Help me choose a light, please.

[DonovanJM]

I'm thinking about having a few live plants in my tank and I'm not sure what light to get. I'm thinking about low to medium light plants as I don't want to deal with CO2 at this point. I'm still new to aquariums. I think I would like to do LED do to the lower energy cost and longevity but do to the relative newness of them the information seems a bit sparse. I understand it's all in the PAR and full spectrum but that's about it. So here are a couple I am looking at if you could give your opinions that would be great.

https://www.amazon.com/VivaGrow-Aquarium-Freshwater-Remote-Automation/dp/B01BX6KLCQ

Beamswork DA FSPEC LED Aquarium Light Freshwater Full Spectrum 24 30 36 48 72 | eBay

This one is fluorescent and a bit more than I need at this time I believe but I think I could run on two bulbs possible until I decide to go high light.
Odyssea T5 Quad Timer Aquarium Light Marine FOWLR Cichlid LED 24 30 36 48 72 | eBay

Thank you!

 

[Delapool]

Hi, any luck with picking a light out here?

 

[DonovanJM]

Hi, any luck with picking a light out here?

No, not yet.

 

[Delapool]

How deep is your tank?

 

[DonovanJM]

It's about 28 inches (71cm) deep.

 

[Delapool]

Erk, that's almost as deep as mine (30 inches) but I have a thick substrate bed for a high-tech planted tank. Should have a link at home for bulbs vs tank depth fyi.


I found run-of-the-mill display lights don't have enough intensity to get decent PAR down to depth. Something similar to the quad t5ho I would think for yours.

 

[DonovanJM]

Sorry about the slow response. It's been a busy couple days. Thank you for the responses.


So I'm going to need something pretty hefty even for low/medium light plants? I guess I should have known I was going to need a bit more with how deep the tank is.

 

[Delapool]

Hi, below is the chart I was thinking of. I think local members here are doing ok with growing val or other plants which can be bought a decent size and then spread out through runners. Or they place plants on driftwood.

I suspect many are mainly using LEDs but probably different brands to you. If you can get plants to within a foot (maybe a foot and a half) of the light I found they will do ok.

Tips for a Successful Planted Aquarium - Aquarium Fish Forum

From memory about a third or 50% of red light will be lost by the time it gets to substrate at that depth. Blue light not much loss at all.

I tried a cheaper (normal display) light for some time and growth was very slow to backwards at substrate.

 

[DonovanJM]

That chart is very helpful! According to the chart it looks like I could get away with a 2 bulb T5HO.

 

[Delapool]

Could be worth a try. I've found raising or lowering a light (if needed) can make a bit of a difference and do like the dimmable LEDs. Then I just run lights on a timer.