Problem: Without realizing how much light aquarium plants need I had a
34"x30"x14" aquarium made to fit into a wall recess. I've been reading
that most freshwater tropical fish prefer lower light levels that
exist in most natural streams. Anyway I've bought two 25w fluorescent
tubes since this was the highest wattage at 30" long. I also got two
reflectors which the manufacturer says increases light by 100% giving
a possible 100w. I guess I need more light but how much would you guys
suggest. I don't want to stress the fish with too much but also want
tall plants for the 30" high tank.

On 3 Dec 2003 12:52:02 -0800, (Daza) wrote:

Problem: Without realizing how much light aquarium plants need I had a
34"x30"x14" aquarium made to fit into a wall recess. I've been reading
that most freshwater tropical fish prefer lower light levels that
exist in most natural streams. Anyway I've bought two 25w fluorescent
tubes since this was the highest wattage at 30" long. I also got two
reflectors which the manufacturer says increases light by 100% giving
a possible 100w. I guess I need more light but how much would you guys
suggest. I don't want to stress the fish with too much but also want
tall plants for the 30" high tank.
If it will be a heavily planted tank then I'd recommend a single 250
Metal Halide pendant. If the tank has enough plants the bright light
won't be a problem with lots of plants-there will be lots of dark
shadowed areas for them. What you have now isn't going to grow
plants very well IMO

"Daza" wrote in message
om...
Problem: Without realizing how much light aquarium plants need I had a
34"x30"x14" aquarium made to fit into a wall recess. I've been reading
that most freshwater tropical fish prefer lower light levels that
exist in most natural streams. Anyway I've bought two 25w fluorescent
tubes since this was the highest wattage at 30" long. I also got two
reflectors which the manufacturer says increases light by 100% giving
a possible 100w. I guess I need more light but how much would you guys
suggest. I don't want to stress the fish with too much but also want
tall plants for the 30" high tank.

First off, you would have a hard time stressing fish with light, unless you
never turned it off.... they need to sleep/rest too... :^)

Metal Halides are expensive, Power Compact Flourescents are cheaper....

For a 30" high tank, you must be particular about what you put in it too...
Go with lower light plants, that won't require that you penetrate the whole
tank... Java Ferns, for example, grow great in a low/low light setup...
There are a whole mess of plants that do.. .

So to recap, I would probably go with a 1x55 or 2x55w PCF fixture, raised a
few inches off the top of the water, glass top, CO2 Injection, low light
plants and it'll probably prove itself to be a low maintenance, highly
pleasing visual centerpeice in your living room...

btw, reflectors are insignificant in wattage, they only bend the light to
point it down...
www.ahsupply.com helped me tremendously
www.hellolights.com is a newer site that has just about everything

Good luck, and come back often...
--

RedForeman ©®

Two weeks ago I built a 100g tank and made my own hood. I didn't have the
$$ for PCs, Halides and all the goodies so I got 4-100w screw base
Flourescents for $10 from Costco...you know, the curly type that take the
place of a regular bulb? I transferred everything from a 30g with 1.5 wpg
to the new tank. Like I said that was 2 weeks ago. I have had to start
pruning already. I have a mixture of Low Light plants and
Mediums...Anubias, javas, Crypts, Vals, swords and several mosses. All are
doing great without ferts or CO2.

Dan


"Daza" wrote in message
om...
Problem: Without realizing how much light aquarium plants need I had a
34"x30"x14" aquarium made to fit into a wall recess. I've been reading
that most freshwater tropical fish prefer lower light levels that
exist in most natural streams. Anyway I've bought two 25w fluorescent
tubes since this was the highest wattage at 30" long. I also got two
reflectors which the manufacturer says increases light by 100% giving
a possible 100w. I guess I need more light but how much would you guys
suggest. I don't want to stress the fish with too much but also want
tall plants for the 30" high tank.

On Wed, 3 Dec 2003 16:28:10 -0500, "RedForeman ©®"
wrote:

"Daza" wrote in message
. com...
Problem: Without realizing how much light aquarium plants need I had a
34"x30"x14" aquarium made to fit into a wall recess. I've been reading
that most freshwater tropical fish prefer lower light levels that
exist in most natural streams. Anyway I've bought two 25w fluorescent
tubes since this was the highest wattage at 30" long. I also got two
reflectors which the manufacturer says increases light by 100% giving
a possible 100w. I guess I need more light but how much would you guys
suggest. I don't want to stress the fish with too much but also want
tall plants for the 30" high tank.

First off, you would have a hard time stressing fish with light, unless you
never turned it off.... they need to sleep/rest too... :^)

Metal Halides are expensive, Power Compact Flourescents are cheaper....

For a 30" high tank, you must be particular about what you put in it too...
Go with lower light plants, that won't require that you penetrate the whole
tank... Java Ferns, for example, grow great in a low/low light setup...
There are a whole mess of plants that do.. .

