Lighting The Tank...

[DukeMagnum]

I have read several threads on here in the past month or so after deciding that I wanted real plants in my new tank. I have understood most of what I have read so far, but the one thing I do not understand is the proper lighting for my tank. The tank I am working with here is 30 gallons in size, I posted another thread in the beginner's section dealing with filtration, so I'll not clutter this thread with more pictures. Here's the situation:

I bought the tank second hand, and the light housing is not the original one that came with it. I haven't measured, but off the top of my head I would say it is 18 inches, with the bulb inside being a foot in length. I already know that the bulb is not ideal because of its wattage. I also suspect that the housing is not ideal either, due to its length, and even if the length is sufficient to allow a higher wattage bulb to cover the tank, I doubt such a short bulb would be able to evenly scatter the light. As a result, I believe plants planted in corners wouldn't grow too well, and they would grow crooked and toward the light, if at all.

How would I est light this tank? I considered buying a glass top with a light over that, the kind that clip onto the sides of the tanks that are generally specifically for plants. They are kind of expensive, though, with most being a much higher wattage than I would require. I had also thought of simply buying the proper housing and placing it on my hood.

I don't really know which direction to go with this. With the canopy on top, I am concerned that too much heat might build up with the clip-on style lights. And, with the new housing that rests on the hood, I am concerned that the plastic strip underneath may melt, or at the least, limit the light that actually reaches the tank, since it is only around three inches wide.

Thanks for any help.

EDIT: I have also found something called PowerBrite LED lighting system. They are 12'' strips with four 1W bulbs. Apparently, I would need two of these strips for my tank. They seem pretty neat, though. The starter model is $60, and the add on strip that links to it is $45. They use hardly any power, >10W for both the strips, and they won't create heat.

Here is a link to their product page. They cost more than I wanted to spend for a light, but this does seem like a worthy investment, the shimmering effect, longer lifespan, energy efficiency and all. I think I may have settled on these. I'd just like to get some comments from someone more experienced first.

Sorry if this should have gone on the hardware forum, I think it could have gone either way... but it is about plants, and for the sake of keeping it in one place I just included it in my edit.

 

[aaronnorth]

Hi,

I'll explain the options.

Overhead luminaire.

If you are going to go for one of these I would suggest buying the cheaper models on ebay. I got a 4ft (2 x 54w T5) for £100 and also a 4ft (2 x 28w T5) for £50.


Another potion that might interest you is the arc pods:

Cheap and come in wattages of 9w & 11w.
There are other brands which can be a bit longer and more powerful at 18w

I used these lights of ebay which are working fine so far:

£11 for 12"/ 11w PCT5. One didnt work but they sent out a replacemnet immediatley.

http/cgi.ebay.co.uk/360-Angle-White-Clamping-Light-Lamp-Aquarium-Fish-Tank_W0QQitemZ220584993300QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_Pet_Supplies_Fish?hash=item335be3e214

 

[kaivalagi]

If you want a planted tank using LEDs is somewhat hit and miss, the LEDs output a small spectrum of light which arguably isn't good enough for growing plants decently. Tubes are you're best bet for a planted tank IMHO

Looks like you want a overhead luminaire as mentioned above, if you have an open top tank? A pic or model name/number would be useful to provide


What you can use will relate to the tank dimensions, which you've not given

Hope that helps

 

[DukeMagnum]

Thanks, dudes.

I will post a more in depth reply to your suggestions, provide some pictures of the top, as well as pose a few more questions a bit later in the week. I have plenty of time to gather the correct information and make a decision since the project is temporarily on hold due to the unexpected expense of buying a new laptop. I knew I'd need one soon, just not this soon. So you can expect a full reply once the new laptop arrives within the next few days. This dinosaur of a PC from 2001 just won't allow me to compile the quality of reply I'd like. I just wanted to leave a short message to tell you that the information is appreciated and has not fallen on deaf ears.

 

[DukeMagnum]

The dimensions of the tank are 30'' long by 1' wide...

I am thinking that my best option is probably to go for the overhead luminaire, as suggested. I was hoping to have the thing set up by now, but it's taking a while to get everything together.

Just to add a little to this... I am concerned about the lights building too much heat with my canopy over the tank, too. I really don't want to leave it off, I think it would look tacky. When I say 'heat', I'm not really concerned with it causing the water to be too hot; I am concerned with there being too much heat between the glass top I'd have to get and the top of the canopy. I dunno. I had figured I'd need about 25-35 watts, maybe that doesn't generate as much heat as I am assuming. Then again, those bulbs for growing plants that give off a lot of lumens get pretty hot, I think.

 

[aaronnorth]

You mean you think it will be too hot to handle the piece of glass?
It shouldnt get that hot - The bulb itself is extremely hot, and using a thermometer I recorded about 40C if i remember correctly at approx 2" away as that was how far the water was from the bulb. That was with a 36w PCT5 tube over a 60 x 30cm tank with a canopy, but no cover, so the humidity would probably help to keep it a bit cooler.