[Yankee]

Hi everyone,

I am looking into getting a 90g and starting up a planted discus tank in the near future (at the current moment I plan to plant the tank and have it established for several months before I even think about shopping for fish). I would like to have a "high" light tank and would like some suggestions on a lighting fixture that is going to fit my needs (I don't want to be too limited in my plant choices). I am not sure how much par is put out by most 48" fixtures so I'd like to hear some suggestions on what you've all experienced or know about setting up a high light 48" 90g!

Prospectively I'm considering 2 Aquatic life 48" 2 bulb fixtures because they're only $120 a piece and have some great reflectors - I have the 20" one over my 10 gallon and its overkill because of the reflectors. Also buying 2 of these fixtures is cheaper than buying their 1 4 bulb fixture. I will be getting 2 canister filters (probably SunSun without the UV and I will replace their spray bars for an eheim style Lilly pipe) w/ 2 200W inline heaters and an atomic inline diffuser from GLA. I already have a nice CO2 unit. I'm tossing ideas back and forward about substrate. I plan to take this tank build nice and slow and I don't want to waste any money. I've been reading every day on discus and larger planted aquarium setups but the lighting seems to be confusing me the most as WPG is almost obsolete these days and its tough to find par comparisons.

Thanks!

 

[sjb1987]

Is it open top or canopy?

 

[Yankee]

Is it open top or canopy?

It's up in the air but I'm thinking open top. I can always build a canopy if it makes lighting easier/cheaper.

 

[Scars]

I have a 3x54W catalina fixture on my 90 gallon and I'm liking it. I think it was in the neighborhood of $180 shipped. I saw a PAR graph that said the 3x54w catalina puts my tank at like 46-50par.

 

[Yankee]

I have a 3x54W catalina fixture on my 90 gallon and I'm liking it. I think it was in the neighborhood of $180 shipped. I saw a PAR graph that said the 3x54w catalina puts my tank at like 46-50par.

This looks like a good fixture, thanks for the suggestion! Does anyone know what is considered a "high" par rating? I've been reading and I've seen mixed values - though I understand these are arbitrary. What's a good PAR to have in order to have relatively no limits (without nuking your tank) in regards to plant choice? I've seen a thread that says 50+ is high and I've seen a thread that says 80-120 is high.