Another lighting question...

[my_little_tetra]

Sorry! I have been looking around here and online and I am just getting myself confused. I want to have a low tech tank, no CO2, easy plants. I currently have java fern, amazon sword, red crypt, wisteria, and cabomba. I use Flourish root tabs and Flourish comprehensive. My tank is 24" tall.

My question is...what type of bulb? I only have a standard, came-with-the-tank, flourescent right now. The lighting seems dim to me.

Would an Aqueon Floramax or a Zoo Med Flora Sun be enough? Would they fit into my standard hood? I don't want to overdo the light and end up with algae problems, but I also want my plants to not die

 

[Fresh2o]

The stock fluorescent tubes are most typically T-8 bulbs; the bulbs you mentioned should come in that size. IME the ZooMed Flora Sun should produce a light that will benefit plant growth, however, aesthetically I thought my tank looked dim and pink. Plants probably enjoyed it but I did not. I returned it. If you do get it locally, ask about the return policy.
I purchased an inexpensive dual T-5 NO (normal output as opposed to High Output) as a replacement to the stock light and plant growth improved. The dual bulb setups usually come with a bulb for plant growth and another for "light balance" (viewing your fish, etc).
A few months later I replaced that light with a Finnex FugeRay LED fixture and got better results (the dual T-5 went onto another tank with moss and a few crypts). That is what worked for me for low light, however, both of my tanks are 20 g long and about HALF as tall as the one you mentioned. You will probably need a dual HO fixture for the (I assume it is for the 56g).

 

[my_little_tetra]

Thanks! Yes it's the 56g.

So I guess I'll scrap the idea of using the stock hood and just replacing the bulb.

I loved the look of LEDs in my old tank. Maybe I could get away with the Finnex Fugeray 30"?
Amazon.com: Finnex FugeRay Aquarium LED Light Plus Moonlights, 30-Inch: Pet Supplies

Other option may be Aquaticlife dual T5 HO
Aquarium Lighting T5 Fluorescent Light Fixture: AquaticLife T5 HO Dual Lamp Light Fixtures

 

[Fresh2o]

Thanks! Yes it's the 56g.

So I guess I'll scrap the idea of using the stock hood and just replacing the bulb.

I loved the look of LEDs in my old tank. Maybe I could get away with the Finnex Fugeray 30"?
Amazon.com: Finnex FugeRay Aquarium LED Light Plus Moonlights, 30-Inch: Pet Supplies

Other option may be Aquaticlife dual T5 HO
Aquarium Lighting T5 Fluorescent Light Fixture: AquaticLife T5 HO Dual Lamp Light Fixtures

Both of these should work for low light plants considering the depth of the tank. I am partial to the LEDs because I don't like the idea of changing out bulbs annually ($). The dual bulb fixture is nice because of the individual reflectors. However, the leg mounts make me nervous for some reason.

Here is a link on another forum discussing lighting options for this tanks. Enjoy!

http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/showthread.php?t=197966

 

[my_little_tetra]

I think I found that post before, lol. I seem to be finding a lot of conflicting information on LEDs appropriate for this deep tank. Some places I see that the Finnex Ray II lights mentioned in that post will make an algae fest without CO2 injection and other places say I'd need two fixtures just to barely get by. And the Fugeray is apparently lower PAR than the Ray II, which would be great if the folks saying the Ray II is too much are right, but bad if the folks saying it's not enough are right. Lighting is so confusing!

Maybe if I go ahead and buy the 30" Fugeray and I'm having trouble with plants not growing, I could add a second 30" or 24" Fugeray? It would suck expense wise, but would it help to have 2 if that turns out to be the case?

PS: I agree about those leg mounts...I have a glass top, so being able to set the LED fixtures on it would be fab.

 

[Fresh2o]

I think I found that post before, lol. I seem to be finding a lot of conflicting information on LEDs appropriate for this deep tank. Some places I see that the Finnex Ray II lights mentioned in that post will make an algae fest without CO2 injection and other places say I'd need two fixtures just to barely get by. And the Fugeray is apparently lower PAR than the Ray II, which would be great if the folks saying the Ray II is too much are right, but bad if the folks saying it's not enough are right. Lighting is so confusing!

Maybe if I go ahead and buy the 30" Fugeray and I'm having trouble with plants not growing, I could add a second 30" or 24" Fugeray? It would suck expense wise, but would it help to have 2 if that turns out to be the case?

