Re: [APD] Aquatic-Plants Digest, Vol 25, Issue 9

["William Lynn" <wlynn at telus_net>]

You could leave the 'dark areas' at the edges. I do this with 60" tank with 
48" T8's staggered, I plant Java Fern, Crypts or some of the long leaved 
plants (Thai Onion, C. Balanse) in this area.

Bill Lynn
>
> Message: 1
> Date: Sun, 04 Sep 2005 19:33:40 -0700
> From: Jerry Baker <jerry at bakerweb_biz>
> Subject: [APD] 2x175W Metal Halide and 72" Tank (135G)
> To: aquatic-plants at actwin_com
>
> I am in the planning stages of a 135G planted tank. I previously had a
> 75G planted tank that was a resounding success. On that tank I had 4x55W
> compact fluorescent from AH Supply. The plants did great. Everything
> from rotala to ludwigia were colored well.
>
> I am thinking of going with MH for my 135G tank (72" x 18" x 24").
> Keeping in mind that my previous tank was running 220W for 48", it
> seemed reasonable that 350W for an additional 24" should cut it. That
> makes 2 x 175W MH, but I have seen it recommended that you have one MH
> for every 24" of tank length. Since electricity costs me 11.9 cents per
> kWH, I am not keen on having 525W of lighting running for 12 hours per
> day. Not to mention that I probably won't be able to use my microwave
> while that setup is running without tripping a breaker.
>
> Anyway, I want to know how bad the "dark spot" in the middle would be if
> I placed only two 175W MH hood-mounted retrofits over a 6' tank. Of
> course, each would be placed 18" from the ends of the tank. Would it
> really be so bad? My plan is to have a rather large sword somewhere in
> the middle, and since they don't need a lot of light relative to some
> other plants, this shouldn't be too bad. Am I off base?
>
> If someone has a 6' tank with only two MH over it, I would love to see a
> picture so I could get some sort of idea.
>
> Thanks.
>
> -- 
> Jerry Baker
>


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