# Lighting an 180 gallon aquarium



## vosstc (Jun 16, 2005)

I am overhauling an old tank left at my parents when I went to college and need to get some opinions since I've been out of the hobby.

*First the setup:*
*180 gallon all-glass aquarium (72"x24"x24")
*6x55 CF from AHsupply (and reflectors) ~6" off water, there are 2 rows of 3 lights that covers the entire length of the tank, positioned in the middle:
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*Substrate - Currently several years old flourite ~2 inches deep. I'll be adding more substrate but not sure what yet. I'm considering soil on the bottom and a smaller gravel cap for foreground plants.
*Have pressurized CO2
*Several large driftwood pieces
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Plants considered for the tank:*
o	Hygrophila corymbosa
o	Glossostigma elatinoides
o	Anubias Congensis
o	Java Fern (Microsorium pteropus) 
o	Echinodorus 'oriental'
o	Ludwigia peruensis
o	Echinodorus quadricostatus
o	Crypt, Walkerii
o	Sag, Dwarf Subulata (Sagittaria subulata)

*The question:*
My main concern is whether I will have enough/too much light for the tank. I would also consider supplementing the tank with nutrients as needed.

Low light plants I can hide from the light to some degree, but for the foreground glosso/HC what should I do provide correct lighting? I'd prefer to add/subtract PC.


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## Coltonorr (Mar 12, 2008)

vosstc,
I would say its enough light for a lower light setup. I think you would have a difficult time getting Glosso/HC to carpet your foreground. I think for your crypts/ low light plants you are fine.


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## Gatekeeper (Feb 20, 2007)

Coltonorr said:


> vosstc,
> I would say its enough light for a lower light setup. I think you would have a difficult time getting Glosso/HC to carpet your foreground. I think for your crypts/ low light plants you are fine.


Agreed. I think the Glooso and HC will try and stretch for the light. 

But give it a shot! You can always add more light later.


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## vosstc (Jun 16, 2005)

Wow, thanks for the fast replies!

I get the impression that it's possible, but definitely not optimal for plants with higher requirements. I'd like to be able to house a variety of plants with different requirements... which means a creative light setup. 

I think reworking the canopy would be a good investment before things are all setup. I had considered adding 2-3 more bulbs in a new front row and lowering that row closer to the water.

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The bold row being the new front row dropped another 3 or 4 inches to the water level.


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## Hoppy (Dec 24, 2005)

I think if you maintain good CO2 concentration and uniformity in the water, which can be very difficult in that size tank, you can grow HC and glosso with the current light, just slower than usual. If you "dry start" the HC/glosso, it should work even better, and using ADA Aquasoil will also improve your chances of it growing as you want it to. The advantages will be far less algae problems, and the dry start method will eliminate the ammonia leaching problems with the Aquasoil (it will be virtually mineralized before you fill the tank with water). Of course there are always other options.


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## JDowns (Mar 6, 2008)

I agree with Hoppy here. That should be more than enough light to grow any foreground or any plant you want if you supply adequate amounts of Carbon. Your rate of growth may be slower than that of T5's, but this will also give you more wiggle room with CO2.

I definatly wouldn't consider that lighting "low light".

Read through Tom's par data thread.


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## vosstc (Jun 16, 2005)

Everyone so far, thanks for the input!

The "dry-start" method is pretty interesting, a concept I had never seen before. I don't think I'll have the time to utilize that though. Also, the ADA aquasoil looks awesome and I think I'm going to use that as my substrate that I add to the tank in addition to some of the flourite already in there.

I had read several important threads so far, but not that one which was an interesting read. I had seen one about PAR levels with standard CFLs, which is why I'm either going to add, or shift a row to the front some and lower them. Probably shift to allow less light intensive plants to be more comfortable in the back.


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## Coltonorr (Mar 12, 2008)

In my 54 bowfront with 2 AH Supply 55w PC's, I can't grow any foreground plants like Glosso or HM. It is CO2 injected, with dry ferts, Excel and Flourish. 
I am now growing Staurogyne sp. ‘Porto Velho’  and it is doing well.


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