[xmas_one]

Ok, so this tank originally started off as a dirt tank almost 3 years ago. I ran two 70w metal halides on it for a long time, and then switched to a single 250w metal halide, and then back to the 2x70w configuration.

The halides were great for growing plants, and the shimmer effect was awesome on a tank this deep, but the color wasn't quite right.

One night I was messing around with different lights over the tank and I tried my little 35w halogen desk lamp on it. WOW, the colors on my rummies were amazing, and the plants looked good too.

I decided to get a 250w halogen work light from Home Depot and see what kind of PAR levels it would spit out, and possibly use it on the tank. With the light a foot above the top of the tank, I was hitting over 40 PAR at the substrate, so I figured it was worth a shot.

Initially I was concerned with heat on the center brace as this was a problem with my 250w metal halide, but the brace was actually much cooler than it was with the halide at the same level. Heating the water in the tank was not an issue either, as many in my teaser thread had suggested, tank wasn't any warmer than it was with either halide configuration. Hang your heater a foot above your tank and see how hot the water gets..

I intend to continue updating this thread weekly to show that these lights are actually a viable option for lighting our planted tanks. Please refrain from comments about how the lights are too hot, I'll burn my house down, and they don't grow plants ad nauseum.

February 26, 2014

March 5th, 2014

March 12th, 2014

March 19th, 2014

March 23rd, 2014

April 2nd, 2014

April 10th, 2014

April 18th, 2014

April 26th, 2014

May 4th, 2014

May 10th, 2014

 

[xmas_one]

Juicy!!!

Thanks!

Nice lush tank!

Thanks!

beautiful tank....very different from all the other tanks on here. I love it

Thanks, that means a lot to me!

This is excellent. I too love the look of a halogen bulb... there is something that's so real about it. Reminds me of true sunlight shining down into a creek bed.

I was searching on here to find your older thread where you'd initially shown the halogen bulb on this tank... excited to find this thread now! I'll be keeping an eye on the progress and may pick up one in the mean time to try on a 40B :icon_cool

Yes, it sure does! The other thread was at the end of my 60p thread, the picture is actually one in this thread.

Looking good brotha!!!

Thanks Chris!

Looking at the photos in series as you have posted them, it kinda looks like your plants transitioned their growth to the halogen light source and began to grow better after the initial two weeks.

Very cool man, way to take something that had been all but written off and show us the "light"

Lol

Haha, thanks man, they do seem to grow a little faster especially the NLJF. Downoi and 049 are not as compact, but are growing much faster than before. Stoked that the E. hydropiper made the transition from the 60p and is beginning to spread out.

This update is somewhat ho-hum. I just snapped a quick picture to keep the updates on track. Next week I'd like to have the tank a little more presentable.

April 2nd, 2014

 

[xmas_one]

Looks awesome!!

Is your A. reineckii dying back or did you just hack it? Can you tell any difference at all in your Downoi?




You sure that halogen's not running too hot and gonna burn your house down?? *runs away before he hits me* :flick:

YOU!!! Seriously, the A. reineckii is growing extremely fast, I hack it way back once a week, the stems are 12"+ tall. The downoi is growing much faster, but it is not staying as short as it was under the halides, I think redder dominated lighting sources tend to have this effect on terrestrial plants too (HPS for vegetative growth, MH for blooms).

what kind of spread do you get from the halogen, do you think two would cover a standard 125 w/ highlight?

The footprint of the tank is 24"x36w", at 12" above the rim the spread is quite even with little spill into the room. I was surprised how consistent the PAR readings were at the substrate level (40 in the corners and low 50s in the center).

whats the light green floating blob left of center touching the left high point of plants/scape? ..Riccia? Lovely scape btw!

Thanks, yeah that's riccia tangled in xmas moss with floaters tangled into it. The blob in the lower right hand corner is riccia as well.

what's the electricity usage on those anyway?
what is your tank dimensions?

