# Low tech lighting for a 75 gallon



## R. Dirte (May 16, 2018)

Getting ready to set up a 75 gallon with blasting sand as substrate and low to mid light plants. Plan on dosing ferts. No CO2. Have 2 dirted 10 gallons that I have cheap dimmable leds on. They are doing good. Was wanting advice on a good led light for the 75 at a decent price. I don’t need thunderstorms or disco settings, just a good light for plants. Also small tanks are all I’ve ever had, is one light enough to cover the 18” of tank width? It’s a standard size 75. Thanks for the help


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## Outofwater (Mar 30, 2018)

I'm in the same boat, 75 with bdbs and would love to hear the recommendations. Right now I have 4 48" fluorescent tubes over the tank and the tank looks nice but I would love an alternative. 

I was at the fish store this weekend and was asking about this and it seemed like I either needed to spend a small fortune on LEDs or continue to replace florescent tubes every 8 months or so.


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## The Dude1 (Jun 17, 2016)

Beamswork FSPEC x 2 with TC421 to control them will give you plenty of spread and the ability to increase or decrease with the addition of C02. Both fixtures and a TC421 would cost about $150. I dont know if the other fixtures I've researched (Fluval 3.0 and Current Plus Pro) would give adequate spread. Wiring up the TC421 with those 2 looks pretty easy (I have 3 TC421 controllers on the way). Check out my thread "dimming multiple fixtures". @jeffkrol and another member discuss wiring. Relatively easy since both are 15v. Could wire up both power supplies or use a single Meanwell power supply. I'm actually doing exactly this on one of my high tech 75 gallons as they are mostly crypts, anubias, and ferns.


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## R. Dirte (May 16, 2018)

Have fluorescents on a 20 high that’s doing good, but don’t want to keep replacing bulbs. Technology is phasing them out. After reading a lot and watching some YouTube vids think I’m going with a Finnex Planted+ 24/7 CC. Was considering the FugeRay but looked like it would need to be supplemented with more lighting on a 75. And I like that on the cc you can customize the 24/7 cycle. Not a big fan of how high the new brackets place light above the tank, but I’ll figure that out later. Haven’t shopped around but looks to be about $150. Hope you find what your looking for


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## Weidbrewer (Feb 14, 2018)

R. Dirte said:


> I’m going with a Finnex Planted+ 24/7 CC.


I was _just _about to pull the trigger on one of these a month or so ago...then I saw that the Fluval 3.0 is out. Same features and more, plus a 3-year warranty rather than 180 days. 

The warranty alone made me drop the idea of the Finnex with no further thought.


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## jeffkrol (Jun 5, 2013)

Outofwater said:


> I'm in the same boat, 75 with bdbs and would love to hear the recommendations. Right now I have 4 48" fluorescent tubes over the tank and the tank looks nice but I would love an alternative.
> 
> I was at the fish store this weekend and was asking about this and it seemed like I either needed to spend a small fortune on LEDs or continue to replace florescent tubes every 8 months or so.



Replacing 4 tubes w/ LEd's is a bit on the costly side..
And not sure why one would replace tubes every 8 months. They do last longer than that..at least good modern t5's 8's...


Are you running old t12's?

https://www.amazon.com/Beamswork-FS...1152615&sr=1-1-spons&keywords=beamswork&psc=1

One light is about equiv to 2 (well like 1.5-ish) 4' t5's...
2 should be pretty close for a 4x4 t12 set..

so $130 to replace the tubes.. loss of light w/ t5ho's (not a lot) equal or better than 4 t12's

Led's are listed as 2 for 10,400 direction-ally efficient lumens.. 

Go full gonzo (well semi gonzo) for $300
https://sbreeflights.com/sbox-fw-plant-lights/34-sbox-pro-32-timer-fresh-water-plant.html


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## Axelrodi202 (Jul 29, 2008)

What's your budget?


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## R. Dirte (May 16, 2018)

Under $200. Lower the better, trying to keep the wife happy. Fluval 3.0 is priced better than I expected. Was looking at a Current Satellite Plus Pro, but it’s over my budget. 


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## Weidbrewer (Feb 14, 2018)

R. Dirte said:


> Under $200. Lower the better, trying to keep the wife happy. Fluval 3.0 is priced better than I expected. Was looking at a Current Satellite Plus Pro, but it’s over my budget.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


I got mine on kensfish.com, because someone else on here recommended the coupon code "FLUVAL" for 15% off. Just checked, and it still works.


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## Outofwater (Mar 30, 2018)

jeffkrol said:


> Replacing 4 tubes w/ LEd's is a bit on the costly side..
> And not sure why one would replace tubes every 8 months. They do last longer than that..at least good modern t5's 8's...
> 
> 
> ...


I am currently running the outdated T12's, after researching I now know why they were free.

The every 8 month replacement was noted by one of the employees when I was asking them whether I should go LED or T5's. He said they dim over time and after the 8 month mark they are algae makers. 

Thanks for the suggestions the sBox looks really nice.


