Lighting

[Mouflon44]

If I want a planted tank that is 26" in height, can I get away with using just fluorescents or must I add MH. I plan to have a wide variety of S.Am. plants including groundcovers.

[fishfood]

You'll probably get some better respones in the aquatic plant forum. You may want to browse some of the lighting posts there. I'm not a plant expert but flourescents have worked well for my plants and it seems to be what most people use. MH lights are normally only used on reef tanks, as they are very expensive and don't put out a good wavelength for freshwater plants, from what I've read.

[tricksterpup]

26 inches is pretty high for a tank. Most fluorescents do not do well past 24 inches. It is best to use Power Compacts, they are far cheaper than MH and are brighter than NF. But this might be a better question posted in the plant forum.




jim

[Mouflon44]

Thanks for the responses, I'll check with the plant forum