Which light for a planted 55 gallon?

[Kimlafeiet]

Deciding between these two lights. 55 gallon standard tank, glass versatop lids. Will be using tahitian moon sand and flourite black mixed. Planting swords, val, moneywort, Cabomba, java fern on dw, and possibly some hairgrass (taller variety). Low tech, moderately planted. Dose with excel and flourish, root tabs. Rainbowfish tank.

Amazon.com: Aqueon LED Aquarium Light Fixture, 48-Inch: Pet Supplies

Amazon.com: Finnex FugeRay Aquarium LED Light Plus Moonlights, 48-Inch: Pet Supplies

Thoughts, suggestion, ideas welcome. I also have a Marineland single bright led 24inch that I could add if needed. I plan to plant more heavily on one side of he tank and less so on the other.

 

[Brian_Nano12g]

I'm a big fan of Finnex.. however with a tank as large as yours the Fugeray will provide low light at most. Maybe consider the Ray 2 version and just use some window screen to reduce the lighting if you start seeing algae. At least with the Ray 2, you'll have the ability to grow more light demanding plants like dwarf hair grass down the road if you choose to.

 

[Kimlafeiet]

Hey Brian,
Thanks for the feedback. If I go with the ray 2, will I have to get into the Co2 dosing with that much light? I do like the idea of being able to eventually plant more fully down the road, but I don't want to be overrun with algea either. Would I just use the regular mesh stuff that they use for window screening?
Also, question on the substrate. I want to use black sand (putting dojo loaches in the tank), would it be better to mix the flourite and sand, or do the flourite on the bottom and cap with the sand? both are black so I am not too worried about some mixing, but the loaches will never forgive me if I move them off thier sand bed.
Also, with the loaches, I know there is a possiblity they will try to dig up the plants. Would I be better to plant them in clay pots in the tank instead of just in the substrate? The loaches are going to be the last to go in the tank, probably in a couple months, which should give the plants some good time to root well.....thoughts?
aaaaand.............again, becasue of the loaches, nerite snails may not be an option. They have tried more than once to "taste" my large apple snails already. They seem ok with shrimp, but what other options do I have for algae control that would not be loach food?

 

[Brian_Nano12g]

Well with a 21" tall tank you'll have about medium lighting from the Ray 2 without the screen. I've never actually used window screen to dampen light intensity, but I've read it in a ton of threads. You can PM Billbug68 as he just added screen to his Ray 2.. His tank is much shallower so intensity would still be higher on his. PAR values diminish through distance, especial penetrating water depth.

CO2 wouldn't be necessary as long as you keep the excel dosing up. The use of excel in lieu of co2 can get expensive over time. You can consider using Metracide 14 as an excel replacement down the road. I believe its approx. 2.6% Glutaraldehyde. Its significantly cheaper and basically generic excel. If this interest you, PM Rivercats as she's experienced using this stuff.

IMO, CO2 injection is something to eventually upgrade to. IMO, it's still a notch or two above using liquid carbon alone.

As for the substrate question, I'm not sure about mixing it. It sounds fine to me. I just use Eco-Complete (floramax). I would imagine the finer sand eventually working its way below the flourite though. I would research that or start a new thead seeking advice specifically for that and the loaches.