How get I reach 'Medium Light'

[WindSwept]

Of all the little details I've been trying to nail down before I go to the store lighting has been the most confusing for me. The tank 40 gallons and 36" long; the hood comes with a 24" long blub of some sort-- I'm assume that the origonal blub will not be suitable for growing plants that need anything but low light.

How many wpg are nessassary to reach 'medium light'? I'd like to grow a dwarf hairgrass carpet, and I've heard they need strong light, but I'd like to avoid the CO2 situation that usually comes with strong lighting fixtures.

So I've found a few lighting fixtures but I don't know what I need-- any suggestions? Here's what I've seen so far...

*Plant blub to replace one in origonal hood= 17 W

*Aqueon Freshwater T5 Light Fixture = 21 W (not sure if total just counts a single bulb or both. Says it includes a colormax lamp and a 6.7K?)

* AquaticLife T5 HO Dual Lamp Fixture= 78 W

*GLO Single= 39 W (would one bulb spread light over the whole tank?)

Thanks for taking the time to read this silly ramble of my confusion! :>

 

[abrahamavelar]

Ill go for the dual t5ho

 

[jetajockey]

A dual t5ho would be nice, might be a little much light-wise, but if you get one with 2 switches then you could adjust it accordingly.

 

[abrahamavelar]

A dual t5ho would be nice, might be a little much light-wise, but if you get one with 2 switches then you could adjust it accordingly.

+1 and then u could grow pretty much anything

 

[mfdrookie516]

You might get DHG to grow with that light. Contrary to what most say, it's not a high light plant. Sure, it grows faster in high light, but I have some in a bucket 3' below a single tube shop light that hangs over a tank and it's growing.

 

[BBradbury]

Your Lighting Question

Hello Wind...

If you can get the lighting to a minimum of 2 watts per gallon of tank volume, then you're in the medium light range.

Yes, I'm old school and still use the old "watts per gallon" rule. It makes the most sense to me. Anyway, if your tank isn't too tall, you should have enough lighting for the hair grass. Hair grass is a challenge in the best of conditions, but good lighting is a step in the right direction.

Your 40 G will need at least 80 watts of light and a strip to accomodate two bulbs. Ideally, the strip should accomodate a bulb that runs the length of the tank, some don't and you end up having to plant low light plants in the both the dark ends. See if you can get a 6500 K bulb. The last I checked, it was recommended for planted tanks because the light blue color hue comes closest to natural daylight at 5500 K.

If you need more specifics, just let me know. I'm never too busy to talk about planted tanks.

Above everything else, have fun.

B

 

[jetajockey]

I don't think t8's will get into the medium light range on that size tank. It might, but barely. T8's definitely work in planted tanks, I have several tanks running t8 shop lights, but I wouldn't consider them a true healthy, growing, active planted tank, at least in comparison to a simple t5ho upgrade.

It's my recommendation to just cut to the chase and go with t5ho, the difference is night and day.

 

[abrahamavelar]

I don't think t8's will get into the medium light range on that size tank. It might, but barely. T8's definitely work in planted tanks, I have several tanks running t8 shop lights, but I wouldn't consider them a true healthy, growing, active planted tank, at least in comparison to a simple t5ho upgrade.

It's my recommendation to just cut to the chase and go with t5ho, the difference is night and day.

true i agree t8's dont even compare to t5 ho

 

[jetajockey]

It's not that T8's are bad or anything, it's just that t5ho's have become so common and cheap that it's not much more of an investment to get them, and they easily have double the light intensity.

 

[abrahamavelar]

It's not that T8's are bad or anything, it's just that t5ho's have become so common and cheap that it's not much more of an investment to get them, and they easily have double the light intensity.

yup and in some cases u could buy the ballast and use the old fixture

 

[WindSwept]

Thanks for all the input! Man, I'm so glad I joined this forum C:

So now that I'm thinking of a t5HO would I still be able to get by without dosing CO2? Will liquid fertilizers just be enough? That's my big concern with going into the high(ish)-end of the wattage range..

 

[jetajockey]

It's a lot easier to reduce light intensity than it is to increase it, that's why I recommend t5ho's for most setups. Every setup is a little different, you'd probably be fine, but if not you can adjust things pretty easily.

 

[aqua_chem]

A 40 Breeder is a very shallow light. This makes you get a lot more light out of your fixture than you would with a 55 or 75, or even a 29 albeit to a much lesser extent.

Issues with a T5HO on a 40Breeder:

High light intensity under the fixture.
Poor spread of light.

I honestly think that you would probably need CO2 a 16" tank and T5HOs. I think Bruinsbro has one on his 40b and commented on the BBA.

Consider hanging your fixture if you end up with a T5HO. You can decrease the intensity fairly easily and increase the spread that way.

 

[jetajockey]

catalina actually makes a special wide 2 bulb fixture for the 40b, but it's a special order.

I've run a single t5ho directly across the center of my no co2 40b's without any issues, but adding any additional lighting always resulted in algae issues.

 

[aqua_chem]

I have two T5HO fixtures on my 40B, One 2x39 Hagen Glo and one 1x39 T5HO. It's a LOT of light, but I can get high light over the entire tank. That being said, I had the 2x39w by itself for awhile elevated to the highest notch that the hagen light mounts let you, and I would definitely consider it upper medium light, but I didn't have equal light in the front and back. I would move it to the front for the carpet and my stems would loose color. I would move it to the back for the stems and the glosso would start growing up. I also had pressurized CO2 from the getgo on that tank.


Catalina is well know for their willingness to work with their customers to get that 'just right' fixture. They're actually a fairly small operation (compared to hagen or anything like that). They are highly recommended. However, I've heard their fixtures referred to as 'fugly'. So there's that.

 

[WindSwept]

So I'll need to reduce intensity and increase the light's range, if I go with a t5ho. Hum... I can't really hang the lights with where the tank will be located, and I haven't seen a switch advertised on any of the fixtures...

A custom hood would probably be out of my price range unfortunately (alot of the t5ho hoods make me cringe a little too)-- though the idea is quite attractive.

I also see alot of the lights fixtures come with an actinic bulb? Would I have to replace that, or something?

 

[aqua_chem]

So I'll need to reduce intensity and increase the light's range, if I go with a t5ho. Hum... I can't really hang the lights with where the tank will be located, and I haven't seen a switch advertised on any of the fixtures...

A custom hood would probably be out of my price range unfortunately (alot of the t5ho hoods make me cringe a little too)-- though the idea is quite attractive.

I also see alot of the lights fixtures come with an actinic bulb? Would I have to replace that, or something?

Yes you will. Actinics don't really do much for plants. As far as hanging does, you could potentially buy some sort of a metal support stand rather than hang it from the ceiling.

 

[mfdrookie516]

Or simply build one out of conduit... very simple to do

 

[jetajockey]

I think that a glass lid diffuses the light somewhat also. But either way, I think if you go with T5NO or T8 you'll find yourself wanting a little more down the road.

 

[aqua_chem]

You can also put mesh like you find in windows to reduce high light. You can even use successive layers to reduce more.