Need some advice...

[papa_bear_21]

Ok, we've had our 55 running for a few months now, and recently finished our temp tank lid. Once that was done, we added some lighting to the tank, and I want to make sure I am not over lighting the tank...if that is possible...

The light is a twin bulb 48 inch shop light fixture, it is sitting on top of the plexi lids, with 2 T12 bulbs. The specifics are as follows: 1860 lumen output, 25 watts, 4100 color temp, 60 cri. Is this too much, or will it be good for a mixed tropical community tank?

Thank you for the advice in advance,

Bear

 

[Angel.Zero]

Well one question, is it planted? if so then no it's not to much light but if the answer is no then with 50 watts to a 55 gallon tank you might end up with some algae issues. personally I would keep the lights and pick up some low light plants to help keep algae in check. plants are a great addition to any tank IMO. It will also depend on how long the lights are on each day. I have a moderately planted tank with the lights one 12 hours a day and have not had any algae issues yet but when it was lightly planted I was battling green water and hair algae every other week. hope that helps : )

 

[gheitman]

I agree with what Angel.Zero said. 50 Watts over a 55 gallon tank is not too much light for fish and is considered low light if you want live plants. Plants which you could consider include some Anubias as well as Java ferns and moss.

 

[papa_bear_21]

A few questions regarding the plant situation, would I need a CO2 setup for these, or could they survive without? What about ferts, would I need to dose with those? Would my plecs destroy the plants, as 2 of them are currently nearing 6 inches? The tank is not planted at this point, and I can always change to a lower watt bulb if I need to. I am looking to buy a new light anyway, as this one was stolen from the workshop, which is why it's setup with the lights it has.

thank you to all for the help,

Bear

 

[rich311k]

No CO2 would be needed. The plecos should not bother anubias or jave fern.

 

[papa_bear_21]

Next question would be, how would I "plant" them in the tank? Once they are established, how do I care for them? I have not really looked into live plants, as we had never given much thought to them. I would want to give them the same amount of care as we do the fish.

Thanks again,

Bear

 

[Taelen]

Just to put things in perspective, I have Java ferns, anubias barteri and anacharis in my 44g planted. Stock lighting on for about 10 hours a day, no CO2 and no ferts and they are doing fine. You need to float or anchor these plants rather than plant them in substrate. The only thing you should really need to keep an eye on is removing dead leaves and pruning them when they grow too large for you liking.

I'm pretty new to the planted thing as well and what I've said above is my experience so far with the advice from some of the great people here. =)

 

[jsoong]

The light is a twin bulb 48 inch shop light fixture, it is sitting on top of the plexi lids, with 2 T12 bulbs. The specifics are as follows: 1860 lumen output, 25 watts, 4100 color temp, 60 cri. Is this too much, or will it be good for a mixed tropical community tank?

Bear

48" T12 bulbs are normally 40W (or 36W if it is econo-watts), not 25W .... esp. with the 1860 lumen rating, that should be a 40W bulb. Also, you cannot switch to lower watts lights in a shop-light (eg, using 36" or 24" tubes, assuming you can move the end caps to the right length) as the ballast will not work ... you need an auto load-sensing electronic ballast for that.

Now, 80 W over a 55 may get you into algae problems. You can try using
one bulb in the fixture. Most ballast will light with just one bulb. That should put you into safe territory. Alternatively, you can shorten the light period ... eg. only having the light on for 3-4 hrs, when you are actually in to watch the fish .... as long as there is some ambiant light (to give a natural day-length), the fish shouldn't get too upset by this setup, they will just think it was cloudy!.

If you want to try plants, 2x40W is a good beginner setup ... although I would suggest getting 6700K daylight bulbs instead of the 4100K cool white. You should be able to find daylight bulbs by Phillips & others at your hardware store for a couple bucks each ... no need to pay $20 for the Aquarium bulbs at your lfs.

Java ferns & Anubias are both low maintanance plants. You don't need to plant them (they rot if the rhizome is covered), just tie them to a rock or driftwood & their roots will grab on in a few months. You don't really need to fertilize in a non-CO2 tank ... fish poop is all you need.

If you are getting into a lot of algae problem, you might try adding hornwort (floating or weight down with a rock, your choice). This is a great nitrate absorber, and with half-decent light, will remove all nitrogen from the water so algae can't get a toe hold. The only draw back is that hornwort grows so fast (2-3" a day in my tank) that I end up having to trim off the excess every 3-4 day.

 

[papa_bear_21]

I may have misunderstood the info on the box, but the package the light tubes came in, said 25 watts used. The box the shop lite itself came in, stated use only 48 inch 25 watt lights...am I misreading? I'm not trying to fight, merely trying to understand...

 

[jsoong]

I have never seen a 25W 48" T12 shop light, but that doesn't mean they don't exist!

Up in Canada, we are often 6-12 months behind the US in getting new stuff .... If your box said 25W, then that would be the actual watts. This is likely a newer energy efficient model that I don't know about. Appologies for any confusion ..... next time I will do better research ....

Your lumen per watts is higher than a standard T12 (almost like a T8 ), so you might have 1.25WPG or so in NO T12 equvilent. This might or might not give you algae problem ..... as you are just getting into low light planted tank territory. A lot has to do with the spectum of the light & what the plants see (rather than lumens, which measures what we see). I guess time will tell.

You can play around with the lighting period, take out one light, etc. But with a non standard ballast, you won't be able to use the standard daylight bulbs if you want to seriously get into plants (maybe a 25W daylight bulb is in the works? ).

 

[papa_bear_21]

no worries, I just wanted to make sure I understood what I was reading. It's a cheap light, and likely wont be on long, as a more permanent setup is in the works. The setup came from Walmart, we want an actual hood, and are looking into one of the glass setups, tho we will need a light setup with that too...

Thanks again for the help...