# [Wet Thumb Forum]-100 gallon lighting suggestions



## Mike K (Mar 27, 2003)

I have a 100 gallon glass tank measuring 60X18X20. I have two Emperor 440 outside filters, and a Filstar XP3 canister filter. Gravel mix with laterite. My question is about lighting. I have read several articles about watts, lumen, lux, and colors. I am currently using 2 48" 40 watt Coralife Nurti Grow bulbs with a reflector, and 2 48" 40 Coralife Colormax without a reflector. They are on 13 hours a day. Can any give me advise if these lights are bright enough, or what type of bulbs do I need. I am trying to stay with regular fluorescent lighting. I just planted the tank with some Amazons, micro amazons, water sprite, java fern, and java moss. They seem to be doing go for two weeks, then brown algae started to grow on the leaves and gravel. Any suggestions would be great.


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## Mike K (Mar 27, 2003)

I have a 100 gallon glass tank measuring 60X18X20. I have two Emperor 440 outside filters, and a Filstar XP3 canister filter. Gravel mix with laterite. My question is about lighting. I have read several articles about watts, lumen, lux, and colors. I am currently using 2 48" 40 watt Coralife Nurti Grow bulbs with a reflector, and 2 48" 40 Coralife Colormax without a reflector. They are on 13 hours a day. Can any give me advise if these lights are bright enough, or what type of bulbs do I need. I am trying to stay with regular fluorescent lighting. I just planted the tank with some Amazons, micro amazons, water sprite, java fern, and java moss. They seem to be doing go for two weeks, then brown algae started to grow on the leaves and gravel. Any suggestions would be great.


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## jpmtotoro (Feb 13, 2003)

can i ask why you're trying to stick with regular flourescent instead of something like power compacts or VHOs?


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## Mike K (Mar 27, 2003)

B/C i already have the regular lights and ballasts. And the VHO and CF are to expensive. That is it.


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## jpmtotoro (Feb 13, 2003)

well... i think you're gonna have a hard time. a few PC lights are much brighter than normal flourescents anyway. you could do 4x55 on a tank like yours probably, maybe 2x96, but anyway, i hate flourescent lights on 18 inch tall tanks, they don't reach the bottom enough. watts aren't everything, just a general guide. i'd look up the cause of brown algae... i think it might come from not enough light sometimes... so that might answer your question. i have 60 watts of flourescent over an 18" tall, 25 gallon tank and it's still nowhere near enough light. it's a very dim tank. it grows normal plants fine, but not high light plants at all. if i was in your shoes, i'd just keep adding more until you think you got it since you don't want to upgrade anyway, but seriously, you get what you pay for









JP


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## jpmtotoro (Feb 13, 2003)

PS HOB filters agitate the surface of the water resulting in a loss of CO2 for the plants, plus the XP3 should be enough for a tank unless yours is particularly well-stocked. just another thing to think of. i just yanked off my HOB filters last month for canister. very happy. one of the filters was even an emperor, it's just sitting idle right now, probably never to be used again!


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## Mike K (Mar 27, 2003)

Well I just got back from a week long trip and I noticed that my tank is full of brown algae. All over the glass, the wood, and the plants. Three of my water sprite's decided to uproot and float to the top. I purchased a reflector that I am going to place on the tank. My lights are running for 14 hours a day. I have not had time to check the water due to I just got in. I am checking the water first thing in the morning. Any suggestions on how to get rid of the brown algae? I know that people say it is caused by the new tank syndrome, but I want to get rid of it. Also, I have been reading other peoples comments about aglae, and they mention SAE's and otto's, what are they? Also what type of algae eating fish would do good in a Discus tank? (Water that is very soft, and above 84 degress) And what is DYI CO2? I have beening using liquid CO2 call Natural Aquarium Vital. Is this good? And any suggestion on the name brand and type of F lights to use if I want to stay with the normal Flourescent lights. I have now 160 watts, which is 1.6wpg. Plus two reflectors. Any help would be great. Thanks


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## imported_rich_dog_22 (Mar 13, 2003)

