lighting
- Thread starter lovemyguppies
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thursyanna
Aquarium Advice Freak
I'm hoping if I switch to a T5 light that my plants will do better. I'll be running them on a 55 gal long. My lighting seemed to be OK with the Marineland LED's but my swords aren't doing good. One is dying the other one recently broke off at the roots. I'm using root tabs and Flourish. I don't have CO2 set up yet. Waiting for $$. I've ordered some weeping moss and some Fissidens Splachnobryoides (floor carpet) on a mat but it hasn't come in yet. I'm hoping my pleco and green severum will leave that stuff alone long enough for it to grow. I had DHG but they kept pulling it up and my pleco ate all my banana plants!! I have a java fern left that no one bothers. It's doing OK.
BBradbury
Aquarium Advice Addict
- Joined
- May 24, 2011
- Messages
- 5,011
Your 55 G
Hello thurs...
You can grow some pretty hardy plants under a couple of 6500K, 32 watt, T8s from the hardware store. You'll pay around $16.00 a piece for a good T5 and a couple of T8s are the same price. The T8s I use are higher watt than the T5. The lighting isn't quite as strong, but you get better distribution.
You need to get hardier plants for your more aggressive fish. Onion plants, your java fern, anubias nana and nangi are good. There are some pretty tough Amazon swords that will hold up well and only need subdued lighting.
Just a couple of suggestions. I kind of lean toward the more economical side.
B
Hello thurs...
You can grow some pretty hardy plants under a couple of 6500K, 32 watt, T8s from the hardware store. You'll pay around $16.00 a piece for a good T5 and a couple of T8s are the same price. The T8s I use are higher watt than the T5. The lighting isn't quite as strong, but you get better distribution.
You need to get hardier plants for your more aggressive fish. Onion plants, your java fern, anubias nana and nangi are good. There are some pretty tough Amazon swords that will hold up well and only need subdued lighting.
Just a couple of suggestions. I kind of lean toward the more economical side.
B
OP
OP
lovemyguppies
Aquarium Advice Freak
hey guys just wanted to give you an update, i ended up going with a zoomed quad t5ho fixture, which after ordering I realized might not have been the best idea because it doesn't have very good reflectors. But it was only like $120 and my plants seem to be doing very well. I just ordered pps pro from gla, since my liquid ferts are almost gone now. Also there's a pic of my tank I just took. It's really wild looking right now, but I'm enjoying that lol.
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BBradbury
Aquarium Advice Addict
- Joined
- May 24, 2011
- Messages
- 5,011
Tank Lighting
Lighting can get pretty pricey if you have demanding plants. I went with florescent lamps at $16.00 for two 40 watt, 6500K T12s. The light strips were about $32.00 a piece at the local pet, so two were about $70.00. Total was less than $90.00
The plants require low to moderate light, so 80 watts is plenty. I've tried the higher end Solarmax lighting, but $89.00 for a two lamp fixture is a bit high for me and replacement lamps are $16.00 each.
The floresents will last well over a year and the Solarmax are effective for about 9 months.
Maybe the higher end lighting is quite a bit better, but maybe is isn't. I think the jury is still out on this one.
B
Lighting can get pretty pricey if you have demanding plants. I went with florescent lamps at $16.00 for two 40 watt, 6500K T12s. The light strips were about $32.00 a piece at the local pet, so two were about $70.00. Total was less than $90.00
The plants require low to moderate light, so 80 watts is plenty. I've tried the higher end Solarmax lighting, but $89.00 for a two lamp fixture is a bit high for me and replacement lamps are $16.00 each.
The floresents will last well over a year and the Solarmax are effective for about 9 months.
Maybe the higher end lighting is quite a bit better, but maybe is isn't. I think the jury is still out on this one.
B
Old Scales
Aquarium Advice Addict
+1 on the Aquatic life Quad T5HO lights that Rivercats stated. I upgraded to these and am very pleased. Reflectors are rated very good. I have them on a 29g so I'm pushing 3.8w per gal. using 6000k Geiseman bulbs.
Aqua Chem is exactly right. A good carbon source(glut 0r CO2) is as or more important than the lights. Also a top notch fert system.
The Aquatic Life was pretty expensive but I LOVE the control the timers give me. I run 2 bulbs 2hr & 4 bulbs 6 hrs. Because I get busy doing other things in life besides my tank, the built in timers keep my photo period precise when I am not. This helps me and my plants and hurts the algae.
I will add that the LED technology is getting pretty awesome too. I hope that when my AL fixtures wears out years from now they will be the only way to go. Brian_Nano12g is the LED expert in here. Look him up for additional info. OS.
Aqua Chem is exactly right. A good carbon source(glut 0r CO2) is as or more important than the lights. Also a top notch fert system.
The Aquatic Life was pretty expensive but I LOVE the control the timers give me. I run 2 bulbs 2hr & 4 bulbs 6 hrs. Because I get busy doing other things in life besides my tank, the built in timers keep my photo period precise when I am not. This helps me and my plants and hurts the algae.
I will add that the LED technology is getting pretty awesome too. I hope that when my AL fixtures wears out years from now they will be the only way to go. Brian_Nano12g is the LED expert in here. Look him up for additional info. OS.
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