Some Advice On Filters And Lighting

[phishyphil]

Upgrading my small 60 litre tank to a 120 Litre new one but need some information on a few things.

1) Firstly, What sort of lighting will I need for this new tank, Im making my own hood and need to know what kind of lighting will be best, and how much, There will be plants within the tank.

2) What filter would be recomended for the new tank, my current filter is the standard Marina slim S15 which is great for my 60 litre, but inadequate for my 120 litre. Any suggestions?

I think Kat is going to pop up here and save me again

 

[BPB]

If you're building your own light hood and have adequate DIY skills, I would think the cheapest route to go would be to just get a T8 ballast and wire up some bulbs attatched to the top of the hood. If you're not doing CO2 injection, then you really really want to stay in the 1-2 watt per gallon area. With T8, 80 watts MAX otherwise algae will certainly take over. If you're going with T5 lighting (a little more expensive) 1 watt per gallon no more. Unless of course you're using CO2, in which case, you can do a good bit more.

Filtration wise, You could easily upgrade to an Aquaclear 70 which would be double the filtration needs for your tank and is relatively cheap as well (under $50 here in the states). Canister filters are obviously going to cost more but if you wanted to go that route, I would recommend the Eheim classic line. Fair priced and rock solid quality. Also, if you still have your old filter, and aren't using your old tank anymore, just run it on your new one. There is really no reason not to.

Hope that helps.