Need lighting advice please

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nanofish

Aquarium Advice Freak
Joined
Jul 19, 2011
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I have a standard 55 gallon tank (48"X12"x21") that I would like to set up with frogbit. This will be my first attempt at keeping live plants. I know floating plants need low current so now I'm curious about lighting. I was looking into both T8 and T5 HO systems. I was told floating plants don't require CO2 but I can use fert if needed. The light would be right above the tank and if it's a T5 I most likely won't have a canopy. If I'm trying to get moderate lighting is something like this ( Odyssea T5 Aquarium Lighting )too much lighting?
 
Hello c...

Lighting is pretty simple if you're not trying to grow demanding plants. I have 6500 K, T8, 32 watt bulbs in my 55 G tanks and have Java fern, Anubias, Singapore moss, Cryptocoryne, a couple of varieties of Amazon sword, Peace lily, Onion plants, Water wisteria, Indian fern (floating) and some others.

I have several different kinds of liquid ferts I dose two or three times a week after the tank lights go out and the ferts seem to work better than dosing when the tank lights are on.

Anyway, that's how I grow my plants in a low light, low tech environment.

B
 
those oddysea fixtures are hard to beat, price-wise. That 2x54w on a 55 might put you in the medium/high area. It's hard to say, with a higher end fixture you'd be in the high light range but with these cheaper quality ones there's no telling. It's definitely good enough to grow most plants though.
 
Thank you both very much for the advice. I have a bunch to learn yet when it comes to plants and was getting confused reading all the different sites and books. I feel better about giving it a try now.
 
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