[Wet Thumb Forum]-Lights for new 150

[spiral]

I need suggestions for a relatively economical lighting setup for a 150 gallon tank (lower light plants). Lights confuse me.

[John N.]

ahsupply.com has kits that offer the best bang for the buck. I assume with 150 gallon its gonna have a nice canopy to cover it so those kits would be perfect. the AB store sells the same Ahsupply 2x55w kits for 100 including bulbs. I imagine you would need maybe 3 kits under the canopy for 2.2 wpg.

-John N.

[spiral]

Those kits are priced nicely, but I've never worked with a kit. How do they work?

[imported_russell]

they are very easy. i had absolutely no experience with that kind of thing, and i put my 1x96 watt kit together in about 1.5 hours.

all you do is take your old hood and take out all of the old components. you then install the new reflector and bulb holders. after that, you run the wires and connect everything. the kit probably comes with a wireing diagram. it's very simple. thats about it.

[John N.]

I haven't purchased any yet myself, but from my research. the kits come with clear instructions that anyone who can read and screw stuff can figure out how to put it together. It's a matter of attaching the wires to the right places, and putting the reflectors within your enclosure. You can perform a search, and find that people swear by their great performance, and ease of puttin it together.

-John N.

[DataGuru]

You could set something up fairly cheaply using pvc, clamp lights, and the 6500K screw in compact fluorescent bulbs available at wally world and various home improvement stores. Here are the DIY lights over my 125. I've added 6 more clamplights since that pic. You can figure about $10 per light between the cost of the bulb and clamp light reflector. or online you can find higher wattage screw in bulbs and you'd need fewer clamp lights. I'd shoot for 2-3 watts per gallon and you could grow almost everything except the most light demanding plants.

[spiral]

I spoke to the plant guy at a reputable place, and he says 2 5foot VHO lights for 160watts, light fixtures and the ballast would run me 700 dollars. This sounds fairly expensive. Is this right?


:/

[KRiley]

Alright figured I would chime in. I love AH Supply lights. Very simple to do, and the most bang for your buck. I have used Coralife fixtures and a few other lights...but AH is the best. I have 55 watts over a 29 gallon tank right now and I can grow just about anything.
If your lighting a 150 I would go with 4 96 watt compacts. Thats my plan for my 150 gallon. 700 bucks for a 160 watt setup, that seems kinda high.

[whiskey]

Ahsupply lights rule, their refflectors make the light much more effective. Over my 180 I have 6*55W ahsupply retrofit kit, and a NO shop light for dusk/dawn cycle. it works great. The VHO's for $700 is VERY expensave.

Whiskey

[sangpeiris]

For $700, u should be able to get a MH HQI setup