Need some advice on filter/lighting setup

[Phantom2k4]

Recently purchased a 50 gallon bowfront tank with a lovely glass lid and a hood with a 36" 30W T8 bulb. I purchased an Aquaclear 70 HOB filter to go with the tank.

Problem i've ran into is spacing, and what my options are at this point. With the filter on, I have about an inch of room between the front of the 'waterfall' and the back edge of my lid. Now my tank isn't ready for a test run, so I can't check if the water will splash up on top of the lid or not. Can anyone verify whether or not it'll do so or not? Other question is whether it'll hit the back of the hood if it does splash on the lid. I've taken a quick picture with my phone if it'll help:



Another question I had involved lighting. Is the light I mentioned above sufficient for some beginner plants or should I get something more powerful? I'd like to only have one light if possible, as I don't think I have room for two 36" hoods. What would be my options for this?


As always, any advice is greatly appreciated!

[sir kyle]

IMO, it looks like water will fall on top of the glass. the filter looks like its sitting too high but im no expert on the aquaclear. if the glass is in the notch of the filter then you need to find a HOB filter that will work. maybe you can make a DIY deflector/deverter siliconed to the top of the glass or move the filter back away from the glass altogether.
try and take another picture showing the filter in its sitting position (side view) and we can maybe have a better solution for your problem(s).
move the glass top away from the filter for your test run to see the waterfall projection in the meantime and let us know.
im not light savy like others here. wait for their answers on that. i can suggest if the light doesnt work resting on the glass top, lift it up via an overhead cable or a canopy.

[Phantom2k4]

Here's another picture showing how it's sitting:



Even if I can run the filter with the lid that close, I'm wondering at what level i'll be able to use the filter at

As for the lighting i've been looking at a couple of Coralife setups. One is a dual light which comes with two 39W bulbs, and the other is a single that comes with one 96W bulb. Not sure which would be preferred for a planted tank.

[cuckoochews]

That aquaclear has plenty of clearance for your lid to stay dry. I use 1 on 1 of my tanks and it is a very non-turbulant water return system. It appears to be hung properly, and w/ it set up correctly, I would be willing to bet it is designed to work w/ out spilling a drop even if the glass was touching the filter, while running at full speed.

As for lighting, if you want live plants, even beginner live plants, than ditch that fixture. You can get a strip light that houses 2 t8 bulbs, but if your buying a new fixture you can do way better for the buck. I would suggest to stay away from compact fluorescent, the bulbs need replacement way to often and are too pricey. A dual t5ho is real nice for what you need, bulbs are relatively cheap, and last longer (from my experience) than c/f bulbs. I bought a Hagen Glo Dual T5HO for the soul purpose of growing macro-algae in my saltwater refugium. It came w/ 2 6500k bulbs (what you would need for freshwater plants) and cost $80. Have it almost a year, haven't changed bulbs yet, and is growing the chaeto (macro-algae) like mad.

These are just my opinions, listen to what others have to say and do what works best for you. Having an aquarium is a wonderful thing and you are off to a great start. Good luck.

[Phantom2k4]

That aquaclear has plenty of clearance for your lid to stay dry. I use 1 on 1 of my tanks and it is a very non-turbulant water return system. It appears to be hung properly, and w/ it set up correctly, I would be willing to bet it is designed to work w/ out spilling a drop even if the glass was touching the filter, while running at full speed.

As for lighting, if you want live plants, even beginner live plants, than ditch that fixture. You can get a strip light that houses 2 t8 bulbs, but if your buying a new fixture you can do way better for the buck. I would suggest to stay away from compact fluorescent, the bulbs need replacement way to often and are too pricey. A dual t5ho is real nice for what you need, bulbs are relatively cheap, and last longer (from my experience) than c/f bulbs. I bought a Hagen Glo Dual T5HO for the soul purpose of growing macro-algae in my saltwater refugium. It came w/ 2 6500k bulbs (what you would need for freshwater plants) and cost $80. Have it almost a year, haven't changed bulbs yet, and is growing the chaeto (macro-algae) like mad.

These are just my opinions, listen to what others have to say and do what works best for you. Having an aquarium is a wonderful thing and you are off to a great start. Good luck.

I'm hoping to have water in the tank either today or tomorrow, so I can test it out at that time. I've looked at a few pics/vids online, still kinda hard to tell.

Thanks for the advice :)

[Cermet]

CFL bulbs MUST be allowed to be cooled by convection through vents. If not, they tend to burn out too fast. Otherwise, these are superior lights since you can get just about any color range and intensity so easily (local Hardware store) and at very low cost.

By the way, the water flow out of the HOB is very laminar and creates little splash if the water level in the tank isn't too low.

[raven]

My aquaclear is almost right up against the glass with no problems.
Have to keep spaces small in my tank so no one jumps out.
Wish i could have a smaller gap so my loaches wouldn't swim up into the filter.
It looks fine you should have no problems.

[Phantom2k4]

Thanks for all the help guys. I decided to stick with the Aquaclear 70. Spent some time at the LFS today, all I need are plants and fish at this point. I'll buy some plants next week once their shipment of new ones comes in

Here's what I have:

45g bowfront tank w/glass lid
96W Coralife Compact Fluorescent Lamp
Aquaclear 70 filter
150W Eheim heater
Two 15lb bags of black Flourite
Two 25lb bags of gravel (One black, one blue)
Blue/black backdrop (haven't picked yet)

Really liking my setup. I'll be sure to post pics once there's something worth looking at :)