30 watt 55 gall

[liljosh609]

Can I grow anything in a 55 gallon with 2-15 watt floramax bulbs? Right now I have a java fern, and Hygrophila kompakt. thanks

 

[JesseMessykinn]

Im not a expert but youll be extreamly limited with that little bit of light. If you want to get planted id say get a nice t5ho fixture and some ferts. I love having a planted tank.

 

[ashleynicole]

I managed to keep plants alive in a 55 with just the two standard 15 watt bulbs... That was before I learned more about planting. I kept java fern alive, anacharis, some of those bulb lillys from Walmart and even dwarf sag. But they never really grew. The tops of the anacharis grew but the bottoms rotted.

 

[epiphysis]

When I started I had a 15watt T8 in a 30 gal. Managed to grow java fern, anubis and large valls and swords. But I upgraded it to a 25watt now and there is a lot of improvement.

 

[BBradbury]

30 Watt 55 G

Hello lilj...

Believe it or not, there are a number of plants you can grow in low light and if you get a little creative and float some of the moderate light plants attached to long pieces of driftwood, getting them close to the light source, you can grow those too.

I have large, low light tanks and grow Anubias, Java fern, Cryptocoryne, Singapore moss, Pond and Peace lily, Water wisteria and Pennywort.

I also have Banana lily attached to driftwood and floated. It grows well under just a single 32 watt T8 or 40 watt T12. Water wisteria and Pennywort will also grow well floated and attached to driftwood with thin, black sewing thread.

The local hardware stores carry 48 inch, GE aquarium plant bulbs for about $10.00 each and they'll easily last a year. Keeping large, planted tanks can be pretty inexpensive if you do your homework.

B

 

[liljosh609]

Thanks B. So if I just get the java fern attached to a piece of driftwood 4" from the top I should see improvement? Also what if I purchase 10,000 k high intensity bulbs? Would they help? Thanks