196gallon tank lighting

[maos]

i am getting a 196 gallon tank (60x30x30inch) and want to grow plants in it.

i work out i need at least 800w to grow plants - someone told me that 2x22w is equivelant to 400w because its reflects or luminaires or something.

is that right?

or do i need to get 8 compact 55w twin light units?

 

[houndour]

someone told me that 2x22w is equivelant to 400w because its reflects or luminaires or something.

I'm gonna guess that that is utter rubbish. 2 x 22 watts would be 44 watts. But if you have the reflectors it does improve the lighting.

When you do decide on lights, make sure you look into kelvins too. I made that mistake and have a bulb that's too high.

Also you'll probably need CO2 injection with 4 watts per gallon.

 

[maos]

a kelvin?

 

[Silly me]

8 compact 55w twin light units, in a big tank like that is kinda high. Over 125G 2wpg is high,

as long as you keep to fullspectrum or grow lights you should have very good plant growth in your tank.

as for Kelvin, you should stick to 5500K - 6700K not lower ( unless its a grow light like Hagen ) and NOT higher.
It doesnt matter how many 6700K tubes you add to your tank you would go over 6700K.