Regular Member EvilVegan Posted January 27, 2015 Regular Member Share Posted January 27, 2015 (edited) I'm setting up my 75 gallon tank, I just ordered this: http://www.ebay.com/itm/50-Live-Aquarium-Plants-12-Kinds-Anubias-Amazon-Sword-Vallisneria-n-more-/121549760334 So I'll have 50ish plants soon and I want to start fishless-cycling this weekend. Which light should I get? Should I get one light for each "side" or just one big light that covers the whole tank? Or should I get 2 lights each going from the edge to the center support? I could have them running on different timers, so the right side of the tank is on during the day and left during the night. No need for a refugium! Insane, sleep-deprived fish! I was looking at this 48" monster: http://www.amazon.com/Finnex-Aquarium-Actinic-Light-24-Inch/dp/B008460C6E/ref=sr_1_4?s=pet-supplies&ie=UTF8&qid=1422388036&sr=1-4&keywords=plant+light But I don't know the PAR value and I think it's a bit too "cool-blue" for goldfish coloration. Money isn't a huge problem thanks to tax return and my ability to ignore soul-crushing debt while buying aquarium supplies. Edited January 27, 2015 by EvilVegan 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Mikey Posted January 27, 2015 Regular Member Share Posted January 27, 2015 http://www.amazon.com/Deep-Blue-Professional-ADB42548-Solarmaxhe2/dp/B005DGHMRA/ref=sr_1_5?s=pet-supplies&ie=UTF8&qid=1422394146&sr=1-5&keywords=solarmax+HE LOVING this light! It has a 6,700k and 10,000k bulb perfect for plant growth as well as gorgeous moonlight LEDs. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member fantailfan1 Posted January 27, 2015 Regular Member Share Posted January 27, 2015 I prefer one long light vs 2 shorter ones. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member RanchuDressing Posted January 27, 2015 Regular Member Share Posted January 27, 2015 I prefer one long light vs 2 shorter ones. I do too. When I had a 55 gallon and had two 24" lights, it seemed like the dead center of the tank wasn't lit as well. There was that small gap between the lights and it was noticeable. Give me one long light every time. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member EvilVegan Posted January 27, 2015 Author Regular Member Share Posted January 27, 2015 How about these? Their 48" are half off! http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=3578+3733+10704+29014&pcatid=29014&r=1550 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member RanchuDressing Posted January 27, 2015 Regular Member Share Posted January 27, 2015 Nice! And a bargain! 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Kiara1125 Posted January 27, 2015 Regular Member Share Posted January 27, 2015 (edited) I bought this light for my 55g and I'm LOVING IT!! Came with one 12000K white and one actinic light. Both 54W T5-HO lights, plus the fixture has legs. My plants boomed and all the fish got extremely colorful. Nice price as well. I would highly recommend this light. http://www.ebay.com/itm/T5-Dual-48-Aquarium-Light-Marine-Coral-Reef-Cichlid-108W-/261743743599? Edited January 27, 2015 by Kiara 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Daniel Posted January 28, 2015 Regular Member Share Posted January 28, 2015 You know what's funny, you'll get better spread from two fixtures if you set them up properly. If you plan on hanging them go with two shorter, if not get a long one. I don't know what kind of penetrating power a Finnex LED has over 22 inches since we can't get them here, but if you want flexibility you can always look at a multi-bulb T5/T5HO unit and only use half the bulbs or muffle with duckweed, pistia, azolla, etc. Usually they come with multiple switches so configurability is simple. As for bulb temperature that is really up to personal preference. LED units tend to be between 7000-10,000K or a blend of differing Kelvin. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.