major part when it comes to healthy strong plants but supps' date='co2 and substrate are just as important. Look at it this way lots of light with no supps and good co2 and substrate is like trying to get big and training hard without the right food and proteins haha.

So maybe work with what you have. If you want LEDs with your tank depth look into the plants you have.

I had a 3x2x2 with different ferns crypts Mosses and swords and a very basic light set up but good co2, seachem plant products and Eco complete and everything looked crazy and grew beautifully..

Hope this helped a bit.[/quote']

Thanks for the great advice. I've had great success too with T8 and T5 HO lighting on my low tech 3ft, 2.5ft, 6ft tanks and have managed to grow quite a lot more than I ever thought I could over the years. I just ripped out 3 amazon swords that are almost 2ft wide from my 3ft tank in preparation for shifting tanks around today.

I will be planting in ADA Amazonia, using the Dinosaur range from Aquagreen for dosing liquid CO2, adding liquid ferts and possibly also root ferts if I put in any heavy root feeders (if the ADA soil isn't enough), and I understand that all these things need to work in balance with the lighting otherwise they will be wasted. This tank will have more demanding plants than anything I've scaped previously, with HM being the most demanding plant I can think of at the moment. I might start with T5 HO, see how things go. I'd like to try HC at some point and see what happens, if it carpets I might cry tears of joy, if not I'll consider adding some LED spotlights. I just realised I should probably link to my tank journal, which has a bit more detail about my plans plant wise for the tank.

http://www.shrimpkeepersforum.com/forum/showthread.php/2888-New-3x2x2-Planted-Shrimp-Tank

[lisapie]

Better to change your hardware/setup before you start than after' date=' learnt that one the hard way.[/quote']

Yep, I have made that mistake many times - which is why I'm annoying all of you so much for advice, so I can set up this tank properly from the start.

[lisapie]

I used to be indecisive but now I'm just not sure' date=' lol :encouragement:. Sometimes the best ideas aren't the best when you think about it. :dejection:

[/quote']

Ahhh nothing beats indecisiveness combined with second guessing everything, and changing your mind so many times everything just seems like the worst idea ever? I know that process very well. Hahaha!