grannylvsfish
01-04-2009, 2:39 PM
Lighting
lighting is a major concern. its what every plant needs to grow. there are many options and you can go on for days reading about light. i will try and make this very simple. often people add too much light get frustrated and quit. if your starting out i suggest starting off with a low light tank. get the basic down before moving on to a higher light high tech set up.
one thing to remember about lighting is making sure you get the right bulb. some are better then others. i tend to stay in the 6500k - 10000k bulbs. many fixtures that are sold comes with Actinic bulbs. these do not help much for plants. you will just end up replacing them. often if you look you can find the freshwater set ups.
T5 is becoming the most efficient lighting source that all the plant people are switching too. individual reflectors can give a great boost of light into the tank but they dont all come with them.
compact fluorescent (CF) runs hotter then T5 another great option. ahsupply.com lights are wonderful and many people use only them. others will work and are fine.
Compact fluorescent lamp (CFL) it might take work but make sure you get the daylight 6500k bulbs. these are good options on 20 gal or under tanks though they can be used on bigger tanks. they are not very efficient but do work.
T8 is slighting better then t12 shop lights. they can be found at any hardware store. again look for the daylight bulbs. i find they work the best. there are "plant bulbs" but often they give off very unattractive coloring. one great thing about these is you can over drive them. over driving doubles up the power going to the bulb and gives about 50% more out put.
T12 common shop lights can work though i like t8 better.
Metal Halide (MH) not often used they run hot and not to efficient mostly used on large planted tanks
How often do you recomend changing bulbs ? I got mine last January, is it time to change the bulbs?
lighting is a major concern. its what every plant needs to grow. there are many options and you can go on for days reading about light. i will try and make this very simple. often people add too much light get frustrated and quit. if your starting out i suggest starting off with a low light tank. get the basic down before moving on to a higher light high tech set up.
one thing to remember about lighting is making sure you get the right bulb. some are better then others. i tend to stay in the 6500k - 10000k bulbs. many fixtures that are sold comes with Actinic bulbs. these do not help much for plants. you will just end up replacing them. often if you look you can find the freshwater set ups.
T5 is becoming the most efficient lighting source that all the plant people are switching too. individual reflectors can give a great boost of light into the tank but they dont all come with them.
compact fluorescent (CF) runs hotter then T5 another great option. ahsupply.com lights are wonderful and many people use only them. others will work and are fine.
Compact fluorescent lamp (CFL) it might take work but make sure you get the daylight 6500k bulbs. these are good options on 20 gal or under tanks though they can be used on bigger tanks. they are not very efficient but do work.
T8 is slighting better then t12 shop lights. they can be found at any hardware store. again look for the daylight bulbs. i find they work the best. there are "plant bulbs" but often they give off very unattractive coloring. one great thing about these is you can over drive them. over driving doubles up the power going to the bulb and gives about 50% more out put.
T12 common shop lights can work though i like t8 better.
Metal Halide (MH) not often used they run hot and not to efficient mostly used on large planted tanks
How often do you recomend changing bulbs ? I got mine last January, is it time to change the bulbs?