192W, 144W, or 96W over a 40?

[chris127]

So ive been doing my research all weekend reading different threads and websites and im trying to figure out what lighting would be best for me,but i havent found a solid answer. i'm going to be getting a 40 Breeder (provided i can get it for $1/gallon) i want to do high light for plants like blxa, rotala, HC, l. aromatica, etc. i wont be able to get pressurized CO2 until i get the money, but i can crank up the DIY til then.

what would put me in the high light range for the plants i want?

2 x 96 Watts, 1 6500K, 1 10000K - 4.8 WPG or 2.4 WPG since it has two switches. link

4 x 36 Watts, 2 6500K, 1 10000K - 3.6 WPG or 1.8 WPG since it has two switches. link

1 x 96 Watts, 1 6500K - 2.4 WPG link

[crudnugget]

I've got a 40g breeder with a 1x96w coralife aqualight. I'm doing ok with just DIY CO2 and mostly mid-light plants. The only thing I really notice is that with the extra depth of the 40 breeder (18 inches), the light from one single strip light is hard to focus in order to get light to the foreground plants and the background. I think if I had a foreground and background that both needed mid to high light, I would have to get another strip so the light would be able to hit both areas equally.

[Soujirou]

I think 4.8 is overkill and you will be using a lot of CO2 and fertilizers to keep up with the pace the plants will want to grow. You should have no problems with 3.6 eventually, and you can keep things at 1.8 until you get pressurized CO2. You will still need some CO2 at 1.8 I think.

[chris127]

so, is 2.4 wpg (with good reflectors) medium-high light? i would only turn on 1 bulb until i added pressurized CO2 and even then the extra 96 would be a midday burst, on for about 4 hours.

[cah925]

I have 2X55w on my 40B and the plants grow like crazy. I experimented with another tank and had 3X55w and had nothing but problems.

[chris127]

so could i get away with just 2.4wpg, the coralife fixture, with plants like blyxa, hc, and all of those in the higher light spectrum? itd be nice to save my dad and i some money so we can have more to spend on the goodies

[chris127]

anyone else?

[SpeedEuphoria]

I think that would be Ok lighting, but I would consider getting a wider fixture which means more bulbs normally just because the tank has a large footprint.

I'm not sure if 2 of these would be Ok or not, should be OK
http://www.bigalsonline.com/BigAlsUS...lestriplight36

[chris127]

so were saying 2.1 WPG is high light? i like your way of thinking covering the whole 18 inches

i thought of doing the coralife 96W and then adding the T-5.

[chris127]

i'm really warming up to the 2x42 (only took 5 minutes!!) it was done here with blyxa.

and i will always have the option of adding a third 42W, covering ALL of the tank, not just 8 inches or so with just one fixture (catalina, coralife 96W)

[SpeedEuphoria]

There ya go, I think it would work good and did for that other person. Having 2 fixtures means you can evenly space them to give good front and rear lighting instead of settling for just center. Then like you said you can get a 3rd fixture in the future and deff have enough to grow anything well. The price is deff right on those lights.

I was thinking about a 40 breeder as its a great footprint tank and I will do this kind of lighting if I end up getting one.

I'm not saying that 2 fixtures is "high light" but I think w/ CO2 you should be able to grow most anything due to its big surface area and not that deep.

Good luck w/ yours and post pics and updates

[chris127]

its probably the best choice for an 18inch tank. thanks

but whats a "full spectrum" light? it comes with one full spectrum bulb and one 6700k. im wondering whether or not to replace it with a 10K...