Lighting

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smittyjr18

Aquarium Advice Regular
Joined
Aug 15, 2004
Messages
56
Location
Dayton, OH
I am looking at upgrading my lighting. I have 2x40 watts now. I have a 55 gal and am going to be adding a canopy soon. I want to all a lot of live plants. I was thinking something like ~ 3 wpg. Would something like this work or does someone else have any suggestions?

http://www.bigalsonline.com/BigAlsU...07/cl0/coralifeaqualightretrofitkit484x65watt

I was also thinking about a UV Sterilizer. Either a 9 watt or a 18 watt. Does anyone have any suggestions about this?
 
If you go the route in the link provided, be sure that the bulbs you get are not actinic, as the light is unusable by plants. 50/50 lights are only 50% usable. Bulbs in the spectrum of 6000K-10,000K are best for the plants. You can also check out AHSupply . com for other options in retrofit kits, also hellolights . com.

I thought about a UV sterilizer at one point, but decided not to go that route. I will let others comment on them, but I never found that I needed one.
 
I have a 125 gallon tank with a canopy. I bought a CoraLife Lunar Light with 4 96 watts bulbs (65 watt bulbs sound right for a 55 gallon). This gives me 3 watts per gallon and the plants are doing outstanding. I added approx 1/2" riser between the light and tank to give soem cooling under the light while still fitting under the canopy. I made mine out of oak wood custom cut to fit. I also replaced the pair of antinic bulbs, which came with light with either 10000K or 6700K bulbs.

I also utiize a 9 watt UV light sterilizer. I had recurring major green water problems. Kept working on the water chemistry, but the green water would only return. I eventually bought a small water pump and the UV sterilizer. No green water problems since. If you do not have green water problems, I would probably not recommend one.

Also, if you are going to run 3 watts per gallon light and success with plants, you are going to need some sort of CO2 supplementation. I use a pressurized CO2 tank system with a Milwaukee regulator with attatched bubble counter and a glass diffuser. A glass difuser is not recommended for a 125 gallon tank, but it does keep my CO2 at 20-24 ppm and my plants are extremely successful. The regulator and tank cost about $200 and $16 to refill (still on the original filling after 8 months).

Good luck! Ask the AA people here for any advice or questions -- they are the best source of advice I have found.
 
I don't think a UV sterilizer is needed. I haven't seen any convincing evidence but some people have concerns that they can affect nutrients the plants need (break them down or make them unusable). A properly fertilized tank should not have issues with GW.

I infrequently see GW in my tank and its normally caused by a fish death or a hidden plant rotting somewhere out of sight (sudden ammonia spike).

If you are adding more lighting please make sure your CO2 is also being taken care of.
 
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