60 Gallon Planted Lighting

[BriansAquarium]

So I'm going to be buying this tank, it comes with a hood already, but I want to have a solid one piece hood.  What would be a good non led setup for this size tank ? http/www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3804465&lmdn=Fish+Aquariums+%26amp%3B+Bowls&f=PAD%2FpsNotAvailInUS%2FNo

 

[phishyphil]

Vague???
 
What kind of lighting do you want? What kind of tank do you want? will it be planted? is it for cichlids? we need to know what you intend to do with this in order to give any credible input
 
PC

 

[BriansAquarium]

Well the title says it all and the link showed the tank. Anyways I decided to go with a 45 gallon going to get two t5's at 54 watts should be enough for a planted tropical community

 

[GRD1985]

108 watts over a 45 is pushing it without CO2, depending on the tank depth abit... You are going to need heavy fertilizers either way. If you don't stay on top of establishing the tank and keeping up on care it will become an algae mess.

 

[BriansAquarium]

So how much wattage would you recommend? 68 watts would be 1.5 watts per gallon.

 

[phishyphil]

Well the title says it all and the link showed the tank. Anyways I decided to go with a 45 gallon going to get two t5's at 54 watts should be enough for a planted tropical community

 
Okay, my fault for missing the title, bit it is still too vague in the sense that you did not tell us if you wish to go high tec, low tec, dose with ferts, co2 injection?
 
1-2 wpg is a general rule of thumb if you are looking at keeping things simple, 
2-3+wpg if you intend to inject co2, dose ferts and look at the higher spec of planting, 
 
what plants do you intend to keep, as this will also influence what lighting you will need!

 

[BriansAquarium]

Going to be using this light fixture (I think, as it seems to be a decent one for my size tank) http/www.amazon.com/Aquatic-Life-2-Lamp-Aquarium-36-Inch/dp/B002BH7LL6/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1378803682&sr=8-3&keywords=aquaticlife
I will be using a dirt substrate with black gravel on top and dosing Flourish Excel (liquid carbon) http/www.amazon.com/Seachem-453-Flourish-Excel-500ml/dp/B000256962/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1378803758&sr=8-1&keywords=flourish+excel
 
my plants will be as follows
Baby dwarf tears
Anubias
Amazon Swords
Java Moss

 

[phishyphil]

the majority of those plants all thrive under low lighting, however you may have trouble with the baby dwarf tears as they tend to need higher lighting in order to remain "baby" and Dwarf"
 
If you are dirting a tank, may I suggest adding a clay substance into the soil under the gravel cap as the clay will absorb nutrients and then release them slowly over time, just a suggestion!

 

[BriansAquarium]

well I am thinking of doing a carpet plant, if not baby dwarf tears what would be a good low light plant? and lowlight being 1-2watts per gallon? And I have read differing views on when to plant your plants when dirting your tank. Some say do immediately some say wait a week and do plenty of water changes or the nitrogen will burn the plant roots. I plan on using miracle grow organic, but I may just end up using eco-complete or something similar, too many mixed views and too many different opinions/facts on dirt. For my first planted tank I want it to be simple and easy, once I get some experience and confidence I can move on to bigger and better things, mind you this will have fish in it. Thanks for the help