another plant lighting thread

[tomasm87]

yes i want to know what lighting i would need. I want to have Chain swords, Water sprite, Jungle Vallisneria, Cabomba, and bacopa australis. I currently have a stock hood with a 24" T8 light fixture. Its 17 watts so that makes my tank a low light right? I currently have three java ferns and two anubias in my tank. but it seems empty. I need more. The rule is you get your lighting first right? Any other plant options will be appreciated.

 

[Brian_Nano12g]

What size tank? Substrate?

 

[tomasm87]

I have a 29 gallon tank with a mixture of eco complete, black sand, and filter sand as substrate.

 

[BBradbury]

Your Lighting Question

yes i want to know what lighting i would need. I want to have Chain swords, Water sprite, Jungle Vallisneria, Cabomba, and bacopa australis. I currently have a stock hood with a 24" T8 light fixture. Its 17 watts so that makes my tank a low light right? I currently have three java ferns and two anubias in my tank. but it seems empty. I need more. The rule is you get your lighting first right? Any other plant options will be appreciated.

Hello tom...

The "stock" hoods are only good enough for viewing the fish and don't do much for plant growth. You need to get the number of watts of light up to 1 to 1.5 watts per gallon of tank size. To do that, you'll need a fixture that will hold two bulbs. If you use T8 bulbs, you want a fixture that has a reflector inside the fixture. It's just a mirrorlike, metal strip fitted inside the strip. Check the local pet stores or if you're handy with a screwdriver and some screws, there are lighting options at the local hardware store.

Bulbs are available at the hardware store. Look for aquarium plant bulbs and ones in the 6500K range. These will come closest to natural daylight at 5500K. GE has a good bulb for aquariums.

If you can get the number of watts around the above numbers, you'll be able to grow plants that require low to moderate light. Which is basically what you already have.

B

 

[tomasm87]

So will two t8 bulbs be enough? How many t5 bulbs?

 

[aqua_chem]

A T5NO fixture wold probably work fairly well with the plants that you want to grow. While they are not necessarily what I would consider medium light plants, they are definitely plants that would appreciate more light than "low light".

 

[tomasm87]

So one T5 makes my tank a medium light, right? So two would make it a high light tank?

 

[aqua_chem]

Probably true for T5HO, but normal output bulbs produce less light.

 

[BBradbury]

Aquarium Lighting

So will two t8 bulbs be enough? How many t5 bulbs?

Hello again tom...

I had a couple of 24 inch, T8s in a 38 G tank and my low light plants grew fine. Plants that require lower light are naturally slow growers. A couple of T8s will be roughly 20 watts apiece and those combined with a reflective strip should be sufficient.

The T5 bulbs take a different fixture and are typically stronger lights. Also, they're more costly. Your low light plants will do fine with the T8s and the proper strip.

If you want to go the more expensive way, then research a company by the name of Solarmax. I believe I have the name right. This company has some very good higher end lighting. A company by the name of Alphapro Breeders carries the lights.

B