stuwalters Posted December 21, 2011 Report Share Posted December 21, 2011 What sort of lighting would i need for a tank 8x3x2(h). Would like to make it a planted tank with maybe a few discus. Would 8 t5's cover it ok or would i need to go to MH. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
discus_noob Posted December 21, 2011 Report Share Posted December 21, 2011 8 foot is a large set up, you could go for twin metal halides or there is always the possibility of running 2 x 4 foot t5ho units however with the depth being so deep they would be limited and basically useless. I would stick to metal halides with that depth to be honest. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brockssracer Posted December 21, 2011 Report Share Posted December 21, 2011 It would depend on the plants you are going to use, whether you are running C02 and the amount of plants. Im sure Adam can advise you on the best options for lighting and the plants you can use in association with those lights. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jubes Posted December 21, 2011 Report Share Posted December 21, 2011 Yeah i agree with the metal halides. I have an 8 foot discus tank at work and we are only running t8s for ours. Still looks good. Just add products to increase plant growth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daydream Posted December 21, 2011 Report Share Posted December 21, 2011 i would decidd on plants and hardscape before buying lights as this will help with advice on outlay running cost and what is needed and what is overkill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
discus_noob Posted December 21, 2011 Report Share Posted December 21, 2011 (edited) i would decidd on plants and hardscape before buying lights as this will help with advice on outlay running cost and what is needed and what is overkill Agreed, give us some more info on the plants you want, the substrate you will be using and all the rest as you could get away with a much cheaper option. Are you wanting low tech plants if so then you could get away with MH lights possibly. 3 foot deep is massive haha! Sorry should of been more clearer when creating original post above as you can possibly get away with alternatives haha. That would be one monster to play with. I wanna one day do a big 8 footer like that and run metal halides and co2 and ahhhhh itd be great! Edited December 21, 2011 by discus_noob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
discus_noob Posted January 5, 2012 Report Share Posted January 5, 2012 Oh man sorry I totally misread what your tank dimensions were. They are only 2 foot high hey? I was thinking it was 3 foot high I was like far out light wont penetrate using anything but possibly metal halide haha! My bad, rookie mistake and could not even read. 2 foot high you could easily get away with PL, t5ho lighting or even t8 if you are going low light option mate Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boxhead1990 Posted January 9, 2012 Report Share Posted January 9, 2012 i run 4 39w t5ho on my 4x2x2 and light penetrates more then enough but my set up is more high tech tho......... just need to sort pressurised c02 and i dont have to mix yest anymore hahaha Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
