65 gallon LJ project

fishorama said:
Are the bulbs the spiral type that screw in? Then it won't be close to high light.
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Good point! I thought they were fluorescents, but I see now he wrote "saving bulbs" which also answers my question why they only cover part of the tank. Those are only "saving" compared to incandescents, and can't be used with the Watt per gallon guideline.
 
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the loach said:
Why are your lights only covering part of the tank? I see you have Cabomba, that is not an easy, low light or low maintenance plant in any way. Stores love to sell it as everyone has to come back after 6 weeks to buy more. Water changes on itself aren't affecting plants but water parameters are. You need to know your pH, KH and NO3 then we can see what you need to do. Liquid CO2 isn't going to help much.
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The lights cover 75% of the tank, and that is where the plants are located. I have the opportunity to collect my own plants in a virgin and clean stream that is a couple of hours from here. The only plant I buy at LFS is the amazon sword. I suppose I will have to measure the parameters but I do not have a kh test at the moment, I will take a water sample to an lfs in order to have this data.
 
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That doesn't help much here; Cfl bulbs have a very low CRI rating meaning the spectrum (quality) of light is very low, most of the Lumens produced are in a wavelength that is not usable by plants. I'm afraid your problem can only be solved by other lighting, either good T8/T5 fluorescents or properly specified LEDS. The good news is you will only use part of the energy and the fish/tank will look better as well due to the superior color rendition.
 
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the loach said:
That doesn't help much here; Cfl bulbs have a very low CRI rating meaning the spectrum (quality) of light is very low, most of the Lumens produced are in a wavelength that is not usable by plants. I'm afraid your problem can only be solved by other lighting, either good T8/T5 fluorescents or properly specified LEDS. The good news is you will only use part of the energy and the fish/tank will look better as well due to the superior color rendition.
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I really appreciate your contributions to the subject, I think I would be more inclined to t8, I just don't like leds very much, I think tanks look very artificial with them, but that's just my liking and opinion, I know that many people are very taste with leds.
 
Lalo J. said:
I really appreciate your contributions to the subject, I think I would be more inclined to t8, I just don't like leds very much, I think tanks look very artificial with them, but that's just my liking and opinion, I know that many people are very taste with leds.
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You're welcome. While I do have found a couple of LED's that are as good or even exceed the specifications of fluorescents, they might be hard to get where you are. Most still have little to no specifications, and we do have to reject those... you won't know what you will be getting.

Anyway T8's don't have to be expensive. First determine what the maximum size of the fixture is you can fit in your hood. Best would be 4 feet tubes (36W), if that is too large there is 3 feet (30W), a size in between exists (38W) but is rare, will limit your choices and is more expensive as well. (note this length is less economic as well) You need 2 lights, it is best to have 2 different ones, I can recommend them depending on your taste and availability.
 
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