Lighting question

[HUKIT]

On my 55 gallon I'm running a Coralife T5HO 2x54 and a 40 watt Life Glo 2 flouresnt bulb what does that give me as far as wpg? Or is it simply adding the watts divided by gallons?

 

[mfdrookie516]

it makes 2wpg, but that doesnt mean much. in a 55g tank, you're at low-medium light.

 

[mgamer20o0]

you can grow low and medium plant plants fine. i have the same set up on several tanks.

 

[jsoong]

Eh, he has TWO 54W T5HO's, plus a 40 W NO.

That is almost 200W in NO equivalent (T5HO's are about 1.5x NO) ... so would be 3-4 wpg, and in the range of medium to high by my reckoning.

 

[mcgrady7761]

i second jsoong. its also more about the spectrum of light ur buyin and intensity.

 

[mfdrookie516]

that 40w wasnt on there when i posted that lol

 

[HUKIT]

If I'm running in the 3-4 wpg range without co2 is that going to cause a problem? The tank is a new heavily planted and I'm seeing new plant growth plus a fresh batch of brown alage. This is my plant package from livequaria Aquatic Plants for Freshwater Aquariums: Aquarium Plant Pack - Mega but I purchased the 75 gallon package for my 55.

 

[newfound77951]

I have a 2x54 watt T5HO on my 55 right now. I can grow all low and medium light plants, and some higher light plants, but nothing super light-demanding like Rotala macrandra or a carpet plant. I do have CO2 on the tank now, but not originally, and the biggest difference I have seen was in plant growth rate, not much difference in algae (I do have some). YMMV. Here is my tank to give you an idea...