PS: I agree about those leg mounts...I have a glass top, so being able to set the LED fixtures on it would be fab.

Tough call between the Ray2 and FugeRay. If you go with the Ray2 and the light is a bit too much, you could add screening to cut down on the light. Or raise it up; I have an issue with that and glass tops (more on that below). Seems a bit much for a low tech, no CO2 tank. Perhaps the single Fugeray now and see how it goes. You could always add a second if necessary. If you do have a second one you could set it for the moonlights only and run it on a separate timer to come on for a few hours in the evening and/or morning. There are cheaper solutions for moonlights.

Initially I had a 30" FugeRay sitting on an Aqueon glass top but had a few problems with it:
1. It would not sit flat on the glass top; was a bit long and part of it would sit on the tank rim
2. Due to the light weight (I like the slim design), whenever I lifted the front glass pane, the light fixture would slide backwards and the glass top would slide forwards a bit. I taped on DIY "back stops" to to rim to address this.
3. Light creeping out from the front side would reflect against the glass top and project upwards (in to the field of vision unless I was sitting).

Next, I mounted the fixture onto the tank rim using the supplied leg mounts. This worked okay; only part of the rim would "catch" onto the mount's thumbscrew. Obviously this would work much better on a rimless tank. Also, I found that the leg mounts interfered with using a glass top. Which was fine because the light reflection was 10x worse. So using PVC strips, I cut some rim extensions (I call them rails), painted them black and glued them to the top of the tank. Raised the light about 3/4", allowed the leg mounts to fit securely on the tank and allowed for the glass top to be in place.

About the reflection, I figure the more light getting reflected, the less light going into the tank. I am currently going topless but evaporation has increased. I will put the top back on when I go on vacation.

 

[my_little_tetra]

Thanks for the heads up on the glass top issues.

I think I may just go ahead with the Fugeray 30". I don't like the idea of not having a lid d/t evaporation issues and potential fish suicide attempt issues, so I will see if the reflection bugs me or not and go from there. I like the idea of your rim extensions, because I was kind of wondering how in the world I could mount the thing to the rim with the top in place!

 

[Old Scales]

One way to eliminate light reflections

Make you a DIY light baffle. A lot of people can not do woithout a glass lid not only due to evaporation, but because of jumping fish. Many light fixtures sit on the tank top via short legs that lets the light shine or reflect outward. Enclosed pics are how I solved this problem. It's just a piece of dense cardboard measured and cut to fit the gap in front between the tank top and the light. I made it tougher by covering with duct tape. It's lightweight and I just lay it on top of the fixture before I slide it back to open the glass top. Maybe this may be an option for you and others.
One pic shows the reflecting light w/o baffle. One shows the baffle in place. One pic shows the baffle offset so you can see how it looks and sets between the glass lid and the front edge of the light. OS.

 

[my_little_tetra]

Great idea!

I think I will order the fugeray tonight!

 

[Fresh2o]

Make you a DIY light baffle. A lot of people can not do woithout a glass lid not only due to evaporation, but because of jumping fish. Many light fixtures sit on the tank top via short legs that lets the light shine or reflect outward. Enclosed pics are how I solved this problem. It's just a piece of dense cardboard measured and cut to fit the gap in front between the tank top and the light. I made it tougher by covering with duct tape. It's lightweight and I just lay it on top of the fixture before I slide it back to open the glass top. Maybe this may be an option for you and others.
One pic shows the reflecting light w/o baffle. One shows the baffle in place. One pic shows the baffle offset so you can see how it looks and sets between the glass lid and the front edge of the light. OS.

Great idea. I may have to try this. I am not too concerned with any heat buildup because the LEDs produce so little to begin with. I am tired of watching the water level drop daily. The rubber hinge on my glass top actually snapped down the middle. I might take a knife and remove the rest of it (it was blocking light anyhow) and go hingeless if possible.

 

[my_little_tetra]

Got my Fugeray yesterday! So far I am happy with it! Now time will tell if the plants like it too.

Thank you to everyone who helped me with this!!

 

[Fresh2o]

Got my Fugeray yesterday! So far I am happy with it! Now time will tell if the plants like it too.

Thank you to everyone who helped me with this!!

How exciting! The moonlight is a cool effect.

 

[brybell]

how are the plants? I think i may get the same but a 24" for my 20gal