# Lighting recommendation for 45 Gallon Tall tank



## Blackwood (Mar 31, 2009)

I just picked up a used 45 gallon 'tall' tank that I'm trying to figure out lighting on. It's 36" wide, 12" deep, and 24" tall.

I plan on setting this up as a community fish planted tank and using PC lighting. Given the difference in lumen output between NO and PC lighting, how many watts would be ideal for 'midrange' lighting on this? I'm not going to use any 'High light' requirement plants, so I'm not sure how much lighting I need to get.

I have a 96watt PC bulb from my 125gallon tank that's 3000 miles away, but I think that'd be too much light for this tank.

Given the depth (24") of the tank, would a 55watt PC light be a good midrange light output setup for this tank? Or would 96 watt be better?

I originally had 4 96 watt lights in my 125 gallon but that proved to be too much light. Just 2 of the bulbs running worked out very well. Seeing that this tank is less than 1/2 the volume, would 96 watts overpower it?

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. I've been away from tanks for a couple years and am just getting back into it with a small tank for now. Until I can get my 125 gallon shipped back to me that is.

Thanks,

Blackwood


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## aspects (Feb 22, 2009)

are you sold on PC? or thinking of other options?
you could always go with T5HO


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## Blackwood (Mar 31, 2009)

I ended up getting a 36" T5HO 2 bulb fixture for a total of 78 watts for the tank. It works out to about 1.73 WPG, so I think that'll be enough for what I'm doing. Now I need to work out the fertilizer issue, and what plants I'm going to use. 

Thanks for the suggestion though. It was a good one.


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## aspects (Feb 22, 2009)

which light did you end up buying (brand wise)


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## Blackwood (Mar 31, 2009)

Not sure of the brand. I bought them new on eBay. It's a 2 bulb T5HO fixture, full setup with a 12k and actinic bulb included (since replaced) for $57 shipped. I couldn't beat the price, so I couldn't say no to it. 

Here's a link to an identical auction. I have nothing to do with them other than buying one for my tank. 

http://cgi.ebay.com/36-T5-HO-Aquarium-Reef-Light-78W-Odyssea-2x39W-Leg-New_W0QQitemZ120404966883QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item120404966883&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A1205|66%3A2|65%3A12|39%3A1|240%3A1318|301%3A1|293%3A1|294%3A50

The included mounting bracket is pretty useless, but the fixture itself is perfectly fine. I couldn't see paying $100 + for most of the systems out there. This will do fine for me for quite a while.


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