55gal Lighting/Planting question.

[Aremihc]

Please bear with me, this is going to be a long post with a multi-part question at the end.... I know sounds like a pop quiz, but please help anyway

So, I just recently got a 55gal Aquarium, and it came with a Single-Tube All-Glass Aquarium branded 40W light with built in reflector. I'm considering getting this fixture since it seems to be the most economical way of getting 2WPG.

This is a sampling of plants I want to put in the aquarium, depending on availability, and seeing them in person:
Ozelot Amazon Sword
Giant Hugrophila
Green Wendtii Crypt
Undulated Crypt
Windelov's Fern
Willow Moss
Dwarf Hairgrass
Java Fern
Tape Grass
Water Wisteria
Dwarf Ambulia
Corkscrew Val
Dwarf Sagittaria
Coffee Leaf Anubias
Brazilian Pennywort

Basically, I'm asking if the Nova Extreme will work for that setup. I'd also like to know if I could start planting without getting the new fixture and then upgrade before I add livestock. Lastly I'd like to know if I would need CO2 with this setup before I go ahead and build this.

 

[SpeedEuphoria]

Well if you want something cheap you can get 2 4' shoplight fixtures(dual bulb) with decent 6500K bulbs, normally are T12 or T8.

Without making a "hood" it may look a little tacky, but it does work. Or make a DIY hood, but after that you may as well just got the premade one

 

[Aremihc]

Well if you want something cheap you can get 2 4' shoplight fixtures(dual bulb) with decent 6500K bulbs, normally are T12 or T8.

Without making a "hood" it may look a little tacky, but it does work. Or make a DIY hood, but after that you may as well just got the premade one

Yeah, in the livingroom, live with my gf, kinda have to make anything visible look nice, hence the Nova Extreme. More concerned about the WPG/CO2 than the fixture.

 

[Purrbox]

At 2WPG on a 55 gallon aquarium CO2 will be beneficial but probably not required. I'd say go ahead and give it a try without and see how things go, you can always add it later if you decide you want to give CO2 a try. Oh and if you do go with CO2, please considered Pressurized over DIY. It will save you a lot of headaches and in the long run will be less expensive. For a 55 gallon you'd be looking at 5-6 2 liter bottles or 3 1 gallon bottles to be able to maintain sufficient CO2 levels.

Looks like you've picked out some really great plant options for your lighting levels. I look forward to seeing the pictures.

 

[Peyton]

IMO that light fixture will work good to grow those plants. With HO t-5s you may be real close to needing co2 though. If I were you I would wait till you have everything before setting it up. However I know it's hard to resist the urge to get it going. So if you must set it up try to do it with the low light plants only. Java/wendelov fern, dwarf sag, anubias, and wendetii crypt could be grown with your current light.

Personally my $.02 about DIY co2 system is to avoid it all together. It's output is too unstable and, for me at least, created more problems than it solved. I had four 2 liter bottles going on a 40gal and had to change 2 out a week to keep co2 levels where they needed to be. I must have used more sugar than the Hersheys chocolate company. Finally after several co2 accidents I bought a pressurized system and have never looked back.

Again, just my $.02.

 

[Aremihc]

nice to know!

 

[brutus]

i have same light ...great price

 

[spilzer]

I have the same light and it's a really great deal. The only thing I'm not completely satisfied with is that I wish it had mounting legs to raise it a bit off the cover. Right now I have it resting directly on the glass and as it's summer it makes my tank a little warm at times (I run a small fan to counteract the heat). I'll probably put together some sort of DIY stands (think small blocks of wood) but until then the fixture will stay close to the water. Other than that though is light is a really good piece of equipment.

 

[newfound77951]

I have about 2 wpg on my 55 (using 2x96 watt PCs with 50:50 bulbs), and while I do run CO2 (DIY) it does not appear to be necessary. I get faster growth with it but no problems without it, just slower growth. Personally I have not yet tried T5s on a planted tank but I liked them a lot for my SW tank.

Here is a semi-recent pic of my 55:

 

[brutus]

spilzer doesnt your fixture have built in fan?

 

[spilzer]

Yes, it does have a small built in fan but while it may reduce some of the heat of the fixture to keep the thing from melting down it doesn't really help reduce higher tank temps. The additional separate fan I have running blows across the surface of the water to induce evaporative cooling.

 

[brutus]

great looking tank newfound i like the rainbows

 

[neilanh]

I'm assuming the OP has made his choice by now. Dunno how I missed this thread last month. I would've recommended considering getting a 4x54W fixture to offer the opportunity to move more high-tech in the future if he wanted to go that route, and just use half of it for now.