Getting back into the hobby after a bit. Trying to do some lighting research, but I always kind of feel lost. I read up the pinned topics at the top, but the beginner lighting guide doesn't even mention LED lights.
Right now I have a 20 gallon high tank. The tank is stocked and is also planted with mostly anubias, but also some java fern and I add two sword types this past weekend.
Lighting is an Aqueon T8 fixture with a 15 watt Floramax bulb. I've been dosing with Flourish about once a week.
So far, the anubias has actually been growing well. I know it's a slow grower, but every plant has at least one new leaf since I plated the plants about 3 weeks ago. The java fern is seems to have some new growth as well. It hasn't been long enough to even comment on the swords, but if there is growth, I'm sure it will be slow.
While I'll still wait just a bit to see how everything continues to grow, I know that I could do better in the lighting department (obviously). I wouldn't even want to really bother with a fixture that isn't LEDs, but I know that doesn't really limit my options. I know there are really affordable options out there like Finnex, but there have an extremely short warranty period and I've seen many people have them go out on them pretty quickly.
So, let's go over some of the options I've come across:
Aqueon OptiBright Plus:
I asked Aqueon about this light, and they did design it with planted tanks in mind -- kind of. If you look at the instructions for the fixture, they actually list the PAR at 12 inches. It's pretty low. The 18-24 inch fixture is only 13, so even with 2, that would be really low on a 16 inch tank. It can be had for about $50 on Amazon, so it's affordable. It can also be programmed with an included remote, so that's nice.
Fluval Fresh and Planted 2.0:
The PAR for this one is 107 at 12 inches and 57 at 18 inches. That's leaps and bounds above the Aqueon, but I'm worried it might be too much for me if I have pretty simple plants and no CO2, however, it can be dimmed. It's about $150, but I guess you're getting what you pay for.
Fluval Aquasky:
I couldn't find the PAR from the manufacturer for this one, but Fluval specifically says it's appropriate for low to medium light plants. No built in timer, but it seems to be able to be customized quite a bit. Also, it's less than $70 on Amazon, so half the price of the other Fluval offering.
So, these are 3 different lights for probably 3 different situations and I'm not sure which is best for me. Like I said, I don't have the most demanding plants, and while I'd like to make some additions in the future, I'm not looking for anything hard to grow. I'm not interested in doing CO2 injection on this tank (maybe on a bigger tank in the future), but I have no problem dosing liquid carbon.
Like I said, I'm not looking to make the jump tomorrow, but am looking to upgrade soon. I'm still kind of interested in how well everything continues with the current light. No signs of algae so far, so if anything, that makes me happy.
Any thoughts or advice?
Right now I have a 20 gallon high tank. The tank is stocked and is also planted with mostly anubias, but also some java fern and I add two sword types this past weekend.
Lighting is an Aqueon T8 fixture with a 15 watt Floramax bulb. I've been dosing with Flourish about once a week.
So far, the anubias has actually been growing well. I know it's a slow grower, but every plant has at least one new leaf since I plated the plants about 3 weeks ago. The java fern is seems to have some new growth as well. It hasn't been long enough to even comment on the swords, but if there is growth, I'm sure it will be slow.
While I'll still wait just a bit to see how everything continues to grow, I know that I could do better in the lighting department (obviously). I wouldn't even want to really bother with a fixture that isn't LEDs, but I know that doesn't really limit my options. I know there are really affordable options out there like Finnex, but there have an extremely short warranty period and I've seen many people have them go out on them pretty quickly.
So, let's go over some of the options I've come across:
Aqueon OptiBright Plus:
I asked Aqueon about this light, and they did design it with planted tanks in mind -- kind of. If you look at the instructions for the fixture, they actually list the PAR at 12 inches. It's pretty low. The 18-24 inch fixture is only 13, so even with 2, that would be really low on a 16 inch tank. It can be had for about $50 on Amazon, so it's affordable. It can also be programmed with an included remote, so that's nice.
Fluval Fresh and Planted 2.0:
The PAR for this one is 107 at 12 inches and 57 at 18 inches. That's leaps and bounds above the Aqueon, but I'm worried it might be too much for me if I have pretty simple plants and no CO2, however, it can be dimmed. It's about $150, but I guess you're getting what you pay for.
Fluval Aquasky:
I couldn't find the PAR from the manufacturer for this one, but Fluval specifically says it's appropriate for low to medium light plants. No built in timer, but it seems to be able to be customized quite a bit. Also, it's less than $70 on Amazon, so half the price of the other Fluval offering.
So, these are 3 different lights for probably 3 different situations and I'm not sure which is best for me. Like I said, I don't have the most demanding plants, and while I'd like to make some additions in the future, I'm not looking for anything hard to grow. I'm not interested in doing CO2 injection on this tank (maybe on a bigger tank in the future), but I have no problem dosing liquid carbon.
Like I said, I'm not looking to make the jump tomorrow, but am looking to upgrade soon. I'm still kind of interested in how well everything continues with the current light. No signs of algae so far, so if anything, that makes me happy.
Any thoughts or advice?
