[mmelnick]

I have a 6 foot 125 gallon tank (72" x 18" x 21") that is going to be a very low tech angelfish tank. It will only have a few swords and anubias. I am probably going to run a couple of 48" 2 bulb T8 fixtures in my hood (4 bulbs total). Probably 6500K bulbs.

I can't decide how to configure the lighting because I'm dealing with 4 foot fixtures on a 6 foot tank. I was thinking about using some 4' bulbs and some 2' bulbs, but I would like to keep it simple with just 4 bulbs instead of the 6-8 that I would end up with if I went with a couple 48" fixtures and a couple 24" fixtures.

I'm looking at 3 basic options.

1) 2 48” 2 bulb fixtures centered over tank
2) 2 48” 2 bulb fixtures staggered over tank
3) Take apart 2 48” 2 bulb fixtures and retrofit to stagger evenly over tank

All of these options will give higher light in the middle of the tank. Do you think that it will look off?

Am I on the right track with this much lighting? I like a fairly bright tank since I'm used to reef tanks, but I don't want to battle too much algae or deal with most of the issues that come with a high tech tank.

 

[mmelnick]

option 2 looks good, however it will leave some darker areas on the ends of the tank. I am using 2 48" fixtures on 2-40breeder tanks that are close together on a 125 stand. I ended up buying a custom 4 bulb 24" fixture to cover the unlit 2 ft. section of the tank. Works very well. My 48" fixtures are 3 bulb that I bought at Home Depot for $34 a piece. LOTS of light!!

How bad we're the dark areas? I'd like to stick with four bulbs to keep replacement cost down but I think another 24" fixture is the backup plan.

 

[mmelnick]

how about two 36" fixtures, or three 24" fixtures..

3 of these

Amazon.com: Sun Blaze T5 24 - 2 ft. -4 Lamp - Includes 6500deg K Bulbs (blue): Patio, Lawn & Garden


i use their 48" quad bulb on my 110 5' tank, love it.

sorry, didnt read the OP entirely, i see that you want to stick with as few bulbs as possible.

how about 4 36" ray 2s?

Those are about $100 a piece after shipping. I'm looking at $12 shop lights retrofitted in my hood.

 

[mmelnick]

Depends on your scape really. If you want uniform lighting, go with option 3.

Or.. make a really cool center part and do option 2. Brighter in the middle darker on the outsides.

I'm running one 48" T8 shoplight in the center of my 125 and I'm getting pretty decent light considering I only have crypts dwarf sag and one sword. The ends are darker because my fish like the darker portions.

Do you have a picture of how it looks? Are you running two or four bulbs?

 

[mmelnick]

I know that this gets into a lot of lights, but if you're looking to go with T8's for most of it you could put them at one end, and use a short LED light or two width wise on the other end to cover that end.

You can put the two shop lights all the way to the left/right and use two 6 inch brooder light

I'd be worried about different color temps from different types of bulbs.

If anyone has any photos of a similar setup that would be awesome.

 

[mmelnick]

Here's what I'm working with.

 

[mmelnick]

Have you picked out your ballast yet?

Or are you looking at buying light strips with ballasts already built in?

Yeah, I'll probably just buy a couple complete light fixtures with the ballast already built in. Then just attach the fixture to the inside of the hood.

 

[mmelnick]

Update:

I went ahead and tried 2 2 bulb T8 fixtures. One is to the right and one is slid to the left. The center of the tank has 4 tubes over it and each side has 2 but you really don't notice a difference. I thought I'd update this thread with some pictures for anyone who searches this in the future.

I still need to finish my hood and mount them in it so the lighting will probably get even more even once I have the fixtures raised off the water a bit. Right now they are just sitting on top the tank.