Wilis
Member
Hi,
I'll hopefully be taking delivery of my new 48L x 24W x 20H (roughly 83g/375l without substrate/plants etc) tank this week & am buying all the extra peripherals that I need to complete the changeover from my fully planted dicus vision 180 & I'm down to the lights :?
Fluval fx5, for the massive flow rates, I'm thinking spray bar, biological.
Aqua one cf700, hydor inline heater & inline aquamedic c02 reactor 1000, pre-drilled in/out either end of the aquarium toward the rear, mechanical.
Aquamedic pressurised c02 system (with massively uprated bottle)
c02 drop checker
ADA aquasoil amazonia (may go for eco complete as I could do without lowering the kh)
Dosing twice tropica's recommended amount of TPN
40% water change per week
Roughly 2kh & 2gh out the tap, 3 & 4 when adjusted for better stability
Hoping to grow 3/5 carpet & 2/5 mid/background plants (not decided species exactly as yet)
So onto the lights Having had reasonable success with t5's before I've looked at blau lumina & arcadia t5 overtank luminaires giving about (using 83 gallons as an estimate though wpg will likely be slightly higher) 4 x 54w = 216w 2.60 wpg at a cost of around £180-200
Given this expense, the fact that I love the effect of MH but it also costs an arm & a leg (& that I'm an electrician) I thought about having a go myself. I reckon that, without having consulted my wholesaler yet lol, I could rig up some 'reasonable' industrial looking lights for under £100.
I have thought about 3 x 70w mh giving 2.5wpg
& also 2 x 150w mh giving 3.6wpg?
I was thinking that they should be about 12" or so above the tank?
Also with the 3 lamp system I considered going from 10,000K-6,500k-5000k maybe,going from the lush green carpet to the taller plants where I will more than likely have a few pink/red hues in there. I could also stagger the on/off times.
So should I go for the DIY route or just buy the t5 system?
Any input would be most welcome as I've only had experience of halides in mostly security/carpark type installations before
Regards
Will
I'll hopefully be taking delivery of my new 48L x 24W x 20H (roughly 83g/375l without substrate/plants etc) tank this week & am buying all the extra peripherals that I need to complete the changeover from my fully planted dicus vision 180 & I'm down to the lights :?
Fluval fx5, for the massive flow rates, I'm thinking spray bar, biological.
Aqua one cf700, hydor inline heater & inline aquamedic c02 reactor 1000, pre-drilled in/out either end of the aquarium toward the rear, mechanical.
Aquamedic pressurised c02 system (with massively uprated bottle)
c02 drop checker
ADA aquasoil amazonia (may go for eco complete as I could do without lowering the kh)
Dosing twice tropica's recommended amount of TPN
40% water change per week
Roughly 2kh & 2gh out the tap, 3 & 4 when adjusted for better stability
Hoping to grow 3/5 carpet & 2/5 mid/background plants (not decided species exactly as yet)
So onto the lights Having had reasonable success with t5's before I've looked at blau lumina & arcadia t5 overtank luminaires giving about (using 83 gallons as an estimate though wpg will likely be slightly higher) 4 x 54w = 216w 2.60 wpg at a cost of around £180-200
Given this expense, the fact that I love the effect of MH but it also costs an arm & a leg (& that I'm an electrician) I thought about having a go myself. I reckon that, without having consulted my wholesaler yet lol, I could rig up some 'reasonable' industrial looking lights for under £100.
I have thought about 3 x 70w mh giving 2.5wpg
& also 2 x 150w mh giving 3.6wpg?
I was thinking that they should be about 12" or so above the tank?
Also with the 3 lamp system I considered going from 10,000K-6,500k-5000k maybe,going from the lush green carpet to the taller plants where I will more than likely have a few pink/red hues in there. I could also stagger the on/off times.
So should I go for the DIY route or just buy the t5 system?
Any input would be most welcome as I've only had experience of halides in mostly security/carpark type installations before
Regards
Will