light question so many!! which one with plants??

[dandestroy]

I'm trying to set up a planted tank with discus.

its a 80 gal that is 24" deep. I'm planning to make it medium to heavily planted.

The set up came with 2 x 40 watt hagen fluorescent tube (got one life-glo and 1 power-glo)

I'm thinking that these will not penetrate deep enough, and therefore I'm planning on buiding myself a nice top.

So what should I get? What do you have in yours that you recommend?

[dandestroy]

I'm really thinking of going with with either:

AH supply 2x 96 w (with the bulb around 190$)
AH supply 4 x 55w (with bulb 200$)
http://www.ahsupply.com/36-55w.htm
(probably more the 55w)

or this
Coralife 48" FRESHWATER AquaLight Fixture - 4 x 65W
(which goes for 230 US if I'm not mistaken)
http://www.jlaquatics.com/phpstore/store_pages/details/l-pc.php?product_ID=pc-alf48260

and finally this
Odyssea 48" 260w (about 80$)
http://www.aquatraders.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=209

I don't really like a standing top like the coralife so i would probaly suround it with a custom top anyways.

The odyssea seems so cheap...am I missing something here (of course i would make the actinic bulb change for apropriate one).

Which one seems best to you?

[discusdave]

I'm trying to set up a planted tank with discus.

its a 80 gal that is 24" deep. I'm planning to make it medium to heavily planted.

The set up came with 2 x 40 watt hagen fluorescent tube (got one life-glo and 1 power-glo)

I'm thinking that these will not penetrate deep enough, and therefore I'm planning on buiding myself a nice top.

So what should I get? What do you have in yours that you recommend?

Have you considered this: http://www.marinedepot.com/md_viewItem.asp?idproduct=ICSPK3

I have used halides for several past plant tanks and love them. Nothing beats shimmer lines in the tank. I just set up a 265 gallon tank and my lighting is three of these retros. I've never needed a 250 watt halide until now, as my tank is 7 feet by 2 feet by 31 inches tall (deep). The Iwasaki is the best halide bulb for planted tanks. A friend of mine has one of these on a 92 gallon corner tank and she grows the biggest plants I have ever seen. No bull.

That is the reason I chose these when I built my hood. There are no stock seven foot long fixtures made! the spiderlight reflector reflects a ton of light back down into the tank.

[lhforbes12]

Dan,
I have one of the same ones you are looking at from AquaTraders, I also have AHS fixtures. When put side by side I can see no difference in their output. They both grow plants the same. The Odyssea is a suprisingly well made fixture and doesn't involve any DIY. AquaTraders gets you on their shipping and handling charges though, so beware.

Larry

[crazie.eddie]

The light depends on the type of planted tank setup you want. If you intend to have high light requirement plants, then you need to get lights that produce 3-4 watts per gallon. You will also need to get CO2 equipment and lots of fertilizers. Otherwise, you can go with low tech planted tank (no CO2), then you need to use lights that produce less than 2 watts per gallon.

[hexed]

Dan,
I have the odyssea on my tank and have no problems with it at all. I got mine off Ebay and it came with the moonlights. AquaTrader says you have to purchase them seperately :(
Here's a link to the seller's auction page that I got mine from:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ODYSSEA-48-260W-Aquarium-Power-Compact-Light-Lunar_W0QQitemZ300002514669QQihZ020QQcategoryZ4631 4QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Same price as Aquatrader but you get the extra moon lights. I like them cause after I turn off the lights the discus can still see what's around them and they look really nice in the blue light ;) I paid around $103 total and I also found a seller that was selling the 65 watt bulbs pretty cheap too :) If anything is wrong the seller does take care of it too! I had a cracked bulb and he sent me a replacement. The only pitfall is this light comes with legs and does give off some heat. It is about 3 inches off the top of the tank with the legs attached, but boy it does give off nice lightening :)

[ItsGeoff]

and if you do go odyessa be careful with the metal halide systems. the ballasts they use have been know to catch fire

[lhforbes12]

and if you do go odyessa be careful with the metal halide systems. the ballasts they use have been know to catch fire

Geoff,
That is a very good thing to know!

[tpl*co]

Going through the same thing myself. One thing to look at (I found out later) is if you will be using a canopy or will the tank be open on top? How much space will you have on top to work with? (consider any doors and filtration hardware). I bought a 48 inch power compact system (current USA 4x96) that I thought would be perfect before the tank came in, then found out that yes it would fit, but I wouldn't be able to access the water with my canopy! If you live close I can make you a deal on it! ;).

I find out that I'll need a retrofit and now I'm researching ballasts and configurations and types of bulbs :).

I have aqualights on my other tanks and are happy with them for the quality of workmanship, though they are a little more expensive.

So, I guess what I'm saying is have everything set up pretty much how you'll have it then measure the space you've got for the system, and then see what'll work for the amount of watts you'll need :).

Tina