Lighting sure is hard

[Tinafina]

New 60g tank. with no lights. going to add plants. need advice on lighting. brands, $200 a decent deal on a light? is moon lighting just better for the observers or is it good for the fish as well? are there types of brands that are better for lights, etc.

 

[meegosh]

What is the footprint of the tank? Dimensions will help us to give some recommendations. Also the depth will help some.

What types of plants are you looking to grow? Are you dosing CO2 or ferts?

I've never used moonlights, I think they are more of a gimmick than anything else. Maybe in the SW world it is different.

 

[Bbush]

I think moonlights look cool. I don't think they are necessary. Some have said to use only sparingly; so I think they might even be detrimental. Also, $200 should get u a sweet light!

 

[Tinafina]

What is the footprint of the tank? Dimensions will help us to give some recommendations. Also the depth will help some.

What types of plants are you looking to grow? Are you dosing CO2 or ferts?

I've never used moonlights, I think they are more of a gimmick than anything else. Maybe in the SW world it is different.

Width- 15.5"
Length- 48.5"
Height- 17.25"
Hope this helps.

 

[Tinafina]

I think moonlights look cool. I don't think they are necessary. Some have said to use only sparingly; so I think they might even be detrimental. Also, $200 should get u a sweet light!

I asked my LFS guy how much and he quoted me 200. He has an awesome live plant tank. I was just wondering if I coulda find cheaper on amazon.

 

[meegosh]

You could go with any 4' light. I'd look at T5HO's if I were buying new. It really depends on what type of plants, if you plan on dosing CO2/ferts, etc. You can get a $500 light and only grow algae if you don't inject CO2 and ferts. It is a balancing act between, ferts, co2 and light. If you just have excess light you have an imbalance which leads to algae.

You must go all or nothing when it comes to higher light tanks. They are not set and forget tanks either. They require weekly trimming, almost daily tinkering with ferts at first, etc.

 

[Tinafina]

You could go with any 4' light. I'd look at T5HO's if I were buying new. It really depends on what type of plants, if you plan on dosing CO2/ferts, etc. You can get a $500 light and only grow algae if you don't inject CO2 and ferts. It is a balancing act between, ferts, co2 and light. If you just have excess light you have an imbalance which leads to algae.

You must go all or nothing when it comes to higher light tanks. They are not set and forget tanks either. They require weekly trimming, almost daily tinkering with ferts at first, etc.

I have tahitian black sand so no can do grass
Being new I have to start out simple. I was told good lighting and co2 is all I needed.
Thanks for ur advice- I will def use it.

 

[mohican]

48" Nova Extreme T5HO.

 

[jetajockey]

A 2 bulb t5ho should be more than enough. You can get a really cheap oddysea one on ebay for under $70 shipped, but honestly I'd probably go with a fishneedit or catalina fixture with individual switches, just in case you need to adjust the light level. If you plan to run pressurized co2 then it shouldn't be an issue but it could be otherwise. You don't have to run co2 to have a nice planted tank, but you have to limit the light intensity also so there is less demand for it.

 

[maxwellag]

A 2 bulb t5ho should be more than enough. You can get a really cheap oddysea one on ebay for under $70 shipped, but honestly I'd probably go with a fishneedit or catalina fixture with individual switches, just in case you need to adjust the light level. If you plan to run pressurized co2 then it shouldn't be an issue but it could be otherwise. You don't have to run co2 to have a nice planted tank, but you have to limit the light intensity also so there is less demand for it.

I have a fishneedit and it doesn't have individual switches. Maybe the larger ones do.

 

[jetajockey]

Maybe it's just the catalina ones then.

Catalina Aquarium That one says it has an independent light switch, I guess that means there is some control? The 3x54 planted one I had my eye on definitely has controls on it. Here it is T5 PLANT GROW HOOD , great price.

My oddysea 3x54w has a digital clock display with individual controls for 1 bulb, 2 bulb, or 3 bulb output as well as LED moonlights. The digital timer allows control over each one by setting on/off times. My only gripe is that it doesn't put out a ton of light. Enough to do the job, but I'd put it at the output level (or less) of a 2 bulb 2x54 by catalina or FNI.

48" T5 HO Aquarium Lighting Freshwater Plant 162W Timer | eBay

 

[Deep Seven]

I've heard of some fish that use the moon cycle to breed and a moonlight that brightens and darkens like the actual moon over 4 weeks helps them do that, but for the most part the moonlight is for the people not the fish.

A light fixture that allows you to operate the bulbs independently would let you ease into plants. Then as you get more complicated plants with higher light requirements and you're ready to use ferts and CO2 then you can use more light without buying a new fixture.

 

[Devon6209]

I bout a 3 bulb odyssea fixture for 85 shipped on eBay. The bulbs have thier own on/offs. So u can have 0 1 2 or 3 bulbs on. And it has moonlights. With thier own on offs also. And a have a built in timer

 

[Tinafina]

so i get it, the higher the K the bluer the lighting is. plant growth lighting is only for baby plants or all plants in general? I'm trying to figure out what bulb i need to order.

 

[mfdrookie516]

That's pretty much how it works. The higher the color temp, the bluer it is. Generally, somthing in the 6500k is optimal, though color temp means nothing. For optimal plant growth, I've found a 1:1 mix of Geisemann Aquaflora and Midday bulbs works best, though YMMV.