Recommended lighting for a low tech 55 Gal?

[Ghillie115]

I have a 55 gallon tank that I want to transform into a low tech planted. Currently my lighting is a 8,000K full spectrum daylight 32W 120V T8 48" bulb. The reflector its in is recommended for a 40W bulb. Considering that a 55 Gal tank is pretty deep, I figure I'll need to be in the 1.5-2 W/Gal range (right now I'm about .6) and have around 30 micromols of PAR at the substrate.

What should I be looking for?

 

[Bert2oo1]

I have a 55 gallon tank that I want to transform into a low tech planted. Currently my lighting is a 8,000K full spectrum daylight 32W 120V T8 48" bulb. The reflector its in is recommended for a 40W bulb. Considering that a 55 Gal tank is pretty deep, I figure I'll need to be in the 1.5-2 W/Gal range (right now I'm about .6) and have around 30 micromols of PAR at the substrate.



What should I be looking for?

I've got a 50g long with heaps of Java fern and a few crypts. I only use a single t8 with a reflector and everything seems to grow fine.

Wouldn't hurt to get another t8 and run 2 if your tanks deep. If u have 30 par at substrate tho that should be more than enough to grow all low light plants. Even medium light plants would be fine [emoji106]

 

[fishenthusiast]

I've got a 50g long with heaps of Java fern and a few crypts. I only use a single t8 with a reflector and everything seems to grow fine.

Wouldn't hurt to get another t8 and run 2 if your tanks deep. If u have 30 par at substrate tho that should be more than enough to grow all low light plants. Even medium light plants would be fine [emoji106]

I agree with Bert. 15 PAR is usually the minimum of what you want for low light plants. With a PAR of 30, you should be good to grow a variety of plants. Microsorum, Anubias, Bucephalandra, Echinodorus, Dwarf Sag, Cryptocoryne, and the list goes on. Just avoid those high requirement stem plants, such as Rotala macrandra. You should be able to grow some varieties of Hygro, Ludwigia repens would do fine, and Rotala rotundifolia is used in low light setups as well.

 

[Ellis98]

LED's from amazon.