# setting up a 300 gallon planted tank



## mstubenfoll (Jan 22, 2012)

looking for help.

Have 300 gallon tank that am converting to a planted tank.

Dimensions - 8ft long, 2 feet wide, 30 inched deep

Would like to grow nice turf along bottom of tank so assuming I need high light.

Looking for recommendations on lighting.

Are t5's the way to go? Total wattage? Can I get shimmering effect with T5's? Really like the shimmer effect.

What about LED's?

I plan on going with CO2 but have a wet dry filter. Should i relace with a fluidized bed filter or something else?

Appreciate any guidance


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## A_Shea (Jun 2, 2007)

I would go with t5's. A DIY project would be the least expensive and give you the most bang for your buck. Eight 4ft 54 watt bulbs would do you perfect for any plant growing scenario. However you wont achieve the shimmer without some sort of bright spot lamp. aka Metal Halides. There are fixtures out there with t5's and halides together, but they are very pricey, although you Would get a brilliant shimmer. DIY can be difficult with halides but for what you want it might be your best alternative. 

As an electrician i love leds but there aren't many fixtures that are within budget and on such a large tank you would need a lot of leds for a diy project.


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## Rane (Feb 18, 2012)

One more for t5's. Been reading a lot about lighting lately. T5's would be cheapest, however you won't get the shimmer. As A_Shea mentioned, you could get t5 fixtures with metal halides in them, but that would be expensive.

LEDs will give you the shimmer, but they're expensive as well. Also, I'm not sure if there's much available that puts out as much light as you'd need...

If you went with a DIY LED fixture, it would probably still be expensive, and also a lot of work. Here's a diy build that would give you an idea of what you'd need to do to build an LED fixture: 28 LED BUILD If you went with LEDs you'd probably have to do this, but on a much larger scale. Of course, if you're not worried about money, you could probably find a pre-build LED fixture that is designed for plant growth.

Yes, you'll probably lose a lot of Co2 with a wet/dry. I haven't looked too much into fluidized filter beds, but from what I have read, that seems like it might be a good option. But, before you go that far, how is your wet/dry set up? Could it be converted to use standard bio media? The problem with wet/dry is too much water movement. You may be able to use standard bio-media fully submerged so as to cut down on water movement while still using the same equipment. All depends on how everything is set up, though.


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## apuhl20 (Mar 1, 2012)

I am going to do a led build for my 180. T5s wont get you much light thru 30 inches of water, and you definitely wont get the shimmer. To get good light penetration with t5s you need good ballasts bulbs and reflectors. I priced it for my 180 and I would be looking at around $600. I can easily have an LED build for that or less, not have to spend $200 a year on bulbs, and save on electric. To me LED is the best way to go.


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## brewster (Apr 15, 2004)

30" high and a turf bottom is a tall (no pun intended) order. I have a 300 gallon 30" tall tank and there can be a significant amount of algae issues trying to do high light @ 30" I considered a wet dry when I set mine up (over 10 years ago) but ultimately went with an eheim 2260. I use t5HO (8 of them). Photo periods over 8hrs=algae. While my setup right now is not ideal, I don't want to get into it, if you have the resources get the best you can for substrate and CO2. The substrate for a tank this size can be huge, but if you are serious about a turf bottom, you will need it. You may want to seriously consider MH as well. If you can successfully grow a turf bottom in this tank you will be the member of a fairly exclusive club, in which I would like to be a member someday myself.

I would also spend some time studying the method of controlled imbalances. Using EI with it's 50% weekly water changes may not be realistic for you, it is not for me.

Finally there are nearly as many opinions on how to do a planted tank as there are members of this forum. Do your research, find the methods and opinions that you agree with or are comfortable with and go for it.


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## mstubenfoll (Jan 22, 2012)

folks, thanks for getting me your thoughts and sorry for the ridiculously late reply.

Has anyone used LED's on their planted tanks.

Looking at the aqua llumination whites and was wondering about penetration levels.

While my tank is 30 inches deep with substrate the avg penetration would need to be about 25inches.

Thoughts on LED's vs metal halide(hqi) vs T5's would be appreciated for 30 inch deep tank, 8 feet long 2 feet wide.

Thanks so much

Mark


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