recomended florescent bulbs

[Joefrommi65]

Hi all,
Could someone recommend some 18 " florescent bulbs I have to cheap fixtures that came with the 55 gal. tank ?
I want to plant some simple plants like java fern ,Java moss or something that dosn't need crazy light requirements or CO2 systems. I want to stock my tank with some lesser agressive cichlidsand hopefully some loaches or corys maybe a bnp and a school of maybe tetras or barbs.

 

[foster53]

With plants you should use 6500-8000K bulbs

 

[Joefrommi65]

Thanks Foster,I had forgot about this post and when I looked under the search tab I found that I could look at all posts by me ...lol duh

 

[BBradbury]

Florescent Lighting

Hi all,
Could someone recommend some 18 " florescent bulbs I have to cheap fixtures that came with the 55 gal. tank ?
I want to plant some simple plants like java fern ,Java moss or something that dosn't need crazy light requirements or CO2 systems. I want to stock my tank with some lesser agressive cichlidsand hopefully some loaches or corys maybe a bnp and a school of maybe tetras or barbs.

Hello Joe...

I've used GE aquarium plant bulbs from the local hardware store. You should be able to get 6500K, either T8 or T12 bulbs for just a few dollars. If you keep plants that require subdued lighting like Anubias, Java fern, some of the taller Amazon swords and most of the mosses like Singapore, a couple of small bulbs should be plenty.

Low light plants don't require CO2 and if you have a reasonable fish load, you won't need to add any ferts. You'll need to perform water changes regularly to maintain healthy nutrient levels. Half the volume of the tank every couple of weeks is enough to keep the plants and fish healthy.

Pretty simple.

B

 

[Joefrommi65]

Thanks, I will check out ace hardwere