Added live plants, now what type of bulbs do i need?

Hagermanfd

AC Members
Jan 19, 2007
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I just added a live plants into my 125 freshwater. I added 3 Anacharis, 2 java ferns, 1 money wort, 1 dwarf sagitarria, 1 anubia barteri. What type of bulbs should i put in to help bring out the colors of the plants as well as the fish. I have had some lights in the past that seem to not put out enough light, or make the tank look like it was too yellow or something. I have a spare set of Zoo med Tropical Sun for the tank now, should i put those in? and will i see a difference in the way the plants grow? The bulb size is 36" and requires 4 bulbs, anybody have suggestions for me?
 
You'll want something in the 5000-7000k color temperature range, which mimics what the plants get in the wild, and about 2-2.5 watts per gallon, since you have a mix of low-medium light plants. I like power compact lights, myself. Big Al's has a good selection. :idea:
 
5,000 - 7000k lights are very yellow, It sounds like you are not very fond of this. You could use a mix of 6700K and say 9325k so it's not so yellow.
 
yeah i actually just tried the zoo med tropic sun bulbs and the water looked like somebody urinated in it...I dont like the yellow looking tanks, i like a more bluish or whiteish tone to it just seems more presentable to me...
 
heres what i did with my 125 gallon (72" long)

i bought 2 36" coralife 6700K 96 watt fixtures, and placed them on the back half. then i used my basic fixtures and put 2 10K bulbs in them. that gave me the spectrum for plant growth and also the 10K bulbs give it a white appearance. not too mention i have 252 watts over a 125 gallon tank. should be able to grow just about anything.

the lights were $175 shipped from ebay.
 
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