Lighting Issue for 150-gallon, 30" deep, glass flip-lids...

[BrownBullhead]

Lighting Issue for 150-gallon, 30" deep, glass flip-lids...

I need some help from the readers out there in terms of how to better light my 150-gallon, 30" deep (surface to substrate) tank. The tank is 48" x 24" footprint. The lids are the "flip-lid" style, glass. The tank and stand are nestled into what would have been a clothes-closet with the sliding doors.

I need to find a solution to use 24", 20-watt, T-12 Phillips "Daylight Deluxe" fluorescent tubes. I chose this model because I want something with a high light output and high color temperature to show off the yellow in my Tropheus.

I can NOT mount any lighting ballast or housing to the bulkhead above the tank as ventilation equipment runs through there... essentially I need something to basically "sit" on the glass lids, much like the makeshift lighting I have now which are two light hoods from a 55-gallon setup.

I was wondering if I could use a "2 Ft. 2-Light Residental Fluorescent Wrap" (http://www.homedepot.com/prel80/HDUS/EN_US/jsearch/product.jsp?pn=163148) on each side of the lids, or even a "4 Ft. 2-Light Residential Fluorescent Wrap" (http://www.homedepot.com/prel80/HDUS/EN_US/jsearch/product.jsp?pn=324922) across the entire span of the lids? I would have to buy models with AC electrical cord as again, I cannot hard-wire anything into the bulkhead above the tank.

What do you guys think? SEE IMAGES BELOW. Click thumbnail to see full size 1600 x 1200 images. Images hosted by PhotoBucket (http://www.photobucket.com/).

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v245/BrownBullhead/2006-01-12/th_2006-01-12_08-02-59_1600x1200_Q10.jpg (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v245/BrownBullhead/2006-01-12/2006-01-12_08-02-59_1600x1200_Q10.jpg) http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v245/BrownBullhead/2006-01-12/th_2006-01-12_08-03-24_1600x1200_Q10.jpg (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v245/BrownBullhead/2006-01-12/2006-01-12_08-03-24_1600x1200_Q10.jpg) http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v245/BrownBullhead/2006-01-12/th_2006-01-12_08-04-16_1600x1200_Q10.jpg (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v245/BrownBullhead/2006-01-12/2006-01-12_08-04-16_1600x1200_Q10.jpg) http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v245/BrownBullhead/2006-01-12/th_2006-01-12_08-10-50_1600x1200_Q10.jpg (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v245/BrownBullhead/2006-01-12/2006-01-12_08-10-50_1600x1200_Q10.jpg) http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v245/BrownBullhead/2006-01-12/th_2006-01-12_08-11-45_1600x1200_Q10.jpg (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v245/BrownBullhead/2006-01-12/2006-01-12_08-11-45_1600x1200_Q10.jpg) http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v245/BrownBullhead/2006-01-12/th_2006-01-12_08-15-19_1600x1200_Q10.jpg (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v245/BrownBullhead/2006-01-12/2006-01-12_08-15-19_1600x1200_Q10.jpg)

[RustyNut]

On my 210g which is also 30" high.... I have my regular double bulb hoods and enough room behind them (On the glass flip-tops) to fit a standard two bulb 48" shop light. I use standard 8000k and 50/50 bulbs in the light hoods, and two 6500K "daylight" bulbs in the 48" fixture... I also have them independantly timed so that the shoplight comes on early in the AM and by mid morning the regular 8000k & 50/50's come on.... then early evening the 48" light goes out, and late evening the moonlight comes on and 1 minute later the "regular" lights go out.... Very nice sunrise/sunset/moonlight transistion and all my fish display a fantastic range of colours from rusties to Electric yellows to neon blues... Reds are the only colour that doesn't "pop" but they still look good.

With 24" hoods you should have plenty of room for an identical setup except in the 4-ft length rather than 6-ft length!

I used the generic shop-light from Wal*Mart which will rest on the metal reflector not the bulbs.... though the bulbs are only 1/4" off the glass tops.

(Brand name is "Lights of America")

[BrownBullhead]

I ended up going with the "Lithonia Lighting, 4 ft., 2 lt." model shop light, using 2 x 48", 40-watt, Philips "DayLight Deluxe" tubes. It uses T-12 bulbs which is going to set off bells and whistles for those who told me to go with T-8, but oh well. When I left the message for my girlfriend at her work for what to pick-up, I hadn't known about the T-8 at that time. Anyway, I am VERY satisfied!

TALK ABOUT LIGHT! HOLY COW! I can actually see my fish and details in my rocks and my fish and everything I could not see before! This was the best $50 I've spent on fish equipment in a long time!

I've seen the light! :)

[RustyNut]

Yes, T-8's are more efficient and slightly brighter, but the replacement cost is higher too.... and ballasts are very costly so I stick with the standard T-12's and a cheapo $7 shop light fixture. :D

My standard aquarium hoods use T-8's though so when everything is on it is very similar to the brightness of the sun at mid-day in the carribean a few feet under.

When I did my comparison the Lumen (output) difference between the t-12 and the t-8 in the 48" length was 500 lumens... not really a big difference and the wattage was 36watts vs 40watts... not much of a savings....

[Ray]

get you an orbit lighting syste, I hear they have brought the price down from what they used to be. the one I have is the 4 65. so it puts out like 240 watts on it's highest setting, and it's perfect for corals or whatever. My cichlids love it!!! and the plants in there grow like crazy.