Hi, Looking for lighting for a new 1,5m tank. Will be doing CO2 and want to be able to grow a carpet etc. Available locally would be a huge bonus! Thanks Rob
How about T5s with alanoid reflectors? No need to buy the expensive ones from the petstores. Osram bulbs from the local lighting store work well.
+1 on this...you can build a cheap DIY lighting system using this and the bulbs are very cheap if you need to replace. depending on what you want to grow will depend on how many bulbs you use.
How deep is the tank? If over 45 cm you should go with LED spots (in which case DIY skills will save you a fortune) or Metal Halides. You can go with T5s but you will need more than for a shallow tank and commercial units probably won't cut it. See Figure 3: http://www.apsa.co.za/xenforo/threads/lighting-basics-for-people-new-to-the-aquascaping-hobby.11329/ .
Thanka for the help. Are DIY LED components avaiable in south africa? Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk
I buy most of my LED's on bidorbuy supplier is LED select awesome service ,great selection and they stock Cree LED's. they based in Cape Town Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I'm not terrified of DIY but I find all the info on the web overwhelming. Any suggestions as to which bulbs to get and how many I would need? Thanks- Or a link to a DIY I could follow would be great!
I run 4no 54w t5's over my 1.2. Buy the ballasts from the manufacturer and tubes from The Lamphouse. Really cost effective and works well.