[pondfrog]

Hey guys,

I am switching my aquarium over from a reef tank to a planted tank and I'm having color shock as I read the color bulbs you use that are soooooo different from the reef.

So, the current setup is 6 by 400 W MH bulbs and 8 by 4' T5 for dawn/dusk/accent lighting.

What would you color/brand of bulbs would you gurus suggest in this case as I transition over from the dark side?

BTW the tank is 32" deep.

Thanks

 

[eser21]

1000g!!! wow, i want one!! Do you have any pics of the tank with reef set up?

Hoppy is the lighting guru round here....

 

[2in10]

What is the overall dimensions. You probably could cut back to 150W or 250W MH. 6000K to 10000K MH will work. Use T5 bulbs in the same range.

 

[Kathyy]

There aren't many tanks that large here! One is journaled here, you should take a look - one of the best tanks around. You aren't going to need so many bulbs and if you could step it down to 150 or 250 it would be better yet. My 8' 24" deep tank is too bright with only 3 150 watt MH hung 16" above the water ~36" over the substrate.
http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/tank-journals-photo-album/34634-behemoth-1600-gallon-planted-tank.html

 

[pondfrog]

I'll try to figure out picture posting here and put it up for kicks.

Fortunately my ballasts are adjustable so if I really need to scale back to 250 I certainly could. That is just so counterintuitive to the reefing mentality I might need a support group to help me get accustomed to the idea of "less" light.

The dimensions are 10' by 5' (front to back) by 32" tall.
My T5s are currently actinic for blue supplementation and "pop" of color. I imagine, I'll be changing these, possibly to bring out some of the reds.

 

[Algae Beater]

i would say run a low kelvin 250 watt bulb 6700 - 10 000 kelvin and get some pink t5s to highlight reds

 

[Steve001]

I'll try to figure out picture posting here and put it up for kicks.

Easy to do. Take picture. Download to computer. When replying scroll down to bottom of page and click Manage Attachments > click Browse and choose the photo from your computer click Upload

BTW. There's an on going competition between algae and vascular plants. Algae grows faster. Too combat this buy lots of fast growing plants to start. Make sure at least 80% of the substrate is covered with plants. For plants see Plant Profiles at the top of this page.

Are you going to use CO2 ?

 

[pondfrog]

Thanks for the ideas.
You guys are a lot less argumentative about lighting over here! On reefcentral I would have started a 100 post arguement with a vague question like "help with my lighting" Everyone in reefing has very strong opinions about light!

I just dont' want to try 3 brands of MH bulbs before arriving at a good bulb for growth.

The link to that huge tank looks like they were using 1000W MH, but the tank was 48" deep. At only 32" I have less depth, but still think 400W would get better growth.....?


I am planning on using CO2, just trying to figure out how to inject it well in to the current plumbing setup. I am thinking about running a diffuser into my overflow where it will then travel down to the sump and back up again. This should mix it in pretty darn well. Or I could run it directly into the main tank by running into the flex line return into the tank that has an eductor on the end of it. That should also allow for good dispersion into the aquarium.
Thanks

 

[joekidwell]

Thanks for the ideas.
You guys are a lot less argumentative about lighting over here! On reefcentral I would have started a 100 post arguement with a vague question like "help with my lighting" Everyone in reefing has very strong opinions about light!

I just dont' want to try 3 brands of MH bulbs before arriving at a good bulb for growth.

The link to that huge tank looks like they were using 1000W MH, but the tank was 48" deep. At only 32" I have less depth, but still think 400W would get better growth.....?


I am planning on using CO2, just trying to figure out how to inject it well in to the current plumbing setup. I am thinking about running a diffuser into my overflow where it will then travel down to the sump and back up again. This should mix it in pretty darn well. Or I could run it directly into the main tank by running into the flex line return into the tank that has an eductor on the end of it. That should also allow for good dispersion into the aquarium.
Thanks

Id split the co2 and have a diffuser on each side, 1000 gallons is alot of water...I run 6 bps on my 46 gallon, id hate to see how much that tank would use. How big is you're co2 tank, my 10 lb last me three months at 6bps.

