my brain light shorted, help me pick a light for my 125g

[Complexity]

s 312watts (2.4wpg) enough to grow just about everything in my list above?

Absolutely! It's a very sweet spot that should do well, especially with T5HOs. Not so bright that everything will be in overdrive, but definitely enough light to grow a wide variety of plants, including many others not on your list (yet )), such as plants with some red color in them.

Also, Yes I will be running Co2..

This is going to be a really nice setup! Because your tank is so long, consider how you'll rig your outtake to ensure that the CO2 is distributed throughout the tank. While you're at it, I'd suggest that you consider adding a pH controller if you haven't already. Among the many advantages, it's especially helpful with preventing the dreaded end of tank dump that can cause overdosing the CO2 when the cylinder loses pressure at the end.

how do you like my wood and its placement?

Very nice pieces for a tank so large! My only suggestion is to not center the two pieces. Pull them off-center. Look into the concept of the golden ratio with planted tanks.

[mhx]

funny, marinedepot has the 36in bulbs in stock now

[geoff_tropheus]

I got the 72" Aquatic Life fixture and it is a really nice fixture, its bigger than expected but it has built in timers and its really easy to setup and enjoy.

You'll be very happy.

I personally dont like the 10K/Actinic combo, but until these lights go dead I will not be repalcing them anytime soon.

I personally like the 12K Actinic White by Giesemann.

[Zulaab]

Geoff.. the only thing is he is going planted.. the actinic are not going to do him any good, and it will melt some plants, because they cannot handle the blue.
This is why I am saying replace the actinic with Gieseman Aquaflora which are plant lights.. keep the white 10k's in there for the "normal" lights.

[ddaquaria]

My 4 bulb arrangement on my planted tank includes:
Midday, Aquaflora, Aquablue Plus, and Pure Actinic (I don't remember the order right now)

For a 2 bulb, I would do just the Midday and Aquaflora.

[Complexity]

This is why I am saying replace the actinic with Gieseman Aquaflora which are plant lights.. keep the white 10k's in there for the "normal" lights.

I second this suggestion. There's no point in going to all the trouble of getting a good light fixture and then scrimping on the actual bulb. Lighting is one of the most important components of a planted tank. Save money elsewhere, but not on the lighting. Scrap the actinic bulb and replace it with a good plant-friendly bulb. You can't get any better than a Giesemann Aquaflora in this case.

[Complexity]

My 4 bulb arrangement on my planted tank includes:
Midday, Aquaflora, Aquablue Plus, and Pure Actinic (I don't remember the order right now)

For a 2 bulb, I would do just the Midday and Aquaflora.

I'm going to offer a second reason for running a combo of two Midday and two Aquaflora bulbs.

When running a setup with bright lights, controlling the photo period is crucial for obtaining a good mix of bright light without algae. Frequently, this can be accomplished by running only 2 of the 4 bulbs all day with a "noon burst" in which the other 2 bulbs also run. This could result in a combination like this:

– = off
0 = on

0––0 (bulbs 1 and 4 are on)
0000 (all bulbs are on for noon burst)
0––0 (bulbs 1 and 4 are on)

However, there is a drawback. This means that bulbs 1 and 4 will need to be replaced much earlier than 2 and 3, simply because they are run many more hours overall.

Secondly, and I think even more important, is that this combination means that only the bulbs on the outside edges of the tank are run all day long. While it may not seem like a big deal, consider that only one of those two bulbs is an actual aquaflora bulb. Consider the distance between the aquaflora bulb and the plants in the tank. With planted tanks, even a few inches can make a big difference.

You can, alternatively, use this combo:

–00–
0000
–00–

This is better, but there is an even better combo. Consider this:

–00–
0000
0––0

Now you're doing a better balance of the time duration of running all 4 bulbs (each bank of two bulbs runs for half a day with an overlap for the noon burst).

This works well with using two aquaflora and two midday bulbs. You could have a combo like this (A = Aquaflora, m=Midday):

–Am–
mAmA
m––A

However, consider adding an actinic bulb into the mix. (b = Blue Actinic)

–bm–
mbmA
m––A

or

–Am–
mAmb
m––b

It does not matter how you slice it, the end result is having just one aquaflora bulb running for 1/2 a day AND having to deal with the distance of the plants to that one bulb.

You could go back to the idea of not balancing the bulbs so you get something like this:

–Am-
mAmb
–Am-

Okay, if anyone has actually read this far down :ym_chatterbox: and has somehow understood all that , I hope it's easy to see why replacing that actinic bulb just makes sense. When considering all that goes into having a 125g planted tank, why then scrimp on the actual bulbs?

[Matt in Houston]

Other than the human seen visible color, is there a downside to running all bulbs aqua flora in a planted tank?

[Complexity]

Other than the human seen visible color, is there a downside to running all bulbs aqua flora in a planted tank?

Not that I know of. I've known some people who have done it with excellent results. It's probably better for the plants themselves. The Midday bulbs are added as a compromise between giving the plants the light they need and giving us a light pleasing to our eye.

[mhx]

wow thank you... i did order 4 Aquaflora .. It should be here WED. I will have to experiment with the lights. Anyone want to buy 4 Actinic+ 36in lights? :)

[Zulaab]

Suggestion would be put them up for sale in the sale section where everyone can go at it.

[ddaquaria]

Just so it is understood, I don't do a noon burst. I run all 4 bulbs at the same time. In order to overcome the algae after my switch, I increased teh CO2 and decreased the lighting period by 5 hours (7am to 3pm now versus 7am to 8pm)

Good luck with the all Aquaflora. I've tried it. Red plants look great, and green plants looked weird. I could not tell you how many combinations I tried before I liked what I saw. Even worse involving combinations, I have a 6 bulb setup on each of my tropheus tanks