If on a tight budget and in need of more light you might want to take a look at ODNO lighting....its just a cheap way to get more light out of your existing flourescents

ODNO lighting


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## Mike K (Mar 27, 2003)

I just tested my water and here they are. 
pH 6.8, KH 30ppm or 1.8 dKh, GH 100ppm or 5.6 dGH, NO4 0, NO3 less then 5ppm, NO2 0, PO4 .25 ppm, CO2 30ppm The temperature is 85F, I am taking out the carbon in my filters, and replacing 20% of the water today with a mix of RO and tap. Same perimeters as my tank water. Do I need a CO2 in my tank if I want to keep my tank at 2wpg? 
Thanks


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## jpmtotoro (Feb 13, 2003)

SAE = siamese algae eaters
ottos are ottocinclus (not sure about the spelling)
CAE = chinese algae eaters. i haven't used any CAEs in a while, but the ones i did have did an extremely good job on brown algae, but not too much else. some plecos might also do a decent job, but i'm not sure. at 2wpg... you can probably just dose that carbon stuff you are doing. i'm assuming it's similar to flourish excel by seachem. DIY CO2 is do-it-yourself CO2. there are some nice pages on how to do it. basically you grab a pop bottle of some sort and throw some yeast and other junk in there and create some CO2 (and i think a funny smell too, not sure) i'm not doing DIY CO2 and don't ever plan to, so i'm not the one to ask about it







i think in your tank... you're lucky, brown algae is pretty easy to get rid of. wait until you get bba or bga, maybe a little case of hair or thread... that's when the fun starts









JP


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## Mike K (Mar 27, 2003)

Thank you for your help. I am planning on buying two 2 -96watt CF units from AHsupply. I am leaving two of 40 watt NF on the tank. Do you think that is enough of lighting, and what type of CF lights would you suggest. Thanks again.


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## Moisted (Mar 7, 2003)

Just a note on brown algae, I'd seen people recommend Otto's as the single most effective cure for brown algae. I've had three Ottos in my 20g tank for a couple of months now, they don't even touch the brown algae. 

I also read more lighting is good to fight brown algae, some say less light is better. I've tried both and I still get the yukky brown stuff no matter what, my tank is now 6 months old. I just clean them off the glass and gravel every week, and wait for them to come back again.

_____________________________


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## jpmtotoro (Feb 13, 2003)

hey moisted... many people still hate CAEs and say they don't eat anything... but every one i have ever tried has enthusiastically dined on brown algae and have always done a great job cleaning the tank in a matter of a day or two (dependign on the size). if you're getting annoyed with wiping the glass, you could always try a CAE. worked for me at least, and if it doesn't work you can always return it to your LFS









JP


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## jpmtotoro (Feb 13, 2003)

oh ya mkam... if you're talking about what K lights to get... i'd say either the 5300 or 6500k. the 6500k is a more intense whiter light, the 5300k is a bit warmer, but both are incredibly bright and look wonderful... i have a vivarium that uses the 5300k because it looks more like sunlight and i use 6500k on my all-water tank... either is fine though, i don't think you'll be unhappy with either. it just depends if you want it to look like cleaner white light or more sunlight-looking, but keep in mind that they aren't incredibly different so don't lose any sleep over it







also about the normal flourescents... you CAN leave them on there if you want... but i have some on a tank with some CF bulbs and i can't even tell if the normals are even on, the light they give off is pathetic compared to the CF so just set your CF up and then add the normals and see if you still want them on there, but i think you'll be surprised at how bright and beautiful those CF bulbs can be. it's like staring at the sun!!! ;-)

JP


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## Heady (Mar 4, 2003)

I'll have to agree there. I have a 29g tank that had a 20W normal fluorescent on it and my plants were surviving but not thriving. I replaced it with a 55W compact fluorescent and it is the difference between night and day, quite literally. It looks like noontime sunlight in there now. I have a 10g tank underneath it that is still on regular fluorescent, and I swear looking at the 2 tanks together it looks like the reg. fluorescent light is not even on, but it is!


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