2lucky

Im upgrading the lighting in my 107G and was wondering if these lights would be suitable to use. They are not the proper metal halide lights found in aquarium shops but the description says they should be suitable for an aquarium.

The globes in them are 4700K so I would change the globes and put some 5600K plant globes in them. I am upgrading the lighting so that I can really get the aquarium plants looking great.

Thanks!

Attached Images

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Nutter

Any metal halides should be fine as long as they are of sufficient wattage. I've used 1000w MH hydroponic growing lights over aquariums before & they worked fantastic. Change the globes to suit the Kelvin rating that you want & you should be fine. The only thing I would suggest for those lights is that you make/buy a better reflector for them to spread the light out more evenly.

2lucky

Thanks for your reply!

I forgot to mention that they are 150w each so with my 36w flouresent that should be about 3wpg!

What would you suggest making a reflector out of?

Thanks

Nutter

That really depends on your personal tastes & how the lights are to be hung over the tank. Sheet metal is easy to work with & make into any shape you like as well as being light weight if you are going to have the lights mounted on an adjustable arm.

Timber works well if the lights are going to be mounted in such a way that the mounts can take the extra weight of the timber.

In either case incorporate fans into the reflectors to disperse excess heat. I suspect those particular MH's will produce much more heat than an open MH globe does. A pedestal fan blowing across the top of the tank will stop heat from entering the tank if you want to do it the easy way. PC fans are great for mounting in reflectors either as exhaust fans or to blow air into the reflector.

2lucky

I have a timber hood/canopy on the top of my tank and I was going to mount the lights into it. I think that a PC fan will probably be the best option, dont think i will fit a pedestal fan in my hood!

Thanks so much for your replies, they have been very helpful!

Nutter

The pedestal fan is just to sit beside the tank if there was no hood. How high is your hood? I don't know if you have used MH lights before but they put out massive amounts of heat. Think mounting a space heater above your tank. Except worse. Touch a MH bulb after it's been on for awhile & you will burn the skin right off your hands. Enclosed hoods arn't usually the place for MH lighting as you just can't get rid of that much heat that fast, nor do you really want the bulbs that close to the surface of the water. I would reccomend having the bulbs at least 45cm above the water & then work from there for the exact hieght that gives you good light but without creating too much heat.

2lucky

I havent used MH before, but I cant seem to find any flourscent lighting units that give off enough light for a planted tank, especially because my tank is rather large!

The top of the hood is about 35cm above the waterline. Do you think if I put in two PC fans in the hood and drill some holes for ventilation it would be ok?

Thanks!

Nutter

You could light that tank with T5HO flourescents easily. They give off way more light than 'normal' T8 flourescent lighting. They put out heaps of light, use way less power & produce less heat. They cost a bit for the initial purchase but you can get some really cheap deals online. 4 x 54w T5HO tubes over your tank & there's not a plant around that you won't be able to grow. The WPG rule does not apply to these fixtures either. I grow many med light plants in my 6x2x2ft with just 5x 40w T8 flouros over the top of that so T5Ho's over your tank will be more than adequate.

You might get away with the MH lights in your hood but it would pay to install 4 PC fans. Two as exhausts & 2 to blow cool air into the canopy area. Be warned that MH lighting also uses a considerable amount of power so expect a little jump in your power bill.

2lucky

Oh wow! I was actually looking at a cheaper 4x55w T5HO light on the internet but I thought that the lighting still wouldnt be strong enough. Could you please explain how the WPG rule does not apply?
Sorry for being a pain and asking all these questions but it seems I have much to learn on this topic!
Thanks again for your advice, you have been so helpfull!

Nutter

The WPG rule doesn't apply with T5HO lighting because they put out much more light per watt than standard T8 flouros. About twice as much from memory. In other words 2 x 40w T8 tubes = 1 x 40w T5HO tube. Or very close to that at least.

Here's a link to an output comparison of T5HO, T8, T12 & MH lighting for you: http://www.specialty-lights.com/plan...3.html#compare

Here are a couple of other links that should help you understand what to look for in an aquarium light: http://www.aquabotanic.com/artlit.htm (lighting overview)
http://www.fishlore.com/aquarium_light.htm (lighting overview)
http://liveaquaria.com/general/gener...al_pagesid=308 (articles about lgithing)
http://www.thekrib.com/Lights/depth.html (depth vs intensity)

Hopefully you find some usefull info in there that will help you along your way.

2lucky

Well, I think you have convinced me into going with the T5HO lighting

Once again, thanks a billion for your help!

stefjane

I'm not sure about the length of your tank but I've got two four foot t5 HO lights that i'd like to get rid of...

2lucky

Hi, my tank is four foot.
Could you PM me with the details please (wattage, globes etc).
Thanks!

stefjane

it took me a while to figure out what PM stood for!