Lighting

[wesleh]

I just recently purchased a 75g tank and will be making a planted tank. This is my first so basically a noob. So today I realized that there is a 10"x18" glass top that is right in the middle of the tank, that is siliconed in, pics below. When I use to work with reptiles we are not suppose to put a light source through the glass because the glass acts as a filter and it will not receive the rays that the animal needs. So my question is, is this the same for plants as well? I plan on putting a 48" fixture, so another question is will the light beams scatter to the the part where it is covered by that glass and the plants can receive proper lighting or will I not be able to put any plants under this part of the tank? If not able to, What are some options so that I can put plants under there? Thanks in advance!
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I was also going for this look, but still wanting to add plants to that section
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[mnemenoi]

Glass should not affect the spectrum. Just be sure and stick to a 6500K-10,000K spectrum in bulbs and you should be fine. We have glass tops on most of ours as well as most lighting having protective plastic sheeting under the bulbs. Depending on what type of lighting you are going with (PC, T5, LED, MH) plays a big role in determining light spread and depth penetration. Heating can also be a factor in this as many are very hot and can cook a tank. With a 75 you could be alright with a 4 bulb T5 and achieve high lighting (4-54watt bulbs 216 watts/ 216/75= 2.88 watts per gallon) though on that set up you'll certainly want to have CO2, especially with dense carpeting being a focus. Carpeting is very tough under medium lighting and algae ends up being crazy with high lighting and no CO2.

[wesleh]

Glass should not affect the spectrum. Just be sure and stick to a 6500K-10,000K spectrum in bulbs and you should be fine. We have glass tops on most of ours as well as most lighting having protective plastic sheeting under the bulbs. Depending on what type of lighting you are going with (PC, T5, LED, MH) plays a big role in determining light spread and depth penetration. Heating can also be a factor in this as many are very hot and can cook a tank. With a 75 you could be alright with a 4 bulb T5 and achieve high lighting (4-54watt bulbs 216 watts/ 216/75= 2.88 watts per gallon) though on that set up you'll certainly want to have CO2, especially with dense carpeting being a focus. Carpeting is very tough under medium lighting and algae ends up being crazy with high lighting and no CO2.

Thanks for the input! Yes, I do plan on running co2 once I get to that step. I'm also going with aqua soil amazonian. I was just asking now just incase I needed to remove that piece, so I can do it now before I put anything in it.

[mnemenoi]

You'll be fine. Aqua Soil is certainly a great choice in substrate. I'd certainly recommend looking into emersed growth initially on the HC if that is what you are wanting to go with as a carpet. Mistahoo recently set up a nano, but basically using AS and HC if you are interested in perusing that thread for some tips.