What kind of lighting do I have?

[jdwhite807]

I have a 40 gallon breeder, 16" tall. I have a T5NO with a 21 watt 6,700K bulb, and a 21 watt colormax bulb. I was wondering what kind of light I am getting to my tank, and will it grow low-medium light plants? Thanks.

 

[Mifsud]

This is a low-light setup. Most plants just need any type of light and they'll grow, they're living things. You'll have success glowing low-medium light plants with this fixture and lamps.

If you increase the light-level, then their capacity to grow will also increase. You'd have to introduce additional carbon and nutrients to take advantage of increased light levels.

 

[jdwhite807]

Thanks for the help. Is there anyway to enhance lighting with what I have? Maybe changing bulbs, adding reflectors, or such?

 

[Mifsud]

If you can engineer a way to reflect more of the light that is produced by the lamps into the tank, then that will help your planties grow.

In addition, you can purchase a lamp that produces a color light that is more useful to plants. They appear tinted purple/pink to the human eye. I use a T8 Floramax lamp by Aqueon for this effect and I am pleased with it. Since I don't use T5s, I cannot recommend a T5 lamp that is designed to enhance photosynthesis or produce more photosynthetically active radiation. (PAR)

Perhaps someone here can recommend a T5 for plant growth.

 

[Mifsud]

Since I don't use T5s I had to do a little reading to understand how they work. I think I figured it out.

A T5 is a scaled down T8. They are smaller than T8s and therefore produce less light. T5HOs are the same size as T5s, but their electrodes are capable of conducting more electric current (produce more light) without burning out. Other than the design of the electrodes, T5 and T5HO lamps are the same.

This is important because it means that you can successfully use any T5HO lamp in your T5 fixture without damaging your fixture or lamp. Since this is the case, I would recommend Zoo Med's "Flora Sun" lamp.

This lamp produces a purple light because purple can stimulate photosynthesis. This has to do with why most plants appear green. ( White Light - Green Light = Purple Light ) There's more to it, but this explanation is sufficient for my discussion.

You may not like the appearance of your tank under a purple light so I would recommend changing the other lamp to a "daylight" (5,800K) lamp.

 

[jdwhite807]

This is great information man, I'm really gonna look at this hard. I have been reading and looking at lights all week and still haven't made a decision. Thanks again for the info.

 

[Brookster123]

Your t5 no colormax is actually pretty good for plants, I have the same fixture on my 20 tall (18") I am growing some med light plants with good results, you could concentrate your higher light plants directly under the light to promote better growth .. I ditched the colormax because I didn't care for the pink hue.. I dose excel and lots if seachem ferts, you dose anything?

 

[jdwhite807]

Just excel at the moment. What frets are you using?

 

[Brookster123]

Just excel at the moment. What frets are you using?

comp once a week after wc, iron daily, potassium, phosphorus, trace..