# Building a new tank, lighting update?



## sagespyder (May 21, 2013)

So I have this light on my current 55 gallon tank 

T5 Quad 48" 6500K Aquarium Light Strip Freshwater Plant 216W Grow Discus Tetra | eBay

I was wondering if I would need to upgrade the lighting when i build my 6ft x 2ft x 2ft tank. Since it is only slightly taller than my current tank I don't think I would need something more power full but there is a 2ft difference in length and over a 1ft difference in depth. The plants would be along the back and corners since I have large amazon swords. The other main plant is jungle vals and have done really well with these lights. The ones in my cool water tanks are not growing as thick or as fast with the led lights i have over that tank. 

I am also considering placing this tank on our counter/breakfast bar. For the size of the tank it would fit perfectly on the counter top however I am not entirely sure it will support the weight of the tank. If not I am going to have to buy a stand or make a stand. I built a stand for my husband's tv and computer but is now used as a stand for a 4'x2'x2' bearded dragon habitat but that is not filled with water  We rent so I can't exactly go in and add extra support to the counter top since they have 2 drawers on each side and cabinets underneath. 

Thanks you guys!


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## majerah1 (Oct 29, 2010)

I would be wary on the support. Also, the light may be ok but if you have the cash go ahead and upgrade. I think that would be the best idea.


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## woody019 (Oct 4, 2012)

Depending on how much money you want to spend on LED's, you can't go wrong with the Kessil a160 or a360 Amazon sun meant for planted tanks. I have 2 a360w tuna blues over my 75 SPS dominant reef tank and my corals love them. Light is very crisp, clean and the shimmer is amazing. 2 a160 Amazon Suns would be perfect over a 4x2x2 or 4 a160 over a 6x2x2. If you wanna drop a lot of money you could do 2 a360we Amazon Suns over a 4x2x2 you could prolly get away with 2 a360we's over a 6x2x2 you won't get shading on the edges but idk if it'll support what you want as the effect radius where you can grow whatever you want is 24". If you have no center brace 3 a360we's would allow you to grow whatever you want. If you have a center brace I personally would go with 4 a160's as you without a doubt would be able to support whatever you want and get around havibg to worry about the brace and save you some money. 

Or you could keep your lighting you already have run that during the day to be pleasing to the eye and supplement the tank with 4 used Kessil h150 purples off of eBay for $50-$70 a piece for a 6x2x2 and 2 for a 4x2x2. Run them on a timer at night. I have a used Kessil h150 purple I got off eBay over my refugium with cheatomorpha plant and I have to cut it back once a week. So I can personally vowge that the h-series kessils grow plants like crazy. If you can't tell I love my kessils haha plus they are the only company out there that make their LED's from start to finish and specifically design them for aquarium use. Every other company gets mass produced LED's (most of the time CREE) and puts them into a fixture. 

The least amount of money would be running your existing fixture with 10k bulbs to get the clean white look during the day and supplementing with Kessil h150 purple accordingly to the tank size at night. 

Just throwing ideas out there for LED lighting.


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## sagespyder (May 21, 2013)

I have LEDs on my subtropic freshwater tank and the plants there are not doing as well as with the 10k lights. But as you said it could be because the LEDs were not specifically made for aquariums and just housed for aquariums. It was orignially for my brackish tank for the Water Sprites but they did poorly under the lighting so I switched. 

I will have 2 support bars going across the top and lining along the edges like on a breeder tank. My current lights do have LED blue lights for moon light and it does well. I don't see it often since I stay up late into the night playing games or working. 

I will be building 2 tanks of the same size, one for the tropic and one for the brackish, but I only have 1 in 48", the other is 36". I would love to upgrade the lighting but as I might have to upgrade my filtration that might have to be put on the back burner. On both tanks, 55 and 40, they have submersible filters that are rated 2*1800 LPH which converts to 2*475 GPH. At least if I have to cut holes for a canister filter I have the tools to do that, slowly  ( 2 dremels and at least 50 diamond point sets, various attachments among other various drill bits, cutting bits, grinding, etc. It was enough for me to build a 4x2x2 desk that now holds a reptile habitat of the same size with custom inserts. )


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