Aquatic Life dual lamp t5 HO freshwater fixture

[angelgirl66]

Hi,


Can someone please tell me what kind of light this would be considered to be, as in low,medium etc.

http://www.aquaticlife.com/sites/default/files/specsheets/420145.pdf

There are two bulbs, one is a roseate 54w 650nm. The other, a white 54 w 6000 k.

 

[angelgirl66]

Any one care to respond?

 

[Convict2161]

I'm not a plant guy so I can take a guess and say medium to low. I've seen some planted tanks rocking 10k bulbs.

Just a guess

 

[mr_X]

The color temperature of the lamps doesn't dictate how powerful the fixture is. You must also consider wattage and the overall efficiency of the fixture. Does it have individual reflectors, or is it a single reflector? What size tank is it over? How deep are you reaching with the light?
An exaggerated example would be:
If this 2 lamp fixture was individually reflected and You had it over 6" of water, I would say you have plenty of light. If you are lighting a 75 gallon tank, I would say you have low lighting.

 

[angelgirl66]

Well my tank is 55g. According to the spec sheet, it has a total of 108 w. I measured from the light to the substrate and its 21 inches. Here is a pic of my tank

 

[angelgirl66]

Oh and I think it has one reflector over both bulbs if that makes any sense

 

[Hholly]

Did you grow all those plants with it? Your tank looks great!

 

[angelgirl66]

I've had the sword, wisteria, a few crypt balansae, and some other crypt for a year. It's only been 3 weeks with pressurized Co2, and I recently bought more plants, that so far seem to be doing good. Thanks for the kind words

 

[angelgirl66]

mr_X, what are your thoughts now regarding this light. Total watts is 108, and one reflector over both bulbs. Light to substrate is 21 inches over a 55g

 

[mr_X]

Well, I don't have a lot of planted tank experience, but the way I see it, photosynthetic creatures are photosynthetic creatures, and I would consider this light low to moderate.

 

[angelgirl66]

Would it make it better if I were to put in a 10,000 K bulb?

 

[mr_X]

No. As I said earlier, the color temp of the lamps (6000k, 10k, 12k....) isn't going to make much of a difference.

 

[angelgirl66]

Ok thank you. I'll have to get a better light when I can afford it