Lighting delimma, part deux

[sudz]

Hey guys! thanks for your input on my first problem!
I've gone to big al's to measure the lighting space on the canopy. It has 2 spots for lights, both 18 1/4 long, and 4 inches wide, Making my total area to work with 18" 1/4, and 8" wide.

The lighting system (DIY or not) that i can find that will provide my 2wpg plus is a 96 watt system. AND, there is a strip light with this in it, I've gotten a chap at big als to mesaure one that he has at home. It'll be almost 200 dollars by the time i'm out the door.

96 watt square socket 4 tube light.
HOWEVER>.. it comes with a 50/50 light. and the store doesn't stock them, so i cant just trade for a 6700.

My question is: Will my plants still thrive on a 50/50 bulb for a year, until i HAVE to order a new bulb? i really can't afford a new bulb for it right now.

Thanks in advance!

 

[sudz]

OH, btw, its a Perfecto 44 gallon. 24X24X24 so 96 watts would give me 2.18 wpg.

 

[malkore]

Well, the issue is the 50% that is actinic is not well suited for plant growth. It has a very low red peak...it's mostly blue peak.

Because of this, you cannot count the 48watts of actinic tube you have...leaving you with basically 1wpg right now.

A 24" deep tank...your low growing foreground plants will need a solid 3wpg if you plan to use glosso or anything that grows real low and needs lots of light.

 

[travis simonson]

sudz, it all depends on the type of plants you are trying to grow. If by 50/50 you mean the lamp has an acticnic component then you should not count that toward the wattage when calculating wpg. Actinic does provide some useful light, but it is difficult to say how much so I remove it entirely from the equation when figuring wpg. That said, you only have about 1 wpg over a 24" deep tank. This may suffice to grow some plants (Java fern, Anubias, some Crypts, etc.) but you would be much better off with a full blown 6700K lamp or the like which would provide you with 2 wpg and give better penetration to the depths of your tank.

 

[sudz]

*sigh* Alright.

I'll probably have it for a month then. Anyone interested in buying a 1 month used 96 watt square socket 50/50 light?

I have java fern, watersprite, and hornwort. I'll be transferring some of them into my new tank.

Blarg. THats bad news. The guy at Big al's said i could do it with a planted tank.. but i imagine he was just trying to sell me the fixture. :-(

 

[czcz]

In case you are not aware and if the 1wpg does not get enough penetration, you can float all of those plants. The fern may do best tied to driftwood or some such closer to the light.

 

[sudz]

Hmmmm. I am getting a big piece of driftwood in. I could plant the java fern on that. I just like the watersprite planted. Looks much better IMO.

Does anyone know where i can find a cheap 96 watt 18 inch plant bulb?

 

[malkore]

www.hellolights.com is where I buy my bulbs.

 

[sudz]

Yeah, I went to big al's and ordered a lighting system. I come home... buddy sends me a link to froogle.google.com saying that its the end of e-bay. i do a search... and find EXACTLY what i was looking for. for 100 bucks instead of 200 at big al's.

I'm trying to cancel my order now, though i feel like a jerk, because i'm in there constantly. Even if they only give me store credit, i'm sure i'll use it.

Blah.

 

[sudz]

I cancelled my order from big al's. I found something half the price, and closer to what i wanted!

http://www.aquariumguys.com/20aqualight.html

w00t w00t. It even comes with a 6700k bulb. I've e-mailed them to dbl check, but i think i'll be ordering it.
FIRST thing i'm doing to it is painting it black, lol
Then if the fans are loud, i'll be replacing them. i have some ultra quiet ones from a computer (chipset fans, they're smaller than the norm)

*does the happy dance*