Adequate lighting for deep tanks

[JuiceBox52]

I’m planning on planting my 210. I know deep tanks can be difficult to adequately light as the light can struggle to reach the bottom.

I’m not super knowledgeable on lighting, usually I use the 7200k 4 foot florescent bulbs from the hardware store, but I don’t know if that will be enough as I’ve never had anything deeper than a 55g

 

[Magnum Man]

on my 24 inch deep tanks, I use 2 of these... they provide plenty of light, as long as your'e not doing black water
I put them side by side, full length, so you may want 4 - 36 inch lights

Amazon.com

 

[jaylach]

You could use something such as @Magnum Man linked but I'm thinking in another direction. How about a combination of the lighting you like and are used to along with a few spot lights to reach more of the bottom of the tank. I've personally never used aquarium spotlights but it seems viable.

 

[Cisco_Ray]

Might not be to everyones taste and look but quite a few people are using low wattage floodlights now with great results..

I am using a 20w 6500K floodlight in my 3ft deap tank.

 

[GaryE]

I have good plant growth, not great, in my deepest tank by using three four foot LED plant lights, the fluval ones. You could also use spots to get right down to the substrate, or ideally, a mix of the two. I don't use CO2 or ferts beyond root tabs, and love Cryptocorynes. That helps. You'll find plant choice to be essential.

 

[JuiceBox52]

I have good plant growth, not great, in my deepest tank by using three four foot LED plant lights, the fluval ones. You could also use spots to get right down to the substrate, or ideally, a mix of the two. I don't use CO2 or ferts beyond root tabs, and love Cryptocorynes. That helps. You'll find plant choice to be essential.

This is helpful! I am not looking to use co2 (it’s expensive lol) and mostly just use root tabs as well

 

[JuiceBox52]

on my 24 inch deep tanks, I use 2 of these... they provide plenty of light, as long as your'e not doing black water
I put them side by side, full length, so you may want 4 - 36 inch lights

Amazon.com

Thank you I will look into these

 

[GaryE]

I'm very aware of energy costs, probably because I have so many lights and tanks. I've found LED shoplights to be cheap to buy and run, but terrible for plant growth. Algae really likes them. While it costs more initially, a light where you can adjust the spectrum works better. I have dialed down the blue light on my tanks and seen a major drop in algae on the glass as a result. I get far better plant growth, and the fish look better.
Consider how people look sitting in a waiting room under fluorescent style LEDs, compared to how they look on a theatre stage with good lighting. It costs more to light properly, but it pays off in enjoyment of the tank.

My oldest kid has one tank and spent about 2 weeks slowly adjusting the bluetooth lights to get them as she wanted. When I saw what she's achieved, I sat down for some valuable lessons. She had better plant growth than me with less algae. I'm catching up after listening to what she did.

The cost problem is that I have 3 4 foot leds on my 120, and two on each 75. Those are my deep tanks. But once we could get rid of fluorescents and go led, my monthly costs dropped a lot. That was a while back, but if you get a deal on old tech from someone's garage, consider that.

The equipment to run a large deep tank is a bigger problem than getting the tank itself. I do things cheaply and with improvisation, but you really have to be resourceful.

 

[JuiceBox52]

,
The equipment to run a large deep tank is a bigger problem than getting the tank itself. I do things cheaply and with improvisation, but you really have to be resourceful.

I am definitely aware of the equipment costs and the costs with the hobby in general! It’s definitely not cheap. When I had my 14 tanks before I tore everything down, I had gotten most of them for free or cheap, done some repairs myself, and built the stands out of cinder blocks and 2x4s.

I am thankfully quite good at being resourceful, a skill I learned from my parents. Our local fish club in Seattle is having their huge annual auction on Saturday, if I’m fully recovered from my surgery later today I plan on attending and seeing what they’ve got. I’m particularly interested in driftwood and hardscape too. If I don’t find much hardscape in the coming weeks I’ll probably go out to my friends cherry orchard. He’s got a few thousand trees and a bunch of dry dead ones they haven’t burned yet. The river isn’t low enough yet but I may go down there once it is as well to look for some scaping wood

 

[Magnum Man]

as a side note, I have a few LED spot lights here... I'm not sure the light spectrum, I used them to light specific areas in a tank a couple years ago... they grew algae like crazy in the spot that was lit up by them, and I ended up pulling them, because of that

 

[GaryE]

as a side note, I have a few LED spot lights here... I'm not sure the light spectrum, I used them to light specific areas in a tank a couple years ago... they grew algae like crazy in the spot that was lit up by them, and I ended up pulling them, because of that

I tried some screw in led lightbulbs in spot fixtures (did I say I'm a cheapskate?), and have the same issue - green hair algae. They're good if they are far enough above the tanks, but then they lose the intensity you're aiming for. Plants grow well, but they are soon overtaken by algae. Those bulbs will go to my seed starter trays for the garden.
I had 4 IKEA pendant lights over my 120 at one point, 6 inches above the glass, and the plant growth was great. But I only had low light plants then. A 5 foot wall of Bolbitis heudelotti in a 6 foot tank looked pretty good though. It took a couple of years to get there, but it happened. Bolbitis behind, large Anubias in the mid range and Crypt wendtii in front. It was a nice, low tech tank.

 

[Back in the fold]

I would think that the fluorescent shop lights would be perfectly adequate .

 

[MuddyWaters]

I'm late to this and haven't read the other responses yet so take this for what it's worth.

I have a 75 gallon that I have 2 Fluval Plant 3.0 lights on. I run them 100%for 9.5 hours w 30 minut ramp up and ramp down. I'm able to grow most plants just fine. Had trouble with Rotalla Wallichi, so if it's a real high light plant I don't think it's enough (although I've never checked with a PAR meter)

I also have a 29 gallon - equally deep- that I have a Chihiros light on. I have struggled with algae and have turned it down to 50% at the highest and only run it average 7 hours with 1 hr ramp up & down.

The light the Chihiros provides is WAY brighter than the Fluval and the colors POP dramatically more with it. Even though I don't utilize the full output of the light, the difference in color makes it worth it. It is unbelievable how much better fish look under that light.

Having said that, Chihiros lights are crazy expensive.

One other situation: I have a 20 long that I have Buce and anubias in. I run it 8 hrs per day but ONLY 20% brightness (it's a 30" Aquarium Coop light) and the plants are fine and there is plenty of light to enjoy the fish.

Lighting is so variable and confusing. I wish some scientist would write a definitive book on light parameters and how the different variables affect things. I mostly make mistakes and learn that way, but there are a set number of variables that could be quantified in a matrix that would cut out a lot of guesswork

I think I went way off topic. Forgive me

 

[MuddyWaters]

You could use something such as @Magnum Man linked but I'm thinking in another direction. How about a combination of the lighting you like and are used to along with a few spot lights to reach more of the bottom of the tank. I've personally never used aquarium spotlights but it seems viable.

I think this would be beautiful and could really bring mood into the tank

 

[Oldspartan]

Why can't lights be layered?