Lighting Questions

[rwutang]

hi all, my second post

i'm a planted tank noob and have been reading all i can about this subject for the past few weeks.

i recently bought a used 35g tall (24" long, 24" tall) acrylic tank and am now trying to figure out what kind of lighting to get.

i have two questions i was hoping you experts can answer:

1. what kind of lighting will i need to produce enough light to reach lower level foreground type plants? i read in the pinned "basic guide to lighting" thread that i should be able to get away with fluorescents. does anyone have experience with lighting up a tall planted tank? will i be able to get away with T8's?

2. the tank i got is a one piece with a top that have access holes cut out from it: a medium sized hole cut out in the middle and two holes cut in the back for a hob filter/piping/etc. it kind of looks like this:

---------------------
| |x| |xxxxx| |
| ___________ |
| |XXXXXXXXXX| |
| |XXXXXXXXXX| |
| ---------------- |
| ______________ |


with the X's representing where the holes are cut out. anyways, my question has to do with what kind of light fixture options i have since i can't put a glass canopy over the top of my tank. some of the light fixtures state in their product description that they should not be placed directly over water (even the ones with splash guards) and others don't say anything about whether they can or not. is this because of condensation issues? if so what are my options? anyone have a tank like mine?

thanks for your help!

edit: lol, my ascii pic of the tank looks all messed... guess you'll have to use ur imagination

 

[aaronnorth]

1) you have a deep tank, so T5's at least are needed, better still are metal halides. If you get T8 ballasts, there is a new T6 bulb that gives out 40% more light but runs on the same ballast as T8's:

http/www.aquaessentials.co.uk/index.php?...mp;cPath=12_207

2) All lights can be placed over the water, as long as they are not in it. You could go with an overtank luminaire (if you have £££'s!):

http/www.aquaessentials.co.uk/index.php?...mp;cPath=12_227


here are all the different lighting:

http/www.aquaessentials.co.uk/index.php?...5afc4qlvm8p9pc5

 

[rwutang]

1) you have a deep tank, so T5's at least are needed, better still are metal halides. If you get T8 ballasts, there is a new T6 bulb that gives out 40% more light but runs on the same ballast as T8's:

[URL="http/www.aquaessentials.co.uk/index.php?...mp;cPath=12_207"]http/www.aquaessentials.co.uk/index.php?...mp;cPath=12_207[/URL]

2) All lights can be placed over the water, as long as they are not in it. You could go with an overtank luminaire (if you have £££'s!):

[URL="http/www.aquaessentials.co.uk/index.php?...mp;cPath=12_227"]http/www.aquaessentials.co.uk/index.php?...mp;cPath=12_227[/URL]


here are all the different lighting:

[URL="http/www.aquaessentials.co.uk/index.php?...5afc4qlvm8p9pc5"]http/www.aquaessentials.co.uk/index.php?...5afc4qlvm8p9pc5[/URL]

thanks for the reply aaron

i've been looking around for a 24" T5 fixture, reading reviews and such and am thinking about getting a current nova extreme

http/www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod...mp;pcatid=16770

my only concern is that the wattage for the included lights is 2x24w = 48w total. do you think this is enough for a 35g tank? it's about 1.3wpg, which falls in the low to medium level light plants i believe. as a beginner to this hobby, i'm hoping that i can find a good assortment of plants in that light level to create a beautiful aquascape

if i need some more watts, i also saw one from coralife which is 65w, but it is a compact fluorescent

http/www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod...amp;pcatid=9871

i know you suggested at least t5's or metal halides, where do compact fluorescents fall in this category? will they be strong enough to light up a 24" tall tank?

thanks mate!

 

[aaronnorth]

Compact flourescents is a double tube, if you imagine an ordindary tube, then put another next to it. These will be fine, they are more powerful so reach deeper into the aquarium.