Lighting For A 36 Gallon Bow Front

[russianaquarium]

Hello all, so iv'e been having some serious troubles with my 36 bowfront. First it would kill any fish i put in there, then when fish started surviving I got extreme diatoms algae problems. Now this settled in thanks to Flourish Excel. Now I have green algae problems. I think its the lights, iv'e litterely tried everything and none are bright enough (because aquarium is over 20 inches tall). Finally found a couple ceiling leds lying around and these make the tank look so much more appealing. I think thats the problem with the aquarium. (Because It probably is high in the greens spectrum) Iv'e tried 2xt8's, all sorts of affortable leds, and even 2 t12s wouldnt do it. Im thinking of buying a couple flood lights because I heard these are really affortable and actually can grow plants. And most important look bright not dull in the aquarium. Now the question is which ones should I get (wattage type) i know it has to be between 6,000-6,700K range to grow plants. Thanks all heres a link of what Im looking at.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/500W-300W-...m=202085483856&_trksid=p2047675.c100005.m1851

 

[Bert2oo1]

I’ve seen people use 2 finnex’s on now fronts for growing medium-high light plants. A 24/7 se backed up with a fudge ray or similar should work. @caliban07 used to have a similar tank and might be able to help you out?

 

[russianaquarium]

Thanks for the reply!

 

[Caliban07]

I just used T5HO with reflector at about 20 inches. You don’t need tons of light. Although that tank is pretty deep. Looks bright enough to me.

 

[russianaquarium]

Ya it is bright enough but the spectrum is more green then red, its a house ceiling led, so I purchased 2x20 watt led flood lights, will these work? Im going to hang them like 6-8 inches on top of the aquarium.

here is the exact link of what i bought

https://www.ebay.com/itm/10W-20W-30...var=570958840620&_trksid=p2060353.m2749.l2649

 

[Caliban07]

Its difficult to say. If you mean show reds more by ‘will these work’ then you’ll need the spectral output. Reds are normally a bit lower than 6000K but different manufacturers, different outputs.

 

[russianaquarium]

Ya it was a risk I had to take but 19 bucks for 2 lights is amazing if they work. Risk because they don't have any information on the color spectrum, but if they don't work I can just use them to light up the outdoors or use them somewhere around the house. Ill keep you guys posted and let you guys know how things are going when they arrive. Thanks Caliban07

 

[Fresh2o]

The product description states that the color is 6000-6500k so you’ve got that going for you. Without a PAR meter reading(s) it would be difficult to say whether it is suitable for your needs. If you need more units at least you won’t break the bank.

 

[russianaquarium]

Actually I heard that they are wicked bright, and people put them above the water column due to algae problems. So I think they would be bright enough, I bought 2 because the 36 bowfront has a support going through the middle of the aquarium and it would be hard to light up the whole aquarium with 1 light. Thanks for the reply!