# 125g



## KeemCambell (Jun 7, 2004)

ok im thinkin doin a moderate planting job, enough to look natural but not over do it too much so ive been lookin at light, to tell u the truth i really dont know much and i dont know wut im looking for and what would be good for plants, if someone could help me i would be forever grateful :nod: 
ok i was lookin at these 2 maybe 
http://www.bigalsonline.com/catalog/produc...id1=1843;pcid2=
and
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/Product/Prod...4+113345+113565

are those good for plants? which is better? *please give me suggestions if u believe another lighting system would be better*

also any pushes in the right direction with a CO2 system would be very appreciated.

Thank you!!!


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## SpAzZy (Mar 30, 2004)

you want to use a 36" strip light on your 125 gallon tank? isn't a 125 6x2x2? or is it 5x2x2... the rule of thumb really is that youw ant at least 2 watts per gallon to have plants that flourish. when you have 2 watts per gallon, you still don't even have THAT much lighting.. plants that need "bright" lighting probably won't live well and will probably die. i'm going to be planting my tanks very soon too and i was considering putting 110w on my 30g with a 36" strip. the first link that you have will not do at all. your plants will defintly die with flourescent strip lights, you need to buy either power compact lighting or metal halide. VHO will work as well. good luck and just keep in mind that lighting will be the most expensive accessory for your tank. i'm currently looking at buying off of ebay. there is a compnay called "JEBO", check them out, they're REALLY inexpensive for what they offer. i'm waiting for my friend to get his 48" jebo 220w power compact in so that i can check and see if its worth buying. he got it for $90 or so and if he was to get a different brand, he'd probably pay 200-300 for it. i'll keep you updated as well, good luck


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## KeemCambell (Jun 7, 2004)

i was gonna do 2 36" strips so a total of 220W, not much i guess ill look on ebay


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## SpAzZy (Mar 30, 2004)

oh, that makes things a lot better. just make sure the power compacts that you get have normal bulbs, not actinic. ACTINIC bulbs are for saltwater reefs and will not work with freshwater plants, the wave lengths of the beams are different. if you do buy strips that come with 50/50 bulbs, those are half actinic half normal, and those will not work either.


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## smithgrind_who (Mar 26, 2004)

KeemCambell said:


> ok im thinkin doin a moderate planting job, enough to look natural but not over do it too much so ive been lookin at light, to tell u the truth i really dont know much and i dont know wut im looking for and what would be good for plants, if someone could help me i would be forever grateful :nod:
> ok i was lookin at these 2 maybe
> http://www.bigalsonline.com/catalog/produc...id1=1843;pcid2=
> and
> ...


 Hey KeemCambell, watts per gallon is important but the type of bulb is critical too. Bulbs rated around 5000-6500 Kelvin are best for photosynthesis. If the height of your 125g is greater than 24" then 3-4 watts per gallon would be better. The All-Glass strip might be good but you would need to get the right kind of bulbs.


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## KeemCambell (Jun 7, 2004)

i think its about 19" at most with the substrate, how many watts per gallon should i shoot for? the triple strip would be ok now? i believe its the cheaper one, i havent factored in bulb cost so it might be wut id wanna go for


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## smithgrind_who (Mar 26, 2004)

3 - 4 gallons per watt is good, but sometimes cost is a factor. I would expect 1 - 2 watts/gallon is a good start too. I don't have a heavily planted tank yet, and I have 0.8 watt/gallon in my tank. I have noticed there is a limit how many plants I can keep alive.


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## phreakah (Sep 20, 2004)

Im also gonna give the jebo a try... 48" strips are on ebay for 77 bucks....


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## KeemCambell (Jun 7, 2004)

please keep me updated with the jebos, thats a very nice price


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## phreakah (Sep 20, 2004)

well i got my JEBO compact lights in today and set em up.. I got the 48 inch model for my 125 gallon tank and set it in the middle.. basically so the sides arent as bright as the middle so the P's can chill there if they want...

the light overall seems pretty well built. the only problem is that they include 2 white and 2 blue lights.... so i gotta replace the 2 blue with 2 more whites... overall pretty good.. i'll try and get some pics soon


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## phreakah (Sep 20, 2004)

here are pics of the light system:


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## phreakah (Sep 20, 2004)

tank w/ lights


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## micus (Jan 7, 2004)

how many bulbs does the light strip hold? and are they VHO or normal?


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## phreakah (Sep 20, 2004)

it holds and came with 4 bulbs... 2 white and 2 blue. i'm gonna replace the 2 blues with 2 more whites


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## micus (Jan 7, 2004)

so you have like 160 watts of light, u can grow things like,java moss, and anubias, and java fern, make it a cool low light tank,


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## yorkshire (Jul 27, 2004)

I think its very important to look at what light spectrum your lights produce. green plants photosynthesis best under light with an emphasis in the pink/red spectrum, where as 'red' coloured plants need light from the blue end of the spectrum to grow best. trouble with blue orientated lights is that algae also preferes this spectrum.
just a thought guys


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