Planted 35g hex lighting help needed!

[Critterlvrok]

I need help with lighting on my tank. My plants are doing ok but the same plants in my 10g are thriving. I know it's a lighting issue because my hex is so deep. I need assistance with finding a lighting source that will reach my plants at the bottom of my tank. Approx 25 inches to the bottom. I have a 16 light strip that takes a 15 bulb. The max watt I can find is 14. Help?

 

[Critterlvrok]

Would my best bet be new light fixture or supplement fixture?

 

[JustinKScott]

Although watts/gallon rule has been discredited many many times over, it is still a good place to start. You have 35g and 14W. Low light <1W/g, high light 3+ W/g.

What kind of plants do you want to grow?

 

[Critterlvrok]

Thank you for responding! I was beginning to think no one was going to . I planted wisteria, anubas nana they are doing well but not thriving. I also added a windelov, banana plant and Val spiralis just the other day. I purchased a clip on light and added a 5100k florescent that I mounted on the side at the lower portion of the tank. Will this be ok?

 

[JustinKScott]

Ok; so you are going to have to be more specific. I need lamp types and power. There is a lot of difference between a t12 and a t5ho for the same power rating.

5500k or color temp is a "measure" of the type of light being developed by the bulb. 5500k is ok, it'll bring out more of the reds. Don't go any lower than that and don't go beyond 10000k.

Since you are asking the question, I can assume you didn't pay $500+ for your LEDs nor DIY'd them.. So I feel I can safely say they won't do much for you, so I'm going to ignore them.

I think your problem child will be your vals; but we will see.

What kind of substraight did you use?

 

[Critterlvrok]

This is where my ignorance shows. I'm one step from clueless regarding lights. I know the main light is a 15in fluorescent bulb i believe it is an aqueon full spectrum bought at the pet store I will look at it when I get home. The additional bulb is a screw in mini compact colormax florescent I wanted to get a 50/50 but they were out. Does this help? No I have no LED lights

 

[Critterlvrok]

My substrate is gravel. Small/med mixed

 

[JustinKScott]

Let me know when you get home. BTW, I assumed clip on light was a led.

 

[Critterlvrok]

sorry what I meant was a desk top type clip on lol. Ok my main bulb is a t8 full spectrum 8000k aqueon bulb in a 16in reflector hood. My additional bulb is a marineland 10w compact florescent. Now that I think about it the add on may be useless for my plants

 

[mfdrookie516]

I dont really think WPG applies here though... while it *can* be an ok starting point, it just fails too much for me to even mention it when talking about lighting. In a deeper tank, T5HO would be your best bet. With good reflectors, you can penetrate that depth farily easily. There's a chart somewhere that shows, but I'd say a 2x24w T5HO would do pretty good on that tank, assuming it's 24" wide at some point.

 

[DragonFish71]

I have a 36hex myself. All I did was get a light strip for a 10g, the kind that has the screw in incandescent bulbs and use the screw in 6500k spiral compact fluorescents.

These bulbs in 15 watt: GE Daylight Energy Smart Spiral T3


They give plenty of light for my plants and they're cheap. You can get them just about anywhere light bulbs are sold. No special ordering.

 

[Critterlvrok]

That's where my problem lies my max width is 16inches. Unless I can find another way to supplement I guess my only other option would be big money LED?

 

[JustinKScott]

I dont really think WPG applies here though... while it *can* be an ok starting point, it just fails too much for me to even mention it when talking about lighting. In a deeper tank, T5HO would be your best bet. With good reflectors, you can penetrate that depth farily easily. There's a chart somewhere that shows, but I'd say a 2x24w T5HO would do pretty good on that tank, assuming it's 24" wide at some point.

While I agree that t5ho are the among the best, running them exclusively on my planted tanks... I'm trying not to make him go buy stuff until it's clear he needs to.

Let's figure out what he has first. . He might have a workable system already. (never know)

Can you also give us the dimentions of the tank? And a picture would help too. And give us a manifest of what lights, what type, how old, what wattage, and what color.

 

[Critterlvrok]

Dimensions depth 17in, width at widest point about 19in, 25 1/2 inches deep. The light bar is an oceanic 16in reflector with a t8 14w full spectrum 8000k 15in bulb. It is about 8 days old. I purchased a cheap clip on lamp to clip next to the tank to shine in from the side at the plants. In it now I have a 10w marineland compact fluorescent bulb 5100k however that's all I know and it's just 2 days old. I had planned to get a 10w 50/50 compact but they were out.

 

[Critterlvrok]

Add on cheap light

 

[mfdrookie516]

While I agree that t5ho are the among the best, running them exclusively on my planted tanks... I'm trying not to make him go buy stuff until it's clear he needs to.

Let's figure out what he has first. . He might have a workable system already. (never know)

Can you also give us the dimentions of the tank? And a picture would help too. And give us a manifest of what lights, what type, how old, what wattage, and what color.

They said they had T8... so... that's why I recommended T5HO because it penetrates much better than T8. I also didn't tell them to go buy anything... I just said that would be their best bet Opinions... we all have them... they aren't always the same.

 

[JustinKScott]

Ok stop buying, take them back. Refer to mdfrookie's post.

 

[mfdrookie516]

To counter my own advice... Jamie seems to have found something that works well for her... and would be cheaper than a T5HO fixture... not to mention it's really hard to find a 16" T5HO, though not impossible to rig a 24" on there. There are lots of ways to do things, and creativity on a tight budget can do some cool things.

 

[Critterlvrok]

Thank you mdfrookie good advise!! however I have already looked at the t5ho and can only find them in 20 in which is to wide. I am trying to find an option that will fit my tank and my current (over budget) hobby fund. I know I may not have a choice but that's why I'm asking this group. I need to explore all my options before I attempt to justify to the husband the expense of a new light fixture. I'm Currently looking into a new tank (will be #3) and if needed I can move the higher light requirement plants to the new tank that will NOT be a hex tank lol. They are pretty but a pain in the rump!! Especially when your 5'2.

 

[Critterlvrok]

I have a 36hex myself. All I did was get a light strip for a 10g, the kind that has the screw in incandescent bulbs and use the screw in 6500k spiral compact fluorescents.

These bulbs in 15 watt: GE Daylight Energy Smart Spiral T3

They give plenty of light for my plants and they're cheap. You can get them just about anywhere light bulbs are sold. No special ordering.

Thanks for the info, I will start looking into that!!