Shadowbeam

Heya, recently purchased someones old tank, which basically came with nothing.

The tank is 170 litres, 48x12x18. Will not have any live plants in it.

The lighting system I'm after is:
Hagen Aquaglow 30watt x 36inch
Arcadia Control Unit 25/30 watt for 30-36inch tubes

I'm not sure if the different brands will work together, or if it is high enough wattage for my tank?

Also, will I need to buy a longer length? (might seem like a silly question but someone mentioned they use a smaller length for their tank).

Iv'e read the help page on lighting and understood most of it but I'm still a bit new to all this and would appriciate advice!

MissMTS

Wattage is not all that important unless you plan on keeping live plants. I have kept shorter fixtures on tanks, but actually prefer the longer ones because the shorter fixtures leave both sides a little dark in the back corners. If I were you, I would go with a standard 48" fixture. It will light your tank well and is the most inexpensive option. Unless you have live plants, I don't see a need to spend the extra money. Good luck with your tank

Shadowbeam

Thanks for such a quick reply! I hadn't thought about the fact i'd be leaving dark patches. I think I will go for the 48" ones after all then ^^
Thanks again for the advice

pepetj

I agree with MissMTS. If not keeping plants the lights are mostly for you to see your fish and also help them go through a day/night cycle. A standard 48" lamp assembly should work fine. You will probably get what you are looking for with a standard T12, T10 or T8 40W lamp. I like the way 10,000K color temperature works with tanks as yours but it becomes entirely subjective if you intend to keep no plants.

Pepetj
Santo Domingo

nemo addict

I have 2 arcadia t5 units for sale 2x 54w

Shadowbeam

Meh wish i had seen your post first lol, my partner ended up offering to buy me a fully set up tank for christmas so iv'e gone with that.
Thanks to everyone for the advice though, i still plan on doing my own tank sometime in the future