I need better lighting. Should I double my LED strip or go new?

[Adaptingfate]

I have a 75g (tall) aquarium that is currently running the 48" variety of this:

BlueLine 48" 36w White VHO LED Strip :: LED Lighting Systems :: Lighting :: Champion Lighting & Supply

1x Anubias Congensis
1x Anubias Barteri
2x Hygrophila
2x Lloydiella Bunch
1x Ozelot Red-Spot Sword (with 1 pretty big baby and a 4-baby runner sprouted)
1x Java Fern Mat
12x Cryptocorne Bronze Wendtii
12x Tiny pieces of duckweed leftover from the old tank.

I have Eco Complete substrate, root tabs and dose Flourish Excel daily. I am not running CO2 yet, and not sure if/when that will happen.

My Ozelot sword is the centerpiece and the runners are thriving at the top of the tank.

The bigger leaves on the mother plant, however seem to turn brown and die. It seems to be the leaves that are positioned underneath some of the higher leaves.

The leaves that are mottled and darker seem to do fine, but the greener leaves with faint spots are the leaves that seem to die.

Anyway, my question is, would adding another LED strip provide me with high enough light for most plants (want a carpet of dwarf tears if I do add CO2), or should I just bite the bullet and get a different lighting system altogether?

 

[calfishguy]

Another led strip would not put you at high light IMO. However investing in a dual t5ho fixture would.

 

[tarheel92]

I would actually disagree with calfishguy. There is a very good chance a second strip could put you at high light, but can't say for sure since I cannot find any PAR data on that fixture. Watts per gallon is meaningless, especially with LEDs, so PAR data is really the only thing to go off of. If the output is comparable to a Finnex FugeRay, you are at about 30 PAR in a 21" tall tank, and a second strip would put you into high light.

 

[Callmemr.joey]

Double the strip light

 

[aqua_chem]

What's your lighting budget in this operation?

 

[Adaptingfate]

My budget isn't exactly set. I'd like to keep it around $150, but if I have to spend a little more for a better lighting setup, I would consider it.

The current setup has a nice canopy on the top as well, which may or may not limit my lighting to fixtures that could be mounted. The current strip is mounted, but that means there is very little light in the tank when I've got the lid open. I wouldn't mind a fixture that rests on the top of the tank, I'm just not sure my canopy would give it clearance.

 

[tarheel92]

The Finnex rigs are pretty streamlined, so they might be able to fit under your hood depending on clearance, if you're wanting a strip to sit on the tank instead of mounting in the hood. The 48" Ray2 runs about $170, though the FugeRay, which has lower light output, is only like $120 in that length. I have two 30" FugeRays on my 29G and love them.

 

[Adaptingfate]

There's plenty of depth under the canopy, but the canopy walls are flush with the tank, so if the lighting had a flange it couldn't rest outside the tank lip, if that makes sense.

 

[tarheel92]

There's plenty of depth under the canopy, but the canopy walls are flush with the tank, so if the lighting had a flange it couldn't rest outside the tank lip, if that makes sense.

Oh ok. Yeah those definitely wouldn't sit on the tank with the mounts it comes with...you'll honestly probably just be better off mounting your second strip in the canopy as well; all of the standard mounts i can think of have a lip of some sort that goes over the edge of the tank.