# Looking for lighting suggestions for a fairly deep tank.



## jetsam (Jul 26, 2011)

Hi, I've been lurking for awhile, but I just got a new tank, and I'm looking for some advice.

I have a 10-gal Walstad tank, which I love (no, that's not quite accurate. To my husband's dismay, I'm obsessed with it  ), and I would like to do another, much bigger Walstad tank.

So my very brave DH gave me a tank about 36" long x 12" deep x 24" high for my birthday, but I need to figure out how to light this baby. Frankly, I'm very confused by all the different types of lights, wattages, kelvin ratings, reflectors, number of bulbs, etc.

If I subtract approx 3" for the soil and gravel, the water depth will still be about 20". I have the following concerns:
- I want to make sure that enough light makes it to the bottom of the tank
- I don't want to spend a fortune lighting it

I have these plants for the tank. I think most of them like a good amount of light:

Riccia Fluitans.
Elocharis acicularis 'Dwarf Hairgrass' 
Lloydiella, Golden (Lysimachia nummularia) 
Ludwigia, Broad Leaf (Ludwigia repens)
Sagittaria subulata
Crinum "Dwarf" onion plant (Zephyranthes candida)
Bacopa monnieri
Vallisneria spiralis (Italian)
Ceratophyllum demersum- Hornwort
Egeria densa (Elodea/ anacharis)
Microsorum pteropu
s "Java Fern"

I would appreciate any recommendations for how to light this thing.

Thank you!


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## jetsam (Jul 26, 2011)

PS: I don't have a good window to place the tank near, so all lighting will come from the lights.


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## evitagen22 (May 1, 2007)

I have this same size tank - 45 gallon. I light it using a AH Supply 96 Watt fixture, and the fixture provides enough light to grow everything I've wanted to grow so far. If I had to do it over again, I'd also consider a 4 bulb T5HO fixture from Tek and do a 'noon burst' type configuration where I only run all 4 bulbs for a few hours a day. I don't have a Walstad style tank, so your results might vary without ferts and co2.


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## Michael (Jul 20, 2010)

I suggest a dual (two tube) T5 HO fixture. Raise it above the top of the tank 4" to 8" to reduce the light level from high to medium.

Four tubes of T5 HO is over-kill for a Walstad tank. Two tubes may still be a bit much, but you can easily adjust this by raising or lowering the fixture. A T5 HO fixture has the advantage that you can get a wide selection of good tubes with different color temperatures and spectral output if you want to play with that stuff later.

BTW, welcome to APC! I'm glad to hear that your 10 gallon is doing well.

--Michael


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## jetsam (Jul 26, 2011)

Thanks, Michael and evitagen22, for the suggestions. Michael, I took your suggestion and ordered a dual T5 HO fixture. I will definitely keep your suggestion about raising or lowering it in mind.

Thanks again for the help!


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