Tropical Fish Keeping banner

Lighting questions

1K views 8 replies 6 participants last post by  Christaphason 
#1 ·
Hey all,

I just have a few questions maybe you guys can help me out with.

I have a 15 gallon aquarium, flourite substrate and a DIY co2 system. My question concerning lights is, i have 2 T8 tube fixtures with Glo brand Life-Glo bulbs in them, they are 18'' each at 15 watts rated at 6700k, i believe. Will this setup enable me to grow medium-high light plants. I also have a spare light fixture that has 2 CFL bulbs in it rated at 15 watts a piece and 6500k, should i use one t8 configuration in combination with the CFL bulbs or should i go with the two T8 lights?

Sorry if this is a stupid question but, it seems like the extra wattage from the CFL bulbs, with a total of 30 watts, plus another 15 from a T8 tube would be better. I'm just really unsure of this stuff.

am i out of luck without having a T5 setup?

Thanks and sorry for rambling on
 
#3 · (Edited)
I think that with two 15w t8 bulbs at 6700K, you should be fine for everything except the most light demanding plants. 2 watts per gallon worked really well for me for quite a while on my 30 gallon tank. Remember to use a good liquid fertilizer, and "medium light" plants should do pretty well.

I also have CF bulbs on one of my smaller planted tanks, and am experiencing record breaking growth :p If you wanted even more wattage than you are getting from the t8s, I wouldn't see a problem with putting one or both of your CF bulbs over it also. Just be prepared for algae issues with that much light.
 
#4 ·
I think that with two 15w t8 bulbs at 6700K, you should be fine for everything except the most light demanding plants. 2 watts per gallon worked really well for me for quite a while on my 30 gallon tank. Remember to use a good liquid fertilizer, and "medium light" plants should do pretty well.

I also have CF bulbs on one of my smaller planted tanks, and am experiencing record breaking growth :p If you wanted even more wattage than you are getting from the t8s, I wouldn't see a problem with putting one or both of your CF bulbs over it also. Just be prepared for algae issues with that much light.
+one for the T8 bulbs. Would try and start with as many plant's as possible. With large plant mass that is thriving,,you will have less issues with algae. Would also begin with eight hours of light and slowly increase to ten hours over weeks,months.
Worked well for me and other than diatoms when tank was first set up with plant's,I had no algae issues.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top