So to recap, I would probably go with a 1x55 or 2x55w PCF fixture, raised a
few inches off the top of the water, glass top, CO2 Injection, low light
plants and it'll probably prove itself to be a low maintenance, highly
pleasing visual centerpeice in your living room...

btw, reflectors are insignificant in wattage, they only bend the light to
point it down...
www.ahsupply.com helped me tremendously
www.hellolights.com is a newer site that has just about everything

Good luck, and come back often...

MH are more expensive no doubt but it isn't necessary to fit them with
$50-$80 bulbs. You can go to a lighting store and buy $30 bulbs. A
MH bulb has a broader spectrum and lasts much longer than a
flourescent bulb and gives much better results. I've had both and can
say that there is no comparison especially if you want to bring out
the red in any plants (no pun intended). If you can afford them you
won't regret it.

MH are more expensive no doubt but it isn't necessary to fit them with
$50-$80 bulbs. You can go to a lighting store and buy $30 bulbs. A
MH bulb has a broader spectrum and lasts much longer than a
flourescent bulb and gives much better results. I've had both and can
say that there is no comparison especially if you want to bring out
the red in any plants (no pun intended). If you can afford them you
won't regret it.

My only experience with MH is a friend who's a contractor, and a fellow
aquariast, who's been pricing MH ballasts, bulbs, etc, and he's found
several MH bulbs that look the same, but different intensity. For
construction they use the $35 bulb, for fish tanks, he suggested the $65
bulb.. the more expensive one, DOES have a wider spectrum, and more
intensity. The cheap bulbs are orange, or yellow and not a good effect at
all, and you'd be very upset when you got home to see the color...

The only reason I suggested PCF is that for the $$ sake, you _can_ do the
same with PCF that you can do with MH, but it will cost more. If money
isn't an option, then we're just shooting the breeeze about fish for
nothing.... :-)

--

RedForeman ©®





"Blarneytoad" wrote in message
...
On Wed, 3 Dec 2003 16:28:10 -0500, "RedForeman ©®"
wrote:

"Daza" wrote in message
. com...
Problem: Without realizing how much light aquarium plants need I had a
34"x30"x14" aquarium made to fit into a wall recess. I've been reading
that most freshwater tropical fish prefer lower light levels that
exist in most natural streams. Anyway I've bought two 25w fluorescent
tubes since this was the highest wattage at 30" long. I also got two
reflectors which the manufacturer says increases light by 100% giving
a possible 100w. I guess I need more light but how much would you guys
suggest. I don't want to stress the fish with too much but also want
tall plants for the 30" high tank.

First off, you would have a hard time stressing fish with light, unless
you
never turned it off.... they need to sleep/rest too... :^)

Metal Halides are expensive, Power Compact Flourescents are cheaper....

For a 30" high tank, you must be particular about what you put in it
too...
Go with lower light plants, that won't require that you penetrate the
whole
tank... Java Ferns, for example, grow great in a low/low light setup...
There are a whole mess of plants that do.. .

So to recap, I would probably go with a 1x55 or 2x55w PCF fixture, raised
a
few inches off the top of the water, glass top, CO2 Injection, low light
plants and it'll probably prove itself to be a low maintenance, highly
pleasing visual centerpeice in your living room...

btw, reflectors are insignificant in wattage, they only bend the light to
point it down...
www.ahsupply.com helped me tremendously
www.hellolights.com is a newer site that has just about everything

Good luck, and come back often...

On Thu, 4 Dec 2003 09:57:00 -0500, "RedForeman ©®"
wrote:

MH are more expensive no doubt but it isn't necessary to fit them with
$50-$80 bulbs. You can go to a lighting store and buy $30 bulbs. A
MH bulb has a broader spectrum and lasts much longer than a
flourescent bulb and gives much better results. I've had both and can
say that there is no comparison especially if you want to bring out
the red in any plants (no pun intended). If you can afford them you
won't regret it.

My only experience with MH is a friend who's a contractor, and a fellow
aquariast, who's been pricing MH ballasts, bulbs, etc, and he's found
several MH bulbs that look the same, but different intensity. For
construction they use the $35 bulb, for fish tanks, he suggested the $65
bulb.. the more expensive one, DOES have a wider spectrum, and more
intensity. The cheap bulbs are orange, or yellow and not a good effect at
all, and you'd be very upset when you got home to see the color...

The only reason I suggested PCF is that for the $$ sake, you _can_ do the
same with PCF that you can do with MH, but it will cost more. If money
isn't an option, then we're just shooting the breeeze about fish for
nothing.... :-)

If money is a concern then the cheapest way is to build a hood out of
pine,buying waterproof end caps, HO ballasts ( not the expensive
IceCap brand just plain ballasts) and use 12 gage speaker wire to wire
it,throw a Triton reflector on top and you're in business without
spending too much money. It works-I ran a setup like that for a couple
years before I switched to MH. As far MH bulbs go I've run cheap ones
for_years_.The last set of Corallife bulbs I ran came with the
fixtures close to 10 years ago. So yes you can run them and get_good_
results. Would I like the $60 ones? Yes but I can't see spending $120
to bulb my fixtures when I can do it for $60. BTW the cheap bulbs are
not orange or yellow you might be thinking of sodium vapor bulbs.
Take a look at the pic I posted on alt.binaries.aquaria