# hexagon lighting problem



## woodwormlumber (Apr 23, 2006)

i have a 55 gallon hex that i have a bunch of guppies in that i'm TRYING to plant. it has been brought to my attention by another member of this forum that i don't have enough lighting. a problem i'm running into is that the canopy allows 3 18inch bulbs which is only 45 watts of light. there is no way that i'll be able to stick 24 inch bulbs in this thing. another "problem" is that this tank is highly viewable being in the kitchen so if i were to come up with a DIY solution, it is still going to have to look nice. 

if there are any suggestions, i'd greatly appreciate it. i know that the easiest thing to do would be to admit defeat and not plant it. however, it is a nice looking tank with a bunch of beautiful guppies and i would really like to plant the tank. however, if you professionals  think it can't be done, well, i'll take your word for it. thanks guys!

btw, i'm not looking for any exotic or "hard" to grow plants. just want some moss, ground cover, and some other random plants.

this is my current setup 1 coralife 50/50. 1 sun-glo. 1 5000K bulb picked up from home depot. i also have a flora-glo bulb sitting in a box. any suggestions, advice, or scoldings are welcome!

thanks!

jason


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## EDGE (Feb 28, 2004)

Metal hallide pendant


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## Erin (Feb 18, 2005)

ouch! Kind of expensive? Is there any other way, perhaps some of the light kits from AH Supply?


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## Walker_ (Mar 24, 2006)

actually if you buy the pendant from a hydroponics store it shouldnt be too bad... I bet under $80


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## Lauren (Mar 18, 2006)

I have a 45g hex and had a similar problem. I went with metal halide because you can increase the wattage without increasing the length of the unit.

I got mine here: ww.aquatraders.com


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## Emc2 (Oct 29, 2005)

Jebo makes a clamp on metal halide fixture that would definitly get the job done. The 70 watt fixture is a bit limiting because of the range of bulbs available for the fixture. The 150 watt model offers more flexibility.

If your interested, I just ordered mine from this company. They have a great return policy and good customer service.

http://bluezooaquatics.com/livestock/product_info.php?id=2441


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## woodwormlumber (Apr 23, 2006)

thanks for all of the help and suggestions. my tank is in the kitchen and i wanted to keep it clean to the eye which means keep the origional canopy. with our style of kitchen and the "classic" oak look of the thank, the metal halide fixtures would look really out of place. however, after some PMs from members, i have altered the canopy by removing the fluorescent fixture and rewired the canopy for your standard incadescent sockets. i'm now using compact fluorescent bulbs, 2 @ 100W @5400K and 2 @90W @3500K both of which were labeled "daylight" bulbs. from that i obviously have a lot of bright light and am looking forward to seeing how this works. i do have a couple generic plants (hornwort and a sword) that i'm going to watch to see how it reacts to the light. every time i put hornwort into the tank, it grows really fast trying to get to the surface of the tank and looks really bad. i'm going to see how this treats me and then start putting in more appealing plants.

i greatly appreciate all of the help from everybody and will most certainly consider all the the options that everybody has suggested in future tanks which i may decide to plant (depending on how this one turns out  ) thanks again!

jason


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## Salt (Apr 5, 2005)

I have a 42 hex. I use this:

http://www.championlighting.com/product.php?productid=18559&cat=559&page=1

For the PC's, I use actinics. I believe they are great for planted tanks when used as supplemental lighting, as they are here. For the Halide bulb, I went with an Iwasaki 150W:

http://www.championlighting.com/product.php?productid=18460&cat=550&page=1

There's a problem... the Iwasaki has a medium base. The Blueline pendants use mogul bases. So I had to replace the socket with a PFO medium socket:

http://www.marinedepot.com/md_searchstatistics.asp?SearchStr=pfo socket&action=view&idProduct=PF2611

I mounted it in the center of the pendant instead of at the edge. I had to use a Dremal tool to create new holes for it. It sounds hard but it was actually quite easy to do.

Finally, I bought a PFO ballast to use with the socket, as it's designed specifically for the socket and the power connector matches the cord that comes with the socket:

http://www.marinedepot.com/md_viewItem.asp?idproduct=PF1211

The result is an awesome high-light hexagon tank.

For a cheaper option I would go with a 20" 2x40W power compact:

http://www.marinedepot.com/md_viewItem.asp?idproduct=CU01012

or

http://www.marinedepot.com/md_viewItem.asp?idproduct=CU01020


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