Nova Extreme 2x24 Slimpaq?

[Dan06]

http://www.current-usa.com/novaextremet5hox2.html

That's the exact lights I have for my tank. I talked with someone today who said in my 36gal tank that I could grow just about any low-high light plant in my tank with only 48 total watts. And from what I read online and gathered here, I really only have a low light plant growing capability.

Could someone clarify this for me before I buy another set of lights & look for a CO2 unit?

 

[Riiz]

They are correct your lighting will support low light plants. If you want to go high-tech with CO2 and ferts, then yes you will need another 2x24watt fixture, or trade it in for a 4x24.

 

[phanmc]

T5HO lights put out much more lights than regular fluorescents or compact fluorescents, I doubt you need another set of lights. If you want to grow high light plants, try just adding CO2 and nutrients first.

 

[Dan06]

Phan, I know this is an old thread of mine, but is there a big difference between T5 & T5 HO bulbs?

I'm confused and don't quite understand any better now than I did before. Is there an article anywhere that explains?

 

[phanmc]

T5HO uses more watts but put out more light than a T5NO. A T5NO that is 24" is 14w, a T5HO of the same length is 24w.

I assume you're more curious about the light difference between a T5HO and say a standard T8 light strip or compact fluorescent light strip. A few people, mostly in the coral reef hobby where light is even more important, have played around with a PAR meter and found that in general T5HO lights put out more PAR (photosynthetically active radiation) than the standard T8 or compact fluorescents. The good T5HO fixtures that has individual reflectors per bulb were even comparable to some metal halides.

Google "T5HO PAR" for some of the discussions on them.

 

[Dan06]

Phan thanks for that..it pointed me in the right direction. Without knowing the proper terms, it's so hard to research the answers I'm looking for and so many websites just offer a general lighting guide that really have little information.

So does a T5HO light really fall under the same general WPG rule? I seem to gather that with all the lighting options out there & their different qualities, the WPG rule is very weak and it's really a matter of finding out what you need for lighting with experimenting or previous experience?

I'd really light to try CO2 on my 36g tank and try some high light plants. Some people tell me I'm very very low light and others say I could grow a lot of high light plants with CO2. I know you already told me I could try high light plants with CO2, I guess I just want reassurance.

 

[phanmc]

The wpg rule is based on normal output T12-T10 fluorescents, which in general aren't as efficient as the newer compact fluorescents and T5s. The wpg rule isn't a hard rule either, it's more of a ballpark approximation, so don't try to follow it to the letter. So if you're using more efficient lighting, tone down the rule a little.

Within the US and spurred on by Amano setups, people have been using more and more lights to drive plant growth. If you look overseas at dutch style aquascapes, they use less light on average, more along the lines of 2-3wpg to grow their colorful aquascapes. So you don't need high light in excess of 3wpg to grow the more colorful plants, what you need is good growing conditions and that entails CO2 and fertilizers.

My recommendation is to try making a DIY yeast setup, it's cheap and is pretty simple to make. Eventually, I would recommend on moving to a pressurized CO2 system. Big initial investment but it's worth it.

Then get the necessary nutrients, I recommend learning to use dry ferts as you'll save a ton of money in the long run, why pay for water? Nutrients that you must cover are nitrates, phosphates, potassium, and trace minerals (iron, copper, manganese, etc). You may also need to consider extra magnesium and calcium depending on how soft/hard your water is.

Then try growing some of the hardier plants that people claim to need high light, like E. tenellus or dwarf hairgrass for a grass plant and Alternanthera reineckii or various ludwigias for a red plant.