80 gallon bow tank is it to tall to do a planted tank?

I have a new 80 gallon bow front tank. Iam interested in doing a dirt tank. Not sure if it is going to be to tall to get light down to the bottom. I also have two very large clown loaches.

If I can do a planted tank. What kind of plants will hold up with the loaches?

Depth is 25" I have an Odyssea light fixture with 4 T5 tubes 54 W bulbs 6500K

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Permalink Reply by Shane Church - Churchhealzimpact on July 29, 2011 at 7:10pm

Lighting isnt an issue with the t5's...you will be fine. Most all plants should hold up with the loaches...what i would do is plant the tank and leave the loaches out for a few weeks until the plants start rooting a bit. Check out my forum post (step by step dirt tank)...should be solid... you can find it under "FAQ" tab. Hope everything goes well.

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Permalink Reply by Shane Church - Churchhealzimpact on July 30, 2011 at 12:18am

Roger that...all 4 will be high light, and amazing, lol.

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Permalink Reply by Dan on July 30, 2011 at 1:46am

Your light will be just fine. Check out the T5-HO WPG chart in the lighting section of the forum, it should help you out.

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Permalink Reply by Jennie G on July 30, 2011 at 9:14am

Ok, great thanks for the input!

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Permalink Reply by Mike R. on August 2, 2011 at 1:48am

Wattage per gallon for planted tanks is relatively useless anymore in the hobby now, what people should actually rely on would be the lighting PAR, by researching the "PAR" of your lighting fixture it helps you to make the necessary adjustments to get the lighting fixture correctly installed above the tank.

Because wattage per gallon doesn't help one with the measurements of the fixture as it relates to the "heidth" above the top of the tank, such as 4" heidth using fixture mounting legs, or hanging the fixture from the ceiling or from a brace connected to the stand.