Recommended lighting Fixtures?

**TypeYourTextHere** · 03-24-2011, 06:42 AM

I am currently getting ready to set up a 75 gallon planted tank. It is coming with a stock light fixture. I want to do a planted tank and am a bit confused on the lighting aspect of it all. I have looked at different sites regarding lighting and really have no idea what i am looking for other than a fixture that can handle a T-5 bulb (which I really don't understand what that means). could someone please point me in the right direction?

**jetajockey** · 03-24-2011, 06:52 AM

Hi. First off, do you plan to use pressurized co2? Ferts?

I vote for t5ho's mostly because of the bang for buck. A single bulb 4ft T5ho fixture should keep you in the low/med light area, while a dual bulb will put you med/high. A lot depends on the reflector as well, but my previous statement assumes that we are working with a fixture with a decent reflector.

One of the issues with a single bulb on a 18" wide tank is getting a good light spread, so that's another thing to consider. With my 18" wide tanks I use single t5ho hanging grow lights mounted about 3-4 inches above the tank, and it gets pretty even coverage. The reflectors are very open though so I think that helps a lot.

**TypeYourTextHere** · 03-24-2011, 07:10 AM

that brings me to another question, will any shop light fixture do or do i need a specific fixture to go along with my aquarium?

Edit: forgot to mention that yes i plan on using both co2 and ferts, eventually.

**jetajockey** · 03-24-2011, 07:13 AM

Originally Posted by TypeYourTextHere

that brings me to another question, will any shop light fixture do or do i need a specific fixture to go along with my aquarium?

Well, you could go with a 4ft shop light with the dual bulb t8's. They are like 15-20 bucks at the big box stores. However, it would likely limit you both in plant growth and plant selection. There are several plants, anubias, java ferns, moss, etc, that will grow in this scenario but the growth will be slow, and you will have to get a totally different fixture in the future if you ever want to step it up.

I use the dual bulb t8 shop lights over some of my tanks and they work just fine with low light plants, but they are limiting.

**TypeYourTextHere** · 03-24-2011, 07:21 AM

so T-5 bulbs are going to be better than a T-8. could you point me to a decent T-5 fixture then?

**jetajockey** · 03-24-2011, 07:33 AM

I bought several of these last year and they have worked great on my 40b's
http://cgi.ebay.com/T5-Fluorescent-T...item5d2a1c10ef

If you are planning pressurized co2/regular dosing and high tech then you may want to go with a 2bulb fixture, but the single bulb works fine with my setup and I just dose excel/dry ferts whenever I think about it, and I have well over 2 dozen different plant speices that are doing fine.

**TypeYourTextHere** · 03-24-2011, 07:43 AM

Nice, thanks yet again.

**Lady Hobbs** · 03-24-2011, 08:16 AM

http://www.bigalsonline.com/Fish_Lig...2.html?tc=fish

One thing you may want to consider is you have a wider tank so running four bulbs rather than 2 might be something you should consider.

**TypeYourTextHere** · 03-24-2011, 08:46 AM

Originally Posted by Lady Hobbs

http://www.bigalsonline.com/Fish_Lig...2.html?tc=fish

One thing you may want to consider is you have a wider tank so running four bulbs rather than 2 might be something you should consider.

Yeah...I am kind of on a budget. I did not realize that light fixtures were so damn expensive. What about these conversion kits I have seen? Are they worth the $$ or is it just another gimmick?

**Cliff** · 03-24-2011, 11:36 AM

I was amazed at the great deals I was able to find for good used light fixtures.

Maybe you could take your time and wait for a great deal on a used 4 bulb T5HO fixture. Something like this one:

http://www.aquaticcommunity.com/revi...uct=444&cat=22