MagicAfra
Aquarium Advice Apprentice
So what I did for my lights was I got an extention cord (2.50) and hooked up two plug in adapters that allow you to screw light bulbs into (2.50EA) and I got a four pack of 100 watt equivalent compact flourescent bulbs (10) that gave off 1600 lumens at 5000K (daylight) each. When plugged in the two lights are quite bright and I am going to make a hood out of extra rain gutter closed off with wood at the ends.
I was wondering whether this is an excessive amount of light and what types of plants I might be able to get with it in a twenty gallon high. While the two hundred watts does seem excessive I am under the impression that lumens is a far more reliable way to measure light. From this article http://fotohobbist.com/blog/2011/07/31/lighting-for-planted-aquariums-watts-per-gallon-lsi-lumen-lux-what/ I found that this number of lumens would only be suitable for low light plants ((2*1600)/(24*12))=11lumens/square inch but surface area doesn't seem like a very reliable way to measure by when height is such an important factor in a twenty gallon.
I know that it is prefferrable to get 6000-6700K bulbs but these were the only ones that I could find and if I am not mistaken they give off light over a spectrum so hopefully at least some of the spectrums wavelenths are usable for plants.
So I was basically wondering what you think it will be like for plants and which type I can support with these lights.
Thank you in advance for your response.
I was wondering whether this is an excessive amount of light and what types of plants I might be able to get with it in a twenty gallon high. While the two hundred watts does seem excessive I am under the impression that lumens is a far more reliable way to measure light. From this article http://fotohobbist.com/blog/2011/07/31/lighting-for-planted-aquariums-watts-per-gallon-lsi-lumen-lux-what/ I found that this number of lumens would only be suitable for low light plants ((2*1600)/(24*12))=11lumens/square inch but surface area doesn't seem like a very reliable way to measure by when height is such an important factor in a twenty gallon.
I know that it is prefferrable to get 6000-6700K bulbs but these were the only ones that I could find and if I am not mistaken they give off light over a spectrum so hopefully at least some of the spectrums wavelenths are usable for plants.
So I was basically wondering what you think it will be like for plants and which type I can support with these lights.
Thank you in advance for your response.