Haha, 250w. 36"x24"x24"h.

 

[xmas_one]

Cleaned it up a bit and yanked the mess out of the rear left corner. Thinking of what would look nice back there, or maybe just leave it. Toying with the idea of painting the back/sides black. Till next week.

 

[xmas_one]

No black background yet, been super busy with projects around the house!

 

[xmas_one]

Looking good! Very good

Thanks!!

Love it! The lighting gives it a very chill, moody look.

Thanks!!

I urge people to try it out for themselves, the continuous spectrum really has a very natural appearance.

 

[xmas_one]

Pulled out all of the A. reineckii, yanked a huge crypt colony from the upper right rear area, and cleared out all of the 049. I trimmed the downoi and planted the trims behind the initial patch of downoi on the left hand side.

 

[xmas_one]

What's going to be planted in the empty space now?

I think I'm going to remove a bunch of that substrate and leave it open in the center, maybe throw some sand in there for the cory cats to bash around in.

 

[xmas_one]

Your tank makes me want to chill out. Which is a good thing IMO a "blackground" would take away that open feel this thing has going on. If you could hide the cables or maybe one of the frosted glass looking backgrounds with the light would look cool. Personally I like it the way it is and cords dont bother me but if you want people to stop hounding you then by all means, because there isnt anything else to nit pick lol.

Thanks! I think you are probably right, the black would be too much. I'll try moving the cords or maybe put a piece of poster board back there and see.

Great tank. I thought the reineckii added some nice contrast, any particular reason for removing it?

Thanks! I yanked the AR mostly because it grows so fast (stupid stems!), and I thought the reds were kind of "taking away" from the color pop the fish add to the tank. I do have some H. pinnatifida that is growing on the rear of the left trunk and just planted some on the right trunk in the area where the crypts were, so that will redden things up a little bit.

 

[xmas_one]

Put a bamboo shade behind the tank, moved the co2 controller, and did a little trimming. Trying to transplant some of the E. hydropiper onto the lower horizontal wood that runs across the center of the tank. Yanked out a bunch of riccia and pulled some of the needleleaf that was covering the anubias on the right side.

 

[xmas_one]

i have to say that I much more liked your tank on 4/18 with the altelanthera and the riccia. it is starting to look a little dark and depressing to me. Please don't take offense, its still beautiful by all means, I just liked it a little more with the brighter colors and varied plants. i think your first scape with all the plants in the middle foreground in front of the wood was better.

Thanks! I agree, it is a bit dark/stark now, hoping that as it fills back in this will change. In the last update picture the water was a little cloudy, and I have just been using a phone on all the pics (tough to get the exposure compensation just right). Hopefully next week I'll be motivated enough to drag out my "real" camera.

Do you change the lighting before taking pictures? Out does seen really dark. Maybe more light will be reflected once everything grows in? Still looks good though.

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk

Nope, it's the same light, I think it just comes out lighter/darker depending on which spot in the tank I "tell" the iphone to compensate for. Yep, it should lighten up once things fill in a bit. I'm working on expanding the sandy areas too, which should also brighten it up a bit.

Here's a pic I just took today, slightly different exposure:

 

[xmas_one]

I think you should stick a round wooden door in that opening. I keep looking for one, anyways! :fish:

Haha! Troll door, I can see it now.

oh la la - I love that your tank is dark and mysterious. I agree with LauraLee, you should add a wooden door. You can make it out of styrofoam or tie a bunch of sticks together to make a rustic looking door.

Have you considered planting a Cryptocoryne species in the dark area?

Can't do a troll door, but a nice colored crypt may be a good fit. What species would you suggest?

 

[xmas_one]

Boring obligatory update pic:

 

[xmas_one]

Went back to 4200K 70w MH for a while, thinking of dragging out the halogen again. Something about the color of the halogen just can't be beat. Here's a pic from this weekend under the halides.