18000K Bulb

[Oceangirl]

I have a 29 gallon tank, single bulb fixture. (I know I kick myself)
How do I figure out my lighting for my bulb to my plants?

Melted my Anacharis (not meant to have it)
Amazon sword
Trying to save my Brazillian Penny wort
Rotala looks might be savable
HUGE portion Java moss
Water wisteria looks pretty good

Par rating or Watt per gallon?

 

[phin]

I have a 29 gallon tank, single bulb fixture. (I know I kick myself)
How do I figure out my lighting for my bulb to my plants?

Melted my Anacharis (not meant to have it)
Amazon sword
Trying to save my Brazillian Penny wort
Rotala looks might be savable
HUGE portion Java moss
Water wisteria looks pretty good

Par rating or Watt per gallon?

Watt per gallon is a general rule of thumb to calculate the lighting output in your tank when using standard flourescent bulbs.

When looking for the correct light for plants you need to look at more than the kelvin rating. The wavelength of the light output is most important. An 18000K bulb will be very high in the blue wavelength. Since most plants appear green, that means they reflect the green wavelenths but absorb other wavelengths (red, blue). Find a good daylight bulb (6500K) or a combination of bulbs (5000K - 9200K) with a broad spectrum to include peak wavelenths in the red and blue spectrums. Many specialized bulbs will have the light spectrum illustrated on the packaging.

 

[meegosh]

How many watts is the bulb in your current fixture? A lot of those species are low light plants. The sword could use some root tabs under it I'm sure. The rotala would grow faster under higher light but should still survive with stock lighting.

Regardless of what you got, if you upgrade, you'll probably want to stay under 2.5wpg to avoid CO2 and dosing ferts. It becomes a bit of a juggling contest in the higher wpg ranges.

 

[aqua_chem]

Is is a strip light (T8 ) or an after market fixture (T5HO or NO)? Assuming that its the former, a single T8 over a 29g is pretty low light, lower than what many plants need.


Also, is your 18000K bulb Hagen's Power Glo? It's actually an ok bulb for planted tanks, but it generally more unpleasant to the human view than it is for the plant.

 

[BBradbury]

Your Tank's Lighting

I have a 29 gallon tank, single bulb fixture. (I know I kick myself)
How do I figure out my lighting for my bulb to my plants?

Melted my Anacharis (not meant to have it)
Amazon sword
Trying to save my Brazillian Penny wort
Rotala looks might be savable
HUGE portion Java moss
Water wisteria looks pretty good

Par rating or Watt per gallon?

Hello Ocean...

To keep the whole lighting thing simple, if the tank was mine, I'd buy a glass canopy to go over the tank and then make a trip to the pet store and get a two bulb light strip. You don't need a fancy strip with all the LED lighting. Just a simple fixture that will hold two aquarium plant bulbs.

B

 

[Oceangirl]

Is is a strip light (T8 ) or an after market fixture (T5HO or NO)? Assuming that its the former, a single T8 over a 29g is pretty low light, lower than what many plants need.


Also, is your 18000K bulb Hagen's Power Glo? It's actually an ok bulb for planted tanks, but it generally more unpleasant to the human view than it is for the plant.

They had 2 bulbs at the store With the highest wattage
Aqua Glo
Life Glo 2

I got this one with the higher K rating. It said it was for planted tanks. Its a single T8 in a hood, its my first time trying to grow plants or at this point survive. Its 20 watt. I can't really Redo the lid because The hubby bought it for me and I just got it. I really like my hood

 

[Oceangirl]

I also dose ferts, I got my first bottle of Flourish Comp, Iron, Excel and I also have Floursh Root tabs. I also think I may pull My reptile Single bulb CFL fixture.
The first picture is the spectrum picture that was shown on the box of the bulb.
The second in the reptile fixture picture. I believe I have a 65 watt household full spectrum bulb. I figured I would swing the bulb over the strip missing from where the filter is on my hood.

Oh and here is my hood

Fluorescent Aquarium Lighting: Marineland Fluorescent Aquarium Hoods