capekate

Finally I will be able to go and get new hood lights for my 55g tank. Before I do, I would appreciate any help. I would like to add low and mid light plants..
Can someone let me know which type of light I should get? I really have no idea and do not want to bring home the wrong one.
Thanks for any help on this.

Isabella

If you'd care for my advice, I've had Coralife compact fluorescent fixture for planted tanks for a while now, and I absolutely love it. Seems to be very good for plant growth (my lightbulbs' temperature is 6,700K). I love this K temperature because it not only makes the plants look very natural, not only makes them grow well, but it also makes the entire tank look very natural. Looks like beautiful day sunlight. Basically, like you see on the pictures of my 75 g. planted tank (Isabella's 75 gallon planted tank :o))

I have a total of 1.73 wpg of lighting over my tank. My Coralife fixture has 2 x 65W compact fluorescent bulbs (65W + 65W = 130W, and 130W / 75 gallons = 1.73 watts per gallon of lighting). If you want low-to-medium light plants and you're not planning on using CO2 injections (exactly how I'm running my tank), then don't go over 2.0 wpg because over 2.0 wpg you'll need CO2. I'd also say don't go below 1.0 wpg. The best range for such a tank set-up is 1.5-2.0 wpg in my opinion.

My tank is 48" long, so my fixture is 48" long too. How long is your 55 gallon tank? Probably 36" ? If it's 36", then this is what I'd recommend for you (that is, if you want Coralife):

http://www.bigalsonline.com/BigAlsUS...pactlight1x96w

It has one 96W compact fluorescent lightbulb that is 6,700K.
96W / 55 gallons = around 1.75, which is perfect for such a tank

For more comparisons, you can read the stats on my tank in the above link I gave you.

P.S. And here is some very useful info about (1) K temperatures and (2) what color each number indicates:
(1) http://www.marinedepot.com/ps_Aquari...ent_bulbs.html
(2) http://www.marinedepot.com/ps_Aquari...formation.html

mlinden84

What plants are you looking to get?

I've got java moss, java fern, hornwort, a moss ball, banana plants, and a few other plants that I don't remember their names in my 90 right now... with the lights that came with it. I think I have less than .5 wpg and the plants do fine. I get very little natural light where the tank is (in the basement).

Just thought I'd throw it out there... there are always options without buying new lights if you weren't absolutely set on the new ones.

Good luck!

capekate

Hi Isabella
thank you so much for the information. I have looked at the links you have added. I really love your planted tank btw.
So I went and measured my tank.. It is 48 inches/4 foot long tank. 21 inches high, 13 inches wide. The lights that I have in there now, are two 15 w tubes.
So that only gives me 30w of light for the whole tank...
I saw the link for the coralife, and I really do not want to buy any fixtures,that can end up being very expensive but want just the tube to fit my hood. The tubes in there now are 17 inches long.(x 's 2)
I was reading up on what 'color' light is best. Its a bit confusing.. any one have any thoughts on what color light is best for the tank?

Hi Mlinden.
I would like to add only low light- medium at best plants... I want to use mainly java moss. I would really like to be able to try swords again, and I liked Isabella's ruffled swords from her photo of the tank, plus maybe some Vals as well.
My swords did not do well in that tank but the frill plant which is like a java fern did well until it got covered in the brown algae and I got rid of it.
I think all the plants would do much better with the right light, and I would like to see a successful low lighted tank w/ driftwood and rocks for my 55 tank re-do. Sounds like your tank and plants are doing great in the light they have! wow... you are lucky!

Fish Addict

I would buy 2 40-55 watt bulbs, I guess if you want low-medium lighting...

The person at my lfs was able to help me find the right lights for my tank...

capekate

well... considering my source for the lighting is my local Petsmart.. not sure I would trust any of them to lead me to the "right' lighting.
Compared to what I am using now, 2 40-50 w bulbs sure seem like a lot! Tho I know that its not...
Thanks Fish Addict, at least I have an idea now of what wattage to buy. I think that I will look in some online stores and see what I can find.

Isabella

Kate, in the Guide to the planted tank, there is a section on light that I think should help in answering your question: General Guide to Low-Light Planted Tanks

A 6,700K spectrum is very good for growing plants, or at least it is in my personal experience. Also heard lots of people