I am currently in the process of looking into new lighting for my tank. I currently use florescent lighting and need an upgrade. 125 gal 24" deep. I have a lot of plants and natural woods (African root wood and lake Michigan driftwood). Any suggestions

__________________
125 gallon community, planted and driftwood. 1 bala shark, 9 roselines, 3 tiger barbs, 4 rasbora tetras, 5 lemon tetras, 5 diamond tetras, 1 clown loach, 1 bristlenose pleco, 1 dwarf bristle nose pleco, 1 albino rainbow shark, 2 bamboo shrimp, 1 siamese flying fox, 4 cardinal tetras, 2 jurapari and , 2 electric blue rams.

10 gallon:10 red cherry shrimp, 1 crystal red shrimp, 100 snails and 5 assassin snails (hopefully no longer 100 snails) and various plants

I use LED aquarium lights for my tank , There are some fishes , and other freshwater plants , the sizes of my tank :59" *39"*24"
From a lot of research results , we all know that 3W LED bulbs can offer perfect spectrums for all kind of aquariums , also have higher par output ,

LED aquarium lights with only blue lights and white lights , it emits fantastic colors on your plants , you can enjoy it on your sofa,

The most important thing is that , LED lights can save your electricity bill , no any broken bulbs happend ,no heat to scorch your aquariums ......

Good morning Robo...

Plant lighting is pretty simple unless you keep extremely demanding plants. I'm "old school" and have always relied on the "watts per gallon" rule. Up to 1 watt of light per gallon for low light plants, 1 to 2 watts for moderate light plants and 3 to 5 watts for strong to bright light plants.

6500 K bulbs are recommended for growing most aquatic plants, because of the light blue color. This bulb best mimics natural daylight intensity and color.

1 to 2 watts of light per gallon of tank size will grow most plants, so I use 6500 K, 32 watt, T8s and add or subtract bulbs according to the needs of the plants.

Most aquatic plants are tropical and are used to long periods of sunlight, so I keep my lights on timers set for 12 hours on and 12 off.

Fertilizing is almost as important as lighting, so I have several different liquids I dose periodically to keep my plants healthy.

Not a very technical explanation and no doubt you're familiar with most of this stuff, but I've followed this information for quite a while and my plants have always grown well.

B

__________________
Low Tech Water Building Keeper

I have two 125s and they can be difficult to light - if you want to do it right. How much of an upgrade were you looking at? Will you be going with CO2 also?

Another thought to throw out there for ya.....shop lights.

Never failed me yet. :o)

I would love to get into c02 system but just can't afford it at this point. I am looking into some systems but I don't want to cheap out.

__________________
125 gallon community, planted and driftwood. 1 bala shark, 9 roselines, 3 tiger barbs, 4 rasbora tetras, 5 lemon tetras, 5 diamond tetras, 1 clown loach, 1 bristlenose pleco, 1 dwarf bristle nose pleco, 1 albino rainbow shark, 2 bamboo shrimp, 1 siamese flying fox, 4 cardinal tetras, 2 jurapari and , 2 electric blue rams.

10 gallon:10 red cherry shrimp, 1 crystal red shrimp, 100 snails and 5 assassin snails (hopefully no longer 100 snails) and various plants

Good site to retrofit a standard shop light fixture for some seriously high wattage:

Compact Fluorescent Lighting Kits

Another idea from your local hardware store - SHO lights:

SHO, CFL Aquarium Lights, Compact Fluorescent; Hydroponics Lighting, Lamps, Bulbs

My favorite lights are T5HO, but for a 125 gallon they can get very pricey. LED's are great, but they can get even MORE expensive (though, if you ask me I'd say the efficiency and savings on your power bill are worth it in the long run).

__________________
Officially fishless until after the move....tune in later for details!

I agree also only isn't a 125 6' long? Which is much more expensive then the really inexpensive 4' shop lights.

my .02

__________________
fw leiden since 1979, fo salt since 1979, mixed reef 55g 2002-2009. Strong emphasis on the tank taking care of itself. Balanced with plant life, no water changes, tap water, no filters in FW. Only dosing calcium, alk, mag in marine reef tanks. http://www.aquariumforum.com/f15/my-...ods-26410.html
recent tanks (till 2009) 7 years- 10g FW leiden 7 yrs, 55g mixed reef 7, 2 yrs, 20g FW leiden, 10 g fw leiden , 29g mixed reef, current tank 55g leiden