# Lighting (I think) [Longish]



## Ripples (Aug 3, 2005)

Hi all
I'd be really greatful if one of you could help me out a bit - I'm in a quandry!

I think my lighting is almost entirely in-adequate but am not sure (i'm the most dangerous of things - a complete novice that's been researching on the web!).

Basically I have a Juwel Vision 260 (260litres being aproximately 69 US gallons I think). The tank itself is about 61cm high, 151cm length and aproximately 64cm wide (but it's a bowfront).

I have a JBL Pro CO2 diffuser system set to about a bubble a second.
I have a sand substrate into which I have placed numerous fert tablets (Rosetta and Stem related)
I dose weekly with a liquid fert as per instructions
I have aprox 7PH and high KH which gives me readings of CO2 in the 'right' zone.
All other parameters (ammonia nitrite nitrate) normal.

My lights may be the sticking point - though the LFS is adament they should be fine and are perfect for plant growth even at that depth. The tank comes with a built in lighting system - 2xT8s at 42". I replaced the dreadful Juwel ones with two T6's which claim to be 40% more efficient than T8s. They're 35W each, with reflectors.

My maths therefore says I've got 70Wx1.4(40%)x2(reflectors) in order to get effective Wattage.. so: 196W. Which should give me 2.9WPG. But I'm wondering whether I'm talking nonsence - as my plants don't look great and I NEVER get any pearling.

So - does anyone have any advice - and has anyone tried fixing extra light fittings to a flat lid. Or does anyone have experience of the Arcadia I bar - which takes 2x T5s - and would they give me a better light?

Sorry - bombarding.. but if you need any other info - do let me know  
Thanks
R


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## Bert H (Mar 2, 2004)

> My maths therefore says I've got 70Wx1.4(40%)x2(reflectors) in order to get effective Wattage.. so: 196W


HUH??? 

You have two 35W bulbs there for a total of 70W. They may be higher output and the reflectors may be great, but you've still got 70W on a 69 gal tank. In my book that's 1wpg.

I don't know where you're located, but look here for some excellent retrofits and possibly the best reflectors on the market. When you get the light you want, take it back to the lfs and show them what light really looks like.


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## Ripples (Aug 3, 2005)

Hmmm I had a feeling I was being bamboozled. I'm also quite confused by the difference between wattage and lumens though. Given wattage is a measurement of your units efficiency - if you have something that is 40% more efficient (or so they claim) are you not getting more light per watt?

Sorry - I'm probably showing ignorance - but otherwise I can't see how there can be any justification of T6's....

thanks for responding
R


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## HeyPK (Jan 23, 2004)

35 watts x 2 x 1.4 gives you 98 watts, or about 1.4 watts per gallon. That is a little low.


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## Ripples (Aug 3, 2005)

Oh sorry - it was two bulbs with two reflectors.
I'm pretty certain it's not as easy as making those multiplications, but with a girlish lack of ability to build things I am concerned by whether I could put in the 'kit' lighting units that a lot of people refer to on this site. The Juwels literally have a flat top that's about 3" above the surface of the water - so with something like the link above I think I'd have to build a new hood - which I'm REALLY not up to!

What do people think of the T5 units? Arcadia do this http://www.surreypetsupplies.co.uk/acatalog/_Arcadia_I_Bar_T5_Lighting.html 
which still looks like low wattage - but surely is higher intensity and could help my problem? 
They're actually designed to go in this kind of tank so it would negate my lack of DIY skills and pathalogical fear of butchering the existing hood!

Thank you so much for all your prompt replies.. you're very patient!
R


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## HeyPK (Jan 23, 2004)

Are you running the T6 bulbs with the ballast that was used to run the T8 bulbs? That might not be the best way to run the T6 bulbs. You should check the manufacturer's catalog to see if the T6 bulbs require a different ballast.


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## rgrycki (Jun 13, 2005)

http://www.tropicalfishstore.com/TenecorLights.htm
Try that link they have everything from retrofit kits to the whole setup.


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## Laith (Sep 4, 2004)

Arcadia has good stuff. But you may need two of those I-bars for a total of four bulbs. Once you add in the price of the bulbs (you would want Arcadia's T5 PlantPro bulbs) you might consider this option:

Remove the existing hood and go for an open top tank using Arcadia's overtank Luminaire that sits on legs on the ends of the aquarium. The Luminaire comes in different lengths so check what they have on their website : http://www.arcadia-uk.info

I got tired of trying to stuff multiple bulbs under the hood that came with my 200l tank...


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## Ripples (Aug 3, 2005)

The luminaire certainly sounds like a simpler solution than trying to alter my hood..
Hmmm probably worth thinking about. Is it working for you?

Thanks guys
Rach


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## Laith (Sep 4, 2004)

Brilliantly.

I purchased the 100cm length with 4x 39w PlantPro bulbs.


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## Phil Edwards (Jan 22, 2004)

Rach,

You might also want to consider increasing your CO2. I didn't see where you put your pH and KH, but it seems as though you've got enough light to grow plants. When you say one bubble per second into a tank that big it leads me to believe insufficient CO2 is the cause. Please let us know what your pH and KH are and we'll help you figure out of CO2 is the issue. If it is, it's easy and inexpensive to fix. If not, at least we'll know it's not that. 

Regards,
Phil


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## Ripples (Aug 3, 2005)

Thanks Phil

Will do - I'll do a measurement this evening. At the moment I have one of those 'permanent' CO2 measurement thingies (I love using technical words as you can see!) in the tank that has it in the 'normal' range - though when I first kicked off with it I also did separate tests (paranoid as I am).

When it first went on I was looking at PH of 7 to 7.2 with a KH of around 10/11 which seemed to put it in the right realms - but I can test again. I also remember that my GH was astronomically high - but I gather that isn't a facet of CO2?

It's a cannister system with regulator valve - so it's no great issue to up it.

In the meantime I've spoken to a nice man at aquaessentials who seems to think that adding two T5 55w to my hood should be a matter of drilling two holes and getting creative with heat resistant cable. Which seems easy enough - and at £65 a LOT cheaper than the overtank luminieres (which I only found at £170)...

R


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