single bulb?

[justrelax]

it was my intention to wait until i had the bux saved up to go all out on planting my 55. hah.
i currently have a single flourescent bulb 48" strip. i want to plant clover. is there a bulb i can put in to provide enough light to do this? and will it work with my sand substrate?

 

[Tong]

This is something I think you are simply going to have to try. First get a T8 bulb as they are generally brighter than T12s. You might also want to try a plant and aquarium bulb. IME, they give out slightly more, but not a real significant amount, plant usable light. This is still effectively under 1 WPG though so if you have a good reflector that should help. Adding CO2 will also help.

I don't have experience with clover, but most references site them as low - med light plants. Anything under 1 WPG is very low light and your lighting may not be sufficient. You might have better luck with java moss. I've grown that in about 0.55 WPG.

 

[Zezmo]

FWIW, I am growing aquatic clover in full shade in my main tank. As Tong mentioned, If you can get the plant easily, try it and see if it works.

 

[travis simonson]

Aquatic clover (Marsilea spp.) grows quite well in the shade as Zezmo says. I've seen the dang stuff grow in almost complete shade Although I would still recommend having close to one watt per gallon of light for any plants.