Insufficient lighting for live plants?

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peter.norman

AC Members
Jan 5, 2007
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I have a Trigon 190 (it's a corner tank with dimensions of 98*60*70cm). It's quite deep (60cm). I changed the standard 18W bulbs for 20W bulbs and put reflectors on, which apparently double efficiency? I also have a JBL CO2 system, with a regulator that automatically increases/decreases CO2.

I'm worried that there is not enough light to maintain live plants even with the CO2 system? Anyone any thoughts or suggestions?
 
Rex Grigg said:
I would guess that it's a 190 liter aquarium?

You really need around .5 watts per liter to grow live plants. Don't make the mistake of thinking that a reflector will turn your 20 watt light into 40 watts. It's still just 20 watts.
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thanks for the response. it is a 190 litre tank. the only thing i can seem to find commercially available to replace the lights in the tank is this:

http://www.ultimateaquatics.co.uk/acatalog/Jwel_Lighting_Spares.html

but that would seem to only increase the wattage from 40 to 48, which seems not worth it for the outlay. Perhaps I can try and house a secondary lighting fixture in the tank but the shape and hood of the tank would seem to prohibit this.
 
Sounds to me like you ought to forget their units and add some power compact units. Those would fit easily. Depending on how much you want to tinker you could just add some retro kits or install a unit or two.
 
ergo sum said:
Sounds to me like you ought to forget their units and add some power compact units. Those would fit easily. Depending on how much you want to tinker you could just add some retro kits or install a unit or two.
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ah. i'm more the go to the shop and buy type than diy type - cash rich and time poor. can you supply any links to what you are hinting at?
 
Well all you really need to know is that you want bulbs in the 5000 to 6500 kelvin range, not the higher ones used for salt water aquariums. You have 40w so you need about 60 more. That would be about 2w per gallon. Maybe you would want a little more.

You could also do some metal halide. Those are even more pricey.

Anyone who does salt water aquariums will have these fixtures or access to them. You just have to remember you want to grow plants and you want the kelvins in the right range.
 
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