View Full Version : Is this enough light and how does the light cycle work?
cephei
11-13-2008, 9:15 AM
Hi,
My aquarium is 40gallons (4ft x 2ft) and currently I have 2 arcadia 42" 'original tropical' lamps which are 38w each. These lamps are apparently good for growing plants but I dont know if I need more powerful bulbs or should I just get reflectors? I just plan on growing some low light plants that dont need a lot of maintanence or added Co2... such as anubias,anacharis, hornwort, java fern...
Also how does the light cycle work in a fish tank? How many hours should the tank light be on/off?
Many thanks
Squawkbert
11-13-2008, 9:30 AM
Those should be good (I'm assuming they have a fairly normal spectrum and whitish appearance - if they're very blue, you may have an issue).
Wattage is in a very good range, reflectors are usually a good thing to have (unless you need more light in the room too).
I'd start out at 8 - 10 hours per day and see how that goes.
cephei
11-13-2008, 9:37 AM
Those should be good (I'm assuming they have a fairly normal spectrum and whitish appearance - if they're very blue, you may have an issue).
Wattage is in a very good range, reflectors are usually a good thing to have (unless you need more light in the room too).
I'd start out at 8 - 10 hours per day and see how that goes.
This is the lamp.. its model FO38.. http://www.arcadia-uk.info/product.php?pid=11&mid=10&lan=en&sub=&id=4
The lamp is a whitey pink color when turned on.. The specs say it brings out the red and blue peaks of natural daylight and if im correct thats both spectrums that the plants need..
Does it matter when lights are off? Can I have them off during the day when im at work so I can have them when I come home or do they need to be off specifically at night? Ideally i'd have the lights on from 4pm -2am?
jayghmi
11-13-2008, 10:32 AM
Your 4pm to 2 am could be an issue depending on how much ambient light you already have in your room. I used to run my planted aquarium form 2pm to 10 pm, but in the summer I would have algea issues. In the winter, up here in the snowy north, I could run my lights by any schedule I liked because the ambient light is low and gets dark at 5 pm.
If you end up with issues - scale your light timing back. Also moon lights are super cool for the night hours.
cephei
11-13-2008, 12:05 PM
It gets dark here at like 4.30pm... If my curtains are closed in my room during the day my room stays pretty dark but not pitch black..
jayghmi
11-13-2008, 3:01 PM
It gets dark here at like 4.30pm... If my curtains are closed in my room during the day my room stays pretty dark but not pitch black..
you should be fine then.
You can also have a split light cycle if that's convenient for you. I have mine on for 5 hours in the morning and 5 hours in the evening. That way I get to see them before work and then again after.