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## SpringHalo (Oct 13, 2017)

Looking at the PAR data for the beamswork DA FSPEC at 18" depth, you really only need a single one for a 75g tank to get low-tech lighting (50PAR). If you decide to upgrade to CO2 down the road or if you think the light spread isn't even enough, you can just add another one since they're so cheap.

EDIT: My experience comes from a low-tech 40b with a 30" DA FSPEC. Needs to run at 4h photoperiod to avoid algae.

If you decide to get a second one for better spread, you can dim them with "Inline plug PWM dimmer" or similar.

A more expensive alternative is the fluval 3.0, though I don't have experience with one myself.


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## R. Dirte (May 16, 2018)

Guess I’m still researching. Thanks for all the great suggestions 


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## jeffkrol (Jun 5, 2013)

SpringHalo said:


> Looking at the PAR data for the beamswork DA FSPEC at 18" depth, you really only need a single one for a 75g tank to get low-tech lighting (50PAR). If you decide to upgrade to CO2 down the road or if you think the light spread isn't even enough, you can just add another one since they're so cheap.
> 
> EDIT: My experience comes from a low-tech 40b with a 30" DA FSPEC. Needs to run at 4h photoperiod to avoid algae.
> 
> ...



Problem is w/ even those old phosphor, lower efficiency t12's and probably crummy reflectors he could still be looking at a good 7000-12000 lumens over the tank..
going one light is only 5000 lumens.. is more of a risk than 2 w/ cheap in line dimmers..
If it was a new tank I'd agree.. as an older established tank.. decreasing light too much is probably problematic...

a LOT of assumptions here but..............


*OK update to the above w/ using some REAL t12 data,* I'm probably overestimating the results..


One light "may" be enough though w/ decreased spread..
https://www.plantedtank.net/forums/10-lighting/105774-par-vs-distance-t5-t12-pc-new-chart.html




> I know that a couple of 2 bulb T12 fixtures will grow plants in a 55 gallon tank. That tank is 20 inches deep, so if the substrate thickness is about the same as the height of the bulbs above the top of the tank, each bulb should give about 9 micromols of PAR, or 36 micromols for 4 bulbs. That is right in the middle of the low light range. So my data is consistent with real life results.


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## colleenmkirby (Jul 17, 2018)

I have a 65-70 gallon tank with the Finnex Planted+ that I use on the max setting for 8 hours a day (not the 24hr cycle). There are about 23-24 inches from my substrate to the light. My plants are basic low light plants (java fern, crypts, Anubis, swords) but I am not happy with the growth. I dose with Seachum complete and add root tabs. Should I add more light or do I need Co2?


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## Sentinel (Jul 15, 2018)

colleenmkirby said:


> I have a 65-70 gallon tank with the Finnex Planted+ that I use on the max setting for 8 hours a day (not the 24hr cycle). There are about 23-24 inches from my substrate to the light. My plants are basic low light plants (java fern, crypts, Anubis, swords) but I am not happy with the growth. I dose with Seachum complete and add root tabs. Should I add more light or do I need Co2?


You 100% NEED Co2 and will love the results and wish you added it sooner.


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## R. Dirte (May 16, 2018)

Went with the Finnex because it has 8 programmable time slots vs. the 4 on the Fluval. I’ll update if I have regrets, gonna set the tank up next weekend hopefully. 


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## Outofwater (Mar 30, 2018)

R. Dirte said:


> Went with the Finnex because it has 8 programmable time slots vs. the 4 on the Fluval. I’ll update if I have regrets, gonna set the tank up next weekend hopefully.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


I'm very curious to hear your feedback as I ended up going with the fluval.


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## mgeorges (Feb 1, 2017)

colleenmkirby said:


> I have a 65-70 gallon tank with the Finnex Planted+ that I use on the max setting for 8 hours a day (not the 24hr cycle). There are about 23-24 inches from my substrate to the light. My plants are basic low light plants (java fern, crypts, Anubis, swords) but I am not happy with the growth. I dose with Seachum complete and add root tabs. Should I add more light or do I need Co2?





Sentinel said:


> You 100% NEED Co2 and will love the results and wish you added it sooner.


Lol. No one NEEDS CO2, especially not for the mentioned plants. It would improve growth, but would also require more adjustments - more fertilizers, probably more light, more of a time dedication. The first thing I would try is dosing an actual complete fertilizer. I'm not sure what Seachem Complete is, do you mean Advanced? Flourish? Root tabs probably aren't doing anything for your Java Fern and Anubias, so they'll be suffering on the macro side as Seachem Flourish does not provide enough N or P, has some K though.


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## R. Dirte (May 16, 2018)

Only been 2 weeks but happy with the Finnex so far. Plants are growing fine, especially the duckweed . Just leaving it in 24/7 mode for now. Loosing my reds but that was expected with low light. Tossed the hornwort and added some corkscrew val. I’ll update after it grows in and I add rest of the fish.










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## Outofwater (Mar 30, 2018)

looking good.


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