Which Lighting?

[Christi_22]

Hi Everyone,

We are setting up a 36 gallon tank for planting and fish on a low tech basis ie: no high output light requirement.

We will be using an Arcadia Ultra Seal T8 Dual Controller for 30W output (providing 60W total), due to the length of the tank being 39" and from our research that we are only able to get 36" maximum length tubes with 30W output.

The tank lid is flat and lighting must be situated beneath and therefore totally waterproof. We have cats and therefore must have no open access.

Firstly, will 60W be adequate?
Given the 2W per gallon minimum rule.

Secondly, given the limitation of size and wattage etc, what fluorescent tubes can be recommended?
We are wanting to go the route of lower cost daylight tubes but cannot go for the Philips Dayglo as they are 1.2m in length.
We have resourced the following and would appreciate any comment:

Osram Skywhite 30W 36" 8000K 80% Colour Rendering Do not think Full Spectrum
Osram Biolux 30W 36" 6500K 98% Colour Rendering Full Spectrum incl. UV
BioVital Narval 30W 36" 5800K 90% Colour Rendering Full Spectrum incl. UV
Sylvania Luxline Plus Triphosphor 865 Daylight 30W 36" 6500K 80% Colour Rendering Do not know Spectrum
Osram Lumilux Triphoshphor 865 Daylight 30W 36" 6500K 80% Colour Rendering Do not know Spectrum

We are thinking of either the second or third, can any one illuminate, lol!, or can anyone suggest alternatives?

Thankyou

 

[Truck]

first off how many US gallons does your tank hold? if you say 60 watts provides 2WPG then its 30 gallons? correct? if i were you go with just 30 watts, then you dont need CO2 or ferts but they would help

 

[Christi_22]

first off how many US gallons does your tank hold? if you say 60 watts provides 2WPG then its 30 gallons? correct? if i were you go with just 30 watts, then you dont need CO2 or ferts but they would help

Hi

The gallons quoted were US and the sand substrate has TetraPlant Complete Substrate underneath. The tank is in its 7th day of fishless cycling and we want to plant up very soon.

Thankyou

 

[Truck]

the tetra stuff is a waste of money tbh, it contains no N or P

 

[Christi_22]

the tetra stuff is a waste of money tbh, it contains no N or P

the substrate is ideal in preventing algal bloom and there is no problem with us providing nutrients for plant growth at the optimum time.

our question was concerning appropriate lighting.

thankyou.

 

[Christi_22]

the tetra stuff is a waste of money tbh, it contains no N or P

the substrate is ideal in preventing algal bloom and there is no problem with us providing nutrients for plant growth at the optimum time.

our question was concerning appropriate lighting.

thankyou.

bump

 

[Christi_22]

Any ideas anyone (about T8 tubes) lol

 

[Truck]

stick with 30 watts of T8, and N and P dont cause algae.

 

[Christi_22]

Thanks for your help TS123.

The reason we do not want N & P in the tank is that it is not planted yet. Adding N & P at this stage would allow Algae to take hold whilst the tank was cycling, as although N & P does not "cause Algae" it is a requirement for its growth. Our thinking was to make sure that the tank was planted up, with established healthy plants, (which in theory would out compete the Algae lol) and then provide the necessary nutrients (including N & P) for plant growth. Tetra Complete provides many other nutrients that the plants will be able to utilise once in the tank.

Hope this makes sense. We definitely are looking to go down the low tech route, and will be choosing easy care plants as much as possible. Our main confusion at the moment is the myriad of lighting out there, we have heard that there are plenty of tubes that are sufficient for our set-up (without having to buy expensive tubes that are solely designed for Aquaria). Hopefully someone on the forum may have tried some of these options.

PS Would love to buy the most expensive aquarium lighting in the world, but on a budget, hence the above post lol

 

[Truck]

Thanks for your help TS123.

The reason we do not want N & P in the tank is that it is not planted yet. Adding N & P at this stage would allow Algae to take hold whilst the tank was cycling, as although N & P does not "cause Algae" it is a requirement for its growth. Our thinking was to make sure that the tank was planted up, with established healthy plants, (which in theory would out compete the Algae lol) and then provide the necessary nutrients (including N & P) for plant growth. Tetra Complete provides many other nutrients that the plants will be able to utilise once in the tank.

Hope this makes sense. We definitely are looking to go down the low tech route, and will be choosing easy care plants as much as possible. Our main confusion at the moment is the myriad of lighting out there, we have heard that there are plenty of tubes that are sufficient for our set-up (without having to buy expensive tubes that are solely designed for Aquaria). Hopefully someone on the forum may have tried some of these options.

PS Would love to buy the most expensive aquarium lighting in the world, but on a budget, hence the above post lol

sounds good then! you might want to start a journal

 

[Christi_22]

About lighting? Maybe should do a poll?