 

[Abrium]

I don't even know where to begin but first I'll pay the homage where it is due and to quote eres21

Hoppy is the lighting guru round here....

Also, aside from guru he has a multitude of threads that range from PAR levels at depth and what lights you will need, refraction and reflectors, and has he has covered lighting to a great extent in almost every possible situation so do some searching around here.

However, I love a good light conversation so lets get started A 32" deep tank, so is this 32" to the substrate or top to bottom glass? Your current MH is the way i would go. Allow me to explain myself here.

I don't know the cone o' coverage that is given with your MH lights but if they were running your reef I'm pretty sure that someone already mentioned that you can simply replace the bulb with a lower K scale bulb and just keep on trucking. The reef requirement is higher by intensity than a planted tank so those lights should work fine but I wouldn't want to deal with the heat and top off issues depending on the distance so I would raise them to at least 12" above the water if I could.

Not to mention that you already own them and light fixtures are fairly expensive.

The final point I have to make here is that reef owners are the purveyors of death when it comes to algae, water quality, temp, pH and calcium swimgs, GFO, activated carbon, and last but not least gravity. The attention to detail spent on ensuring that your 90 - 100 dollar bubble tip anemone lives far surpasses any issue you may come across in a planted tank. Consider what your doing 'easy mode' and have confidence that you will easily handle any plant growth issue that comes along.

Abe

 

[Kathyy]

You don't need but 40-50 PAR at the substrate and I think 250s would be fine and might even need to be raised up quite a bit.

Here is a reef forum's thread on PAR readings. It is a simple mathematical progression for light loss but I don't know how it goes.
http://www.atlantareefclub.org/forums/showthread.php?t=4695&page=2

 

[inkslinger]

you might be better off getting 3 80w t5 ho's or 4 if you have too {60inch long}

good info
http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/lighting/105774-par-vs-distance-t5-t12-pc.html

 

[Abrium]

60 inchers are pretty expensive to replace though. He already has the fixtures for the MH lighting and the last little MH tude I bought was maybe 20 bucks.

 

[tharsis]

Yeah I think the lights you have will be fine, you can change the height to get what you want. The hard part is going to be making sure your CO2 is well distributed through the tank.

I would definitely go with several inputs into the display with good water flow through out. Having CO2 from only one point will reduce the likelihood of even distribution.

This is going to be great though! Looking forward to seeing how you progress.

 

[semperfimrn1]

upload your pics to a photo sharing website such as photo bucket and copy and paste the "img" code on here


would love to see your tank setup!!

 

[Steve001]

Thanks for the ideas.
You guys are a lot less argumentative about lighting over here! On reefcentral I would have started a 100 post arguement with a vague question like "help with my lighting" Everyone in reefing has very strong opinions about light!

I just dont' want to try 3 brands of MH bulbs before arriving at a good bulb for growth.

The link to that huge tank looks like they were using 1000W MH, but the tank was 48" deep. At only 32" I have less depth, but still think 400W would get better growth.....?


I am planning on using CO2, just trying to figure out how to inject it well in to the current plumbing setup. I am thinking about running a diffuser into my overflow where it will then travel down to the sump and back up again. This should mix it in pretty darn well. Or I could run it directly into the main tank by running into the flex line return into the tank that has an eductor on the end of it. That should also allow for good dispersion into the aquarium.
Thanks

With a tank that size you don't want to unnecessarily waste CO2. It will be expensive enough. If you can you might want to consider by passing the sump. Heck, you may not need a filter either because the plants will filter the water as long as you don't over stock it with animals. I feel that the minimum size co2 tank should be a 20lb one. Perhaps two running at the sametime.

 

[Kathyy]

If you carefully read the whole thread I posted there is a post in there somewhere about putting a whole lot of window screen down to dim the lights. 1000 watt MH was too much for even a 48" deep tank. Hoppy did a PAR test with window screens, I forget how much each layer dimmed the light, a lot.