lights

[surfanswim]

hi, im new to freshwater aquariums...........ive had a 55g tank for over 2 months. Its a community tank, with kribensis, and hopefully more apistogramma(im addicicted to them) well i just added plants and am havign a problem with them dying. i have anachris, and amazon sword. the leaves keep tuning brown and dye. i only have the lights that the hood came with, single strip. is there not enough light? and if not what do u recomend for lights. i apprecite it very much. surfs up and b kind to the ocean

 

[tjudy]

You do not have enough light, and likely not the right spectrum, for the plants you keep. I like two 40 watt bulbs over a 55 for plants. That's is easy with a shop light. Make sure you get a fixture that the bulbs are fully recessed into. It looks better. Home Depot and Lowes both sell the fixtures and a couple different bulbs. I like a 'Sun Bulb' and a plant growth bulb. I forget exactly what they are called. They are a lot cheaper there than from the LFS.

 

[vancat]

APD

try the Aquatic Plants Digest mailing list. there's a lot to learn.

Power Compact Fluorescents seem to be the favorite lighting among planted tank enthuiasts. That's what I have.

Good Luck!

vancat

 

[aspen]

when deciding what lamps to buy, make sure you add the price of replacements in your costs. flourescent lamps need to be replaced, cause they don't last all that long at full bright. deterioration is remarkably fast, ie, 50% in 6 months.

i think t-8 lamps with electronic ballasts are the best way to go, they last a lot longer than the t-12 lamps and you can find suitable lamps at the les (local electrical supplier). i'd rather pay 3 bucks a lamp to replace than 40 bucks.

for higher light plants, if you can make a hood with 3 or 4 lamps for that 55, you will be WAY BRIGHT!

rick

 

[tjudy]

The bulbs I use (I was just over at Lowes) are the Sylvania Sunstick and and Sylvania Gro-lux. Granted, they are probably not the best lights you can get. I change them out avery 6 months. Most of what I grow are not super-bright light plants. A 55 has enough depth to want at least two 40 watt bulbs.

 

[surfanswim]

i appreciate all the replies, im just new to this plant thing, i love my plants and the fish really love them, i dunt want to give them up, so im off to some stores. thanks again

 

[Neil]

surfanswim,

WELCOME TO THE FORUM

Me too. I am going over to Home Depot to see what they have there. It has been too long since I changed bulbs on some of my fixtures and I have not been inclined to do it because of the price of LFS aquarium bulbs or PCs.
Neil

 

[jerseyjay]

#1. If you bought standard All-Glass setup then you probably have GE Aqua Rays which are 9325K bulbs. Those are perfect for planted tanks. Back in the T12 days I used to buy those seperatly from online shops b/c my plants stayed more compact and had more reddish colors. At the end is what outcome you want to see in your tank.

~ 5000K bulbs will give you yellowish feel
~ 6500K bulbs will give you yellow/blue feel
~ 9325K bulbs will give you reddish/blue feel

People like to combine different bulbs to lower the drastic output of individual bulbs.

6500K bulb is available in Home Depot under Philips F40DX model ~5$
5000K bulb is available in Home Depot under GE Chroma50 model ~5$

For 55G tank with not too demending plants, I would shoot for at least too bulbs.

If you want to go w/ CO2, fertilization, high demending plants then Power Compact is the only way. I have 220Watts of PC on my 55G.

But this is another ball game and another topic :wink: