75 Gallon Needs Right Lighting For Plants

[devocole]

Hi all. I've decided to go with a 75 gallon planted tank. I have found the tank but now lighting is the issue. I don't know whether to buy a premade hood that would be suitable or make it: today i went to rona and planned that i could get about 2.3 watts per gallon useing simple materials. But that would involve me making something etc and probably $150-200. Can people please suggest and educate me on what is the best idea, for aquarium lighting when taking the big picture into consideration. (such as costs, aesthetics etc.)
Thanks again for all your help
Devon

 

[Colin_T]

how tall is the tank?
If the tank is 2ft high then metal halide lights are a better choice than fluorescent due to the fact the light they produce will penetrate deeper water. In shallow tanks up to 18inches high fluoros are fine. T5 fluoros are better than standard fluoros but not as good as metal halide.
You can get some nice lights units these days that look sleek and stylish and you simply hang them from the ceiling. Find a couple of beams in the roof and attach a cable for the lights to hang from. We use brake cables from pushbikes. They are cheap and strong. Some light units have mounting brackets that lift them a couple of inches above the tank.

Most hoods trap heat and can cause tanks to get too warm, especially if there are a few light units under it. The heat also shortens the life of the globes.

 

[Luketendo]

Tom Barr has stated that you don't need to worry about depth unless it's more than 2'.

I have a 30g 2ft deep and 48w T5 HOs are fine.

- If not too good!