Ryan's Updated 54G Corner Tank

[MyanRan]

Hey guys, thought I'd share my redone tank with you! I had made a few posts about lighting questions, and thought I'd show you how it's turning out. The new fixture I got is a Hagen GLO Dual T5HO. It has two Life-GLO 6700k bulbs in it. The light is about 20" above the substrate and it looks amazing!
The plants currently in the tank are:
Rotala indica
Bacopa carolineana
Anubias frazeri
Vallisneria
Marsilea crenata (Dwarf Four Leaf Clover)
The fixture just went on the tank last night and I can already see some new growth! It's exciting because I used to have two T8 18000k bulbs on there and there was basically no growth.

 

[Sharpchick]

Don't you love it when you make improvements, and they start paying off so quickly?

 

[MyanRan]

Haha yeah it's awesome! I've literally been staring at my tank every chance I get. It's so much different having 6700k bulb compared to the 18000k. It's such a nice temp.

 

[MyanRan]

I believe I need some more plants in here now though, I want to get it looking lush! I'm not sure where I'm going to order plants from, but ordering to Canada has been a hassle for everything else. I don't know what kind of plants I want, any suggestions? Can I have some of the red plants now that I have a new fixture?

 

[MyanRan]

Better Pictures

Let's see if these ones turn out nicer:

 

[MyanRan]

Is it normal for my fish to go crazy and start nibbling sinking algae wafers that I put it in every three days for my pleco?

 

[Sharpchick]

Is it normal for my fish to go crazy and start nibbling sinking algae wafers that I put it in every three days for my pleco?

Yep. They don't call it "feeding frenzy" for nothing...

 

[DanTheGuppyMan]

Looks very nice! I have the same light fixture and bulbs on my 60g, just longer but i also have 2 LED strips on it too. With mine, I could grow coloring plants like rotala magenta, ludwigia, etc. fine but didnt get much color out of them...I did get some tho. then i added the LED's and BAM the tank went crazy lol. but if you dose a lot of potassium and iron I think you could get nice results with coloring plants. I think some tall sword plants right in the back would look good...not sure lol anyone else have ideas for plants?

 

[MyanRan]

I'm fairly new to aquarium plants, so I don't have the extensive "library" of plants to choose from that others have. I can't even picture most plants that people suggest! So I have to google them haha

 

[MyanRan]

I was just thinking the other day of the light intensity. So my fixture is rated at 40 PAR for 20" I think. That's actually not that much... There is a 30 Day Return Policy so... My question is: I spent $225 on this light? What could I get for this price that would be "high light"?

 

[DanTheGuppyMan]

I will always recommend the Current TrueLumen Pro LED's. I put 2 48" 8,000K Sun White strips on my tank, and along with my T5Ho it grows everything! But the LED's alone would be considered high light I think. Each 48" strip was $164 so it would be cheaper.

 

[MyanRan]

Hey I like that idea! Want to give me some more info though? Can I buy them in shorter strips? Do I mount them in a hood or do they have an enclosure?
EDIT: just checked TPT for PAR data. Looks like two 36" strips would give me over 60! Much better than slightly less than 40 for the GLO hood. The opening on my tank is 30 inches though...

 

[DanTheGuppyMan]

Yeah they come from 12" to 72" I think, so there is a strip to fit your tank. There is also a guide on Current's website on pickin the right lights for your tank...I will link it. They come with canopy brackets you can mount them inside a canopy, I just laid mine right on top the tank to get the most PAR out of it.

 

[MyanRan]

I see that I would want two 24" 8000k strips. Do I buy the power supply and connector separately?
EDIT: Yes! If you could show me the PAR for the 24" strips that would be great!

 

[DanTheGuppyMan]

For 2 24" strips you just need one power supply (60W transformer thing) and you can just connect the ends of the strips, no need for the 3 way splitter

 

[MyanRan]

Sweet! I just wanna be sure about PAR and then I'm off to return my GLO to Petland!

 

[DanTheGuppyMan]

Glad I could help out!

 

[Scottyhorse]

I was just thinking the other day of the light intensity. So my fixture is rated at 40 PAR for 20" I think. That's actually not that much... There is a 30 Day Return Policy so... My question is: I spent $225 on this light? What could I get for this price that would be "high light"?

Keep in mind, when you move to high light you should also do co2. If you don't do co2, you'll get a lot of algae.

 

[MyanRan]

Yeah man! Got my Glutereldahyde yesterday!

 

[MyanRan]

Hey Dan where are the PAR charts for them?