Lighting question

[Cltpigskin]

Hello,

I am really new to planted aquariums so sorry for the basicness of my questions.

My setup is a 90 gallon tank, ecocomplete substrate, fluvial 405 filter, 2 65w odyssa 12000k bulbs. 2 65w true actinic bulbs. I have 3 pearl Gouramis, 3 moonlight gouramis, 3 Cory cats, 2 honeypot gouramis, and 4 ruby red barbs.

I am looking to keep some basic plants( some swords, java ferns, mollyworts) nothing too fancy to start and am wondering if I Have the correct light. I can tell you that I have no problem growing algae with my current configuration.
If you recommend that I increase the light where should I begin?
How is the 1.5-2 watts per gallon calculated? Am I currently at roughly 2.75w per gallon or am I not figuring it out right? When will I Need to worry about adding co2 to the tank?

Thank you for your time.

 

[Peyton]

The lights you have currently are useless in a planted aquarium. The temp is just too high. You need lights in the 5500k-8000k color range.

 

[Cltpigskin]

Any light that lists that temp range in it's specifications would be sufficient?

 

[CoyoteWildfire]

Hard to say... The calculation isn't really Watts/Gallon. Some people will try to lead you to think that way, but it's just not the case. Watts are merely a measurement of energy drawn by the bulb, not a measure of raw light output. The amount of light is what you want to calculate per gallon.

Right now I have under 2000 lumens for my 29G planted tank. That really wasn't enough as my 24W T12 and 17W T8 bulbs just couldn't put out enough light for my plants to grow. Instead, they started to wilt and brown...

I purchased myself a new fixture using T5HO bulbs. T5s put out far more light for the energy the draw. This is what's called luminous efficacy. The more Lm/W, the more efficient the bulb. Even a single T5 bulb at 24W will provide more light than both my current bulbs combined.

So to answer your question, try to find as high a lumen output bulb in that temp range as you can. You may find yourself stuck (like me) without a means to provide enough light without replacing your fixture.

 

[Mr. Limpet]

Hello,

I am really new to planted aquariums so sorry for the basicness of my questions.

My setup is a 90 gallon tank, ecocomplete substrate, fluvial 405 filter, 2 65w odyssa 12000k bulbs. 2 65w true actinic bulbs. I have 3 pearl Gouramis, 3 moonlight gouramis, 3 Cory cats, 2 honeypot gouramis, and 4 ruby red barbs.

I am looking to keep some basic plants( some swords, java ferns, mollyworts) nothing too fancy to start and am wondering if I Have the correct light. I can tell you that I have no problem growing algae with my current configuration.
If you recommend that I increase the light where should I begin?
How is the 1.5-2 watts per gallon calculated? Am I currently at roughly 2.75w per gallon or am I not figuring it out right? When will I Need to worry about adding co2 to the tank?

Thank you for your time.

The bulbs you have are for SW and IMO outside the light spectrum range that plants can utilize. Also the actinic blubs don't do anything for plants (but they do look cool ). If it were me, I'd save them (sell?) and get bulbs in the 6700K range. Ferts and co2 depend on which plants you want in your tank, go to plantgeek.net and it can give you a list of plants that don't require those added components.

 

[mfdrookie516]

The 12,000k bulbs aren't necessarily out of the question. The actinics are though... While 12,000k is just outside the recommended range of 6500k-10,000k, they may work. If you stick with what you've got and try it out, you probably won't have any issues. Keep in mind that you *might* need to swap out those 12,000k's for some in the 6500k-10,000k (i prefer 10,000k... they're whiter), but for lower light stuff like you're wanting I think you'll be just fine.

 

[Mr. Limpet]

I'd suggest checking out the link below. It explains planted tanks in detail, lighting specific to your situation and what's best for aquatic plants beyond what our personal preferences (ie veiwing pleasure) might be.

http://www.freshwateraquariumplants.com/plant_care.html#pf

 

[mfdrookie516]

I'm not trying to be argumentative, but experience trumps any link you have. I could produce links that say 20,000k bulbs are fine. I have 10,000k bulbs in my 40, and most people on here prefer 10,000k over 6500k. Just sayin...

 

[BigJim]

Color temperature is a very subjective thing. One 6500K bulb may not be as good as another 6500K bulb for your plants. It really depends on the spectral output of the bulb. Plants like spectral peaks in the red and blue ends of the spectrum. A 6500K bulb that puts out a lot of yellow and green wavelengths won't be very good.

I have plants growing under 3700K CFLs, 6700K CFLs, 6500K T12s, 6500K T5s, and 6500-10000K LEDs. The plants grow well under all the bulbs. I just happen to prefer the look of the higher K bulbs.

 

[fort384]

Agree.

We often go to color temp as a recommendation because it is easy and a good "rule of thumb", which can sometimes lead to confusion. Like Jim said all bulbs are not equal and what is comes down to is PAR... But that isn't easy for the home aquariest to measure.

Usually it is a safe bet the light will be usable if it has a color temp of ~6500k to 10000k.

 

[Cltpigskin]

Thank you to everyone for taking the time to reply.
If you have a specific bulb that you feel would be best please let me know what it is. The light hood that I currently have is for Compact Fluorescents with a straight four pin.
I am not opposed to changing out the lighting to something else (reg fluorescent, T5 HO) if compacts are more for saltwater, so if you have a recommendation in that area I am all ears.

 

[Cltpigskin]

Thank you to everyone for taking the time to reply.
If you have a specific bulb that you feel would be best please let me know what it is. The light hood that I currently have is for Compact Fluorescents with a straight four pin.
I am not opposed to changing out the lighting to something else (reg fluorescent, T5 HO) if compacts are more for saltwater, so if you have a recommendation in that area I am all ears.

 

[CoyoteWildfire]

Personally, I just got myself the 30" version of these for my 29G tank:

Amazon.com: Zoo Med AquaSun T5-HO - Home, Garden & Pets: Home & Garden

Dual T5HOs should be enough for your tank, but depending on the size of your tank and if you plan to grow coral or high-light plants, just two may not be enough. I cannot say for sure, there, as I run a FW tank.

 

[mfdrookie516]

Thank you to everyone for taking the time to reply.
If you have a specific bulb that you feel would be best please let me know what it is. The light hood that I currently have is for Compact Fluorescents with a straight four pin.
I am not opposed to changing out the lighting to something else (reg fluorescent, T5 HO) if compacts are more for saltwater, so if you have a recommendation in that area I am all ears.

My opinion... Try what you have. Worst case scenario, the plants start looking bad and you have to change bulbs. The fixture itself will be fine, no need IMO to spend money on T5HO when you have PC's already. You'll be at low light with the bulbs you have, so stick with plants like anubias, java moss, java fern, and anacharis. If you decide you want to go in to more depth with plants, get some new bulbs and go high light co2.

 

[Cltpigskin]

These are pictures of my aquarium since I've planted it. As you can see in the second picture, one of the moonlight gouramis has decided to make a nest out of one of the plants. He is pulling parts of it off and putting them into the corner of the tank. Obviously, there is no way to train a fish to not do that but if I leave it alone won't the plants he put up in the corner eventually rot? If they rot will that harm my tank? Do you think if I leave his "nest" alone for a few days and then remove it he will forget about it or is this going to be an ongoing battle?

 

[mfdrookie516]

looks nice... now.. the plant in the front in the middle looks like anubias... do you have the rhizome under the gravel? Looks like it, if so, it needs to be out. The rhizome has to be uncovered. Also, over on the right in the front, the big broad leafed plants, what are those? I can't tell but looks like a type of anubias or java fern. If so, same story with those.

 

[Cltpigskin]

Do I just lay the plant on the bottom then? Do I just try to cover the roots? The roots are only about an inch long. I think the plants on the right in the front is a narrow leaf sword if we are talking about the same plant.
Thanks for such fast replies by the way.

 

[BigJim]

Just bury the roots. Part of the rhizome can be put in the substrate if most or all of the top of the rhizome is exposed.

 

[mfdrookie516]

Ok, I couldn't tell... As far as the anubias, you can either try and get the roots situated in the substrate or you can just tie it to something

 

[Cltpigskin]

Thanks. I got most or all of the rhizome exposed on all three plants.