# 75 gallon lighting



## mulligan (Dec 30, 2006)

Over my 75 gallon, I am going to have 4 32 watt T-8's with 2 polished stainless steel reflectors bent along the lines of ah supply reflectors and a 2 x 55 watt bright kit from ah supply. In general what plants will this NOT be enough light for? Just looking for some "should avoid" plants here.


----------



## AaronT (Apr 26, 2004)

Some of the harder to grow stem plants may struggle with that much lighting, but it may be okay. Have you considered overdriving the T8s? I had 4 overdriven T8s over my 75 gallon tank at one time and it grew anything I could put in there.


----------



## SpaceBug (Jan 10, 2007)

What would this "overdrivimg" of the T8's involve?


----------



## mulligan (Dec 30, 2006)

I'm new to this, so I think I'll stick with what I have for now and try to learn before I go with too high lighting. How many wpg does having 110 watts of cf lighitng combined with 128 watts of T-8s equal over 75 gallons. I know the simple answer is 3.17 wpg, but don't the compact flash bulbs equate higher when considering wpg?

Thanks for the response above.


----------



## AaronT (Apr 26, 2004)

SpaceBug said:


> What would this "overdrivimg" of the T8's involve?


Overdriving is when you wire one bulb as you normally would two, thus driving more wattage through it than it is rated for. Here's a decent article about it: GWAPA: ODNO Lighting

Disclaimer: - I'm not responsible if anyone incorrectly wires something and there's a fire.

mulligan - if you're new it's smart of you to err on the side of medium light for your first time. The original setup you described should be a good starting point for easier plants.


----------

