# Wattage for my 125



## Slim (Jan 9, 2005)

So what im trying to understand is I need 375 watts of light in my 125 for my plants to grow right? Where in the hell do I find 375 watts of light for my tank? I cant even find bulbs bigger than 80 watts and those are reptile lights.


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## theycallmevirg (Aug 16, 2004)

I'm sure you can find a better deal or even a better light for that matter but....http://www.bigalsonline.com/catalog/product.xml?product_id=29623;category_id=1875;pcid1=1843;pcid2=
Im guessing your tank is 6' long right? if so two of those should work. But i am by no means the person to go to for help since i just got into plants myself. By the way, 375 watts of light will be expensive.


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## sKuz (May 21, 2003)

it depends on what kinds of plants you are growing. Different plants require different amounts of light. I just bought 2, 96 watt compact lights for my tank. $120 bloody bucks EACH!! After only 3 days of using these lights i have seen a lot of improvement in my plants.


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## Slim (Jan 9, 2005)

My tank is 5 feet long 24 wide and 20 tall. Isnt there cheaper ways of light than that that will work well for plants?


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## harrykaa (Jan 10, 2005)

Slim said:


> My tank is 5 feet long 24 wide and 20 tall. Isnt there cheaper ways of light than that that will work well for plants?
> [snapback]896645[/snapback]​


Hi Slim,

It seems that you also have gotten some odd information on aquarium light requirements. I have also read that one needs to have 1 Watt / 2 liters (about a 1/2 gallon) of water of fluorescent lamp light. This would mean that in a tank like 125 g you will need a 250 Watt fluorescent lamp.

Do not take into account of that misinformation. No plant needs that much light! I bet you can get plenty of algae that way too!

I myself have a 150 g tank with 4 Ternetzi variants of Redbellies. I have following plants in there too: 3 Echinodorus bleheri, 3 Hygrophila corymbosa, 3 Vallisneria gigantea, two bunches of Cryptocoryne wendtii and 1 Nymphaea lotus. All these grow very well with my light system, which is two 36 watt fluorescent lamps.

Note also that most of the Piranhas do not like heavy lights.

Regards,


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## JAC (Jan 19, 2004)

Have you seen Yorkshire's tank? it is awesome, lots of plants and he only has 100w worth of lights, it's a 100gal I think.


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## elTwitcho (Jun 22, 2004)

Slim said:


> So what im trying to understand is I need 375 watts of light in my 125 for my plants to grow right? Where in the hell do I find 375 watts of light for my tank? I cant even find bulbs bigger than 80 watts and those are reptile lights.
> [snapback]895461[/snapback]​


I'm not sure where you heard that, I would go with three or four fluorescent strips and see how that works out. Power compacts or metal halides are an option, they get expensive however.



harrykaa said:


> Do not take into account of that misinformation. No plant needs that much light! I bet you can get plenty of algae that way too!
> 
> Note also that most of the Piranhas do not like heavy lights.
> 
> [snapback]896740[/snapback]​


There are plants that need that much light, and a higher light intensity isn't going to cause algae any more than a lower light intensity. For a lower light setup he won't need that much, but there certainly are plants that require that amount of light.



JAC said:


> Have you seen Yorkshire's tank? it is awesome, lots of plants and he only has 100w worth of lights, it's a 100gal I think.
> [snapback]896853[/snapback]​


Closer to 50 gallon, and yes it is awesome.


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## Gordeez (Sep 21, 2003)

JAC said:


> Have you seen Yorkshire's tank? it is awesome, lots of plants and he only has 100w worth of lights, it's a 100gal I think.
> [snapback]896853[/snapback]​


Yea, its a 48 Gal. Still A Badass Tank.
I dont know this Set up will work, but you can get those um...Thingies where the lights go in From HD, Get 2 of em, there like $10 ea. and they Hold 2 40 Watt Bulbs Each. They have the sunlighT Bulbs there, there 6500K which from ive been told are good for plants. The bulbs are like $4-5 A pop.
You'll have a 160 watts of light. Not sure if it will be enough for the plants you want though. OR, you can go the more Expensive Way, Power Compact. There Expensive, but well Worth it, IMO.


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## Slim (Jan 9, 2005)

so anyways 2 watts per gallon is still 312.5 watts for my tank. And thanks for the Light source but it doesnt say how many watts that is


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## elTwitcho (Jun 22, 2004)

Slim said:


> so anyways 2 watts per gallon is still 312.5 watts for my tank. And thanks for the Light source but it doesnt say how many watts that is
> [snapback]897014[/snapback]​


It's 250...

And wpg isn't a hard rule, you can experiment a bit. I think you should be fine with 3 or 4 fluoro strips. I suggested 2 before, but seeing that your tank is 24 deep and 24 wide, I think 3 or 4 would be best.


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## illnino (Mar 6, 2004)

this should do, just get the "white" lights for fw planted tanks

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...4357607702&rd=1


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## Umbilical Syllables (Dec 16, 2004)

The watts per gallon rule is just general. Usually its 2-4 watts per gallon. The deeper the tank, the more watts you're going to want. For yours, I'd say 2 wpg, just don't get any plants that require high lighting.


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## Phtstrat (Sep 15, 2004)

I have a 110 gallon that is 2 feet tall. There are two hoods, with room for 2 24" fluorescent bulbs (each in its own reflector thing). Assuming that I would need 2wpg, I would have to have 55 watts of light per standard fluorescent bulb. Do they make bulbs that powerful?


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## Slim (Jan 9, 2005)

my tank is 24 wide and 20 tall how much wattage would you recommened?


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## harrykaa (Jan 10, 2005)

Slim said:


> my tank is 24 wide and 20 tall how much wattage would you recommened?
> [snapback]898054[/snapback]​


I would recommend for use with ordinary light-demanding plants such as
- Echinodorus bleheri (paniculatus);
- Vallisneria gigantea (americana f. gigantea); and
- Hygrophila corymbosa (Nomaphila stricta)
that you use 2 fluorescent bulbs in one lamp with reflectors).

I personally have a 25" deep Redbelly-tank with the plants I mentioned above. And they do grow fast and well with two 36 Watt fluorescent bulbs with reflectors. The reflector increases the efficiency of a bulb to twofold or even threefold. So it is important.



Phtstrat said:


> I have a 110 gallon that is 2 feet tall. There are two hoods, with room for 2 24" fluorescent bulbs (each in its own reflector thing). Assuming that I would need 2wpg, I would have to have 55 watts of light per standard fluorescent bulb. Do they make bulbs that powerful?


At least in Finland one can get many different types of fluorescent bulbs (color temperature, power etc. I use one plant-growth-type bulb (increased red and blue light) and one aquarium-type bulb (increased red-blue-green light).

About power: 18 Watt bulb is 24" long; 36 Watt - 48": 54 Watt - 60" and 72 Watt - 70" long.



elTwitcho said:


> There are plants that need that much light, and a higher light intensity isn't going to cause algae any more than a lower light intensity. For a lower light setup he won't need that much, but there certainly are plants that require that amount of light.


OK, but it is commonly said that plants like Echinodorus bleheri, Vallisneria gigantea and Hygrophila corymbosa need from medium to strong light. And these do grow well with 2 36 Watt fluorescent bulbs with reflectors in a 25" deep tank.

Regards,


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