lighting for a planted 55

[firebelly]

well i've got my 55 completely set up... but with the one bulb in the hood that comes with it, there's less than one watt per gallon, and since i'm hoping to make a moderately planted tank, i know i need to replace it. i don't know too much about lighting so i need some help on what is the best option to get enough light of the right spectrum for plants? hopefully not too expensive either... if possible

[MrGoodbytes]

You could make a DIY fixture out of just 4' flourescent tubes. If you used four, you would have almost 3WPG. The space on the top of your aquarium would be limited and it would be harder to move to do water changes.
I did a 3' version of this over my 35gal and it works fine for me. So, removing it is a little inconvenient, but I am happy with the money I saved.
Another option is to get maybe two 55W compact flourescent lights. You would save a lot of space, but it will be a bit more pricey. Someone else can offer you more info in this area sice I only have book knowledge to guide me.
If you want an idea of the price, check out www.ahsupply.com .
Good luck with you planted aquarium!

Graeme

[Richer]

You need to think about what kind of plant tank you want... high tech, or low tech.

High tech tanks involve using bright lights, co2 injection, regular nutrient dosing and regular trimmings. It can be a handful at times. However, high tech tanks can look very lush, with lots of healthy growth. I prefer high tech tanks myself.

Low tech tanks involve, using dimmer lights, more floating plants, and little else. Maintanence isn't as high as a high tech tank, but growth is noticably slower compared to a high tech tank.

www.ahsupply.com has nice DIY kits for lights. My 70 gallon tank (my only running plant tank atm) has a 4x55watt kit over it. Its been running for over a year, and its still performing quite well.

If you buy from ahsupply.com, and you want to go hightech, I'd suggest a 2x55watt kit for your tank. That would put you at 2watts/gallon... which is considered a threshold for a high tech tank. However, the CF lights from ahsupply.com and their mirror reflectors are quite bright, and will penetrate water quite easily. So 2 watts/gallon should be quite enough.

If you want a lower tech tank, try either a 2x36watt kit, or just a single 55 watt kit.

HTH
-Richer

[djlen]

Orrrrrrrrrrrr,

You could do the old shop light thing. Two 40 watt 6500K 'daylight' bulbs($8 for the shop light, $12 for two tubes) which would give you about 1.5 watts/gal. I use this system on one of my 55's. It's not the prettiest set-up, but it's effective and, for me the most satisfying of all my tanks. Also, BTW the least maintenance of all of them.
This set-up with CO2 injection will grow many different plants(low light). I've got Crypts, Java Fern, a bunch of different types of Anubia, Riccia, Aponogetons, and a nice stand of Amazon Swords growing in that environment. All are doing well. Everything just takes a bit longer to happen, but for me it's more satisfying to grow them in low light.
The tank is 48" across and the shop light is the same, so it just works out fine, size-wise.

Len

[firebelly]

i'd really like to be able to keep a nice looking hood on this tank since it's gonna be my display tank in my room.

i like the idea of high tech, but my schedule doesn't support that right now... i'd end up neglecting it eventually. so i just have a question about low tech- what kind of plants would i be able to keep? would it have to be only plants that need moderate levels of light or could i keep high-light plants, and they just wouldn't grow as quickly?

i'm assuming that if i got the higher lighting (2x55) it would require me to do all the co2/nutrients/etc to keep the plants healthy in that intensity of light?

also, about the hood, will the kits from ahsupply.com fit well on top of my 55 if i get either the 2x36 kit or the 55 watt kit? i looked at them but i'm not completely clear on the size/shape.

thanks a lot for the posts, sorry so long
~firebelly

[djlen]

Did you get the hood that generally comes with a 55?
If you did it should consist of two, approx. 22" fixtures that fit onto a glass top.
If that's the case your best bet is to call AH (their number is on the website) and explain to them what you want to do and they will tell you your options. They have retros that will fit into those hoods. They are very good at explaining the ins and outs of lighting, based on what the hobbyist has available to put the retro-kits into.
If you don't have the dual hoods I mentioned, you'd have to make a hood(not difficult) to put the lighting into. There is a detailed description of how to make a hood on the website. The kits they send are complete and easy to assemble as well.

A 2 x 55 kit would put you into the low/med. light range @ 2 watts/gal. IMO, you would not be able to grow many of the "high light" plants. They just don't perform very well at 2 watts/gal.
That would include many of the red varies and some ground covers like Glosso among others.
However, you still would be able to grow the majority of plants available at that wattage, and without CO2. CO2 becomes a necessity at 3.0 watts/gal.(again, my opinion) and up. It is a huge help at any wattage, however.
Nutrients would be a big help as well. Plants have the ability to store nutrients, so when you first get them they will do well initially, but as they use up the stores, for good growth they should be fed. At lower light they don't need as much as if they were in a higher lit environment.

Think of it this way.......High Light = faster, more lush growth, but more of everything to maintain plants so that they can take over the tank and combat algae.
Low Light = slower growth, but less work, less feeding etc., and more easy to maintain.
You're looking for balance and it's easier to find at low wattage than high.
I would recommend that you start slow and learn your tank before jumping into a high-tech situation.

Len