lighting

[cbster]

i bought a used 55 gal. tank and it is cycling right now and i put plants in it my question is this it came with two different kind of bulbs two are coralife 15 watt 50/50 6000k bulbs and two are eclipse natural daylight f15t8 and that is all i know about them so which ones would be best for the plants thanks

 

[PumaWard]

I would say the Eclipse ones. I think the Coral Life ones are for saltwater reef tanks... though I could be wrong.

 

[OrionGirl]

Moving this to the Planted Forum. OG

Corallife also offers a variety of bulbs that are well suited for use in planted tanks--I'm not the best reference, but I use a corallife PC setup on my planted tanks. The bulbs are 8000K and 10,000K--about 4 watts per gallon on one tank, and 6wpg on the other.

 

[DIYMatt]

I am assuming you have just the two fixtures, correct? If so, you will have a tough time actually "growing" any plants with that little amount of light, 30 watts of T8 flourescent over a 55 gallon is not much light. Especially if those are used bulbs, regardless of which you use. You might want to look into getting two four foot shoplights, with some daylight bulbs from Home Depot if you want to actually grow plants. This is just about the cheapest lighting setup you can get that has enough light to grow plants. But, for now the Eclipse bulbs are probably better.
Let me know if you need more info. Thanks!

 

[MacnReef]

I am setting up a 55g myself was just wondering about the lighting. I was thinking 4-40W T-12 NO bulbs. Would this be plenty for a 55g tank?

 

[DIYMatt]

Macnreef- I would say that would be sufficent, especially for a starter setup. IME- you may have trouble growing the highlight foreground plants. I have trouble with those plants and NO flourescents no matter how many I put over the tank. But, others have been able to grow them under that light.

Just make sure you get the right bulbs. I am not an expert on 48" bulbs, but I heard something about daylight bulbs from Home Depot working well, but clarify with someone else to make sure. I have personally seen excellent results under GE plant and Aquarium bulbs bought at Wal-mart for like $6.00 each.

You might want to think about adding CO2 with that lighting. it will grealy improve your chances of success.

 

[MacnReef]

10-4 on the CO2. I already have a full CO2 bottle, w/dual guage reg, solenoid and needle valve. I just need to figure the best way to run the CO2 in the tank.


I have not bought the lighting yet, so do you feel 4-65W daylight pc would be better?

Thanx Mike!

 

[MacnReef]

BTW, what kelvin bulbs would be the best? The fixtures I can get have 9250K or 10000K, but I always thought 6500K would be better for plants. But then I have to spend even more money to get the bulbs.

Mike

 

[DIYMatt]

Macnreef- I think PC's are much better in general. I have a 2 -55w over a 30g and it works well. They are 6500 or 6700K bulbs, I don't remember which. I think that the 4-65w would be more light than you want and may actually makes things more difficult, especially at first. With all that light, any swing in the nutrient levels would cause a decent algae bloom. I would step down to at least a 4x55 setup, or even start with the 2x65 setup and add a third 65 later as you get more experience. IME 4 wpg of PC is all you need to grow anything. Just remember more light and CO2 equals more fertilizing and more pruning and replanting, more work. It is all aout balance. I apologize I am not familiar enough to with all the PC options and kelvin ratings. But, I to, beleive the 6500K to be the best. But, I have heard of others using some higher K bulbs like 9300K or something. You should post your own post about the Kelvin ratings and you will get an answer from someone who is more experienced with the PC's. Sorry!