Please help I have had these lights for months

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immune

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Nov 9, 2010
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I am still quite curious about my lights as I have had them all for about five months and keep asking what kind of plants I can get or if the light is sufficient but once I ask the thread dies.

Are these lights crap and no one wants to hurt my feelings? Or have the threads stopped because no one wants to tell me that my lights are fine and I am idiot for not knowing it.

this is what I have:

A small (smaller than 12") Coralife fixture with 2 9W 6700K Compact Florescent bulbs
A 48" in Coralife Fixture with 4 65W 6700K Compact florescent bulbs
A 18" flora sun t8 (...it says "max plant growth on it...but I don't trust it)

I can't be sure but I feel like the 18W coralife fixture should be suitable.

If not the 48 in has two switches so if nothing else I figured I could mount it above and only turn on half of it which would still be 130W on the CFL's...which are practically blinding...though maybe those are not enough.

I am new to planted tanks and got these lights in the box brand new off of craigslist when I bought a scratched up 75 gallon tank and about two boxes of other aquaria equipment for 150 dollars.

So, what can I plant? Do I have enough light?
 
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drunkenmastera

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May 21, 2009
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the 48'' would be suitable for the 75g tank, however you would have to watch the algae and the light on period. If you leave it on too much, you are going to be battling algae like crazy. That sounds like the light i have. Or you can turn on half like you said.

Start with hardy and fast growing plants first.
 

immune

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Can I keep High light plants with this bulb? Is a marsilea minuta carpet be a possibility? Or should I stick with lower light plants?

I would like to use this in my 55 but i think it sends my bichir into shock. It was over my 75 but I moved it since it is as useless in the closet as it is over my Oscar's tank.
 
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jasonG75

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Jun 1, 2010
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Can I keep High light plants with this bulb?
Is a marsilea minuta carpet be a possibility? Or should I stick with lower light plants?

I would like to use this in my 55 but i think it sends my bichir into shock. It was over my 75 but I moved it since it is as useless in the closet as it is over my Oscar's tank.

You could keep high

"A 48" in Coralife Fixture with 4 65W 6700K Compact florescent bulbs"

What I would do is replace 2 of the 6700 with 10,000K (2 6700 2 10,000)
marsilea minuta will grow fine in this setup
 

immune

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Okay...Problem number two

My heavily planted tank houses a Senegal Bichir. Can I use this light on his tank?
 

immune

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Thank you so much!!!

I will get some water lettuce from my mother's koi pond.

I am so excited now that I know I can invest in some higher light plants for my tank.

Anubias, Java Ferns, and crypts get boring.
 

immune

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Oh, and as a side note I just received an email from the company that produces this light. With this graph that visualizes the amount of each wavelength of light put off by a single one of these bulbs. The email also stated that at 12" depth, with no reflector, the PAR rating is 60 micromoles per second.

This information is not helpful to me really...as I am not sure that charts for what specific wavelengths of light are needed for individual plants are not easily accessible (and that is knowledge that I have on hand) but it seems that someone around here maybe able to easily utilize it.

FLU-6700K.jpg
 
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dbosman

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Dec 5, 2010
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Are these lights crap and no one wants to hurt my feelings? Or have the threads stopped because no one wants to tell me that my lights are fine and I am idiot for not knowing it.
A small (smaller than 12") Coralife fixture with 2 9W 6700K Compact Florescent bulbs
A 48" in Coralife Fixture with 4 65W 6700K Compact florescent bulbs
A 18" flora sun t8 (...it says "max plant growth on it...but I don't trust it)

I can't be sure but I feel like the 18W coralife fixture should be suitable.
You gave us data on the lights, but not on what size aquarium you want to use the lights on. An 18 watt Coralife fixture is for nano sized tanks. 2.5g to 5.5g at the most - if you intend to grow plants. The 18 watt Flora Sun bulb is usually for a 10g tank. Maybe a 20. It's low light in either case, for plants.
 
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