First planted tank. Advice on Lighting.

[cichlidicted]

Hey... new to aquascape
Just a simple question. I've been doing some research lately regarding the WPG theory. I currently have a 90g, eheim 2217, 200w heater ... just missing lighting and substrate.

For lighting I ended up with these options, what would you recommend ?

1. Current USA Satellite 48" 2 x 65 Watt Power Compact-Single Strip W/2 Lunar Lights.
          ( a bit worried bout the 10,000k, based on what i read 6700k would be better)
2. Coralife Freshwater Aqualight Deluxe Double Linear Strip - 48" (4X65Watt)
          ( this fixture has 4 bulbs, any ideas how long they usually last for?)
3. Coralife 48" Aqualight Power Compact Strip Light- 2X65Watt

Would these lightings cause evaporation?   if yes, how to avoid it.


Appreciatte your help & Thanks in advance.

[zima]

My recommendation would be to get neither of the fixtures listed. Personally, and I only speak for my personal preference, I would go for T5 HO (High Output) flourescent fixtrues. While Power Compact bulbs provide an output of great intensity, they would need to be changed every year or so. Otherwise, they become energy suckers with rapidly declining output. It costs about $40-50 to change 1 55/65watt PC bulb.

T5 HO, on the other hand, provide no less intensity of light, while need to be changed every few years. Mine go strong for at least 2 years already, use a reasonable amount of energy, and I see no decline in output intensity. And they cost much less than the PC if you look for them outside of LFS. I have 4x54watts T5 HO over a 75 gallon tank (same as yours, but 3" shorter), and I can grow pretty much anything I want.

[Consigliere]

If you are stuck with those 3 options only #2 is definitely the best way to go.  You've got about 2.5 WPG going with that size which shouldn't really limit you in plant selection.

If you are starting from scratch I would at least look at T5HO. 

[cichlidicted]

I see an agreement over the T5HO  !!.... am not actually stuck to these options ... but i was looking at a LFS's website and thats what i found ... there features meet my requirments but then comes the quality that only ppl who used them can tell.

[Adam]

My recommendation would be to get neither of the fixtures listed. Personally, and I only speak for my personal preference, I would go for T5 HO (High Output) flourescent fixtrues. While Power Compact bulbs provide an output of great intensity, they would need to be changed every year or so. Otherwise, they become energy suckers with rapidly declining output. It costs about $40-50 to change 1 55/65watt PC bulb.

T5 HO, on the other hand, provide no less intensity of light, while need to be changed every few years. Mine go strong for at least 2 years already, use a reasonable amount of energy, and I see no decline in output intensity. And they cost much less than the PC if you look for them outside of LFS. I have 4x54watts T5 HO over a 75 gallon tank (same as yours, but 3" shorter), and I can grow pretty much anything I want.

While I agree that T5HO is better, especially when you can get 6500k bulbs for it for less than $10 at litemore or other local lighting shops, PC and T5 are made of the same thing.  PC is a bent 5/8" fluorescent tube.  T5HO is straight.  This means you can use a smaller reflector to catch more of the light.  The changing of bulbs should be the same because they are the same material.  Output for both are similar in their degradation.  T5s should be replaced about once every 12-18 months or so, and I could say the same about PC.

[charlie]

The debate on lighting is a endless one, i guess like most things in this hobby  ,i can tell you i have grown plants with Power compacts & T5 HO, for me it all came down to replacement cost of the bulbs, the compact fluorescent bulbs can be had outside of the LFs in a lower K rating ( 5000K i think)for a descent price  , it will grow plants just as well but will have a yellow cast, that said i have read where some long time hobbyist have ran their bulbs until they drop with no adverse effects that others claim will happen if you don`t change them out after X amount of time, perhaps they got lucky.
I `m presently using T5`s HO, i have not really noticed any difference in plant growth, but i like the fact that if one bulb burn out , i have the choice if replacing it with a $10.00 6400 K bulb or a 30+ dollar brand name bulb, again the  high cost T5 bulbs has not yet shown any advantage over the 10.00 bulb in terms of plant growth but sure gives you the option of personal visual satisfaction.

The preferred recommended spectrum for planted tanks is anything between 5000-10000 K, at the end of the day you need to figure out what type of plants you want to grow,the amount of light needed, the affordability by you & your replacement cost, you will probably read several different arguments for one type of lighting over the other & of course the other popular debate of what brand over the other.
My input is not driven by any scientific research , but purely from my little time dabbling in this hobby.
http://www.rexgrigg.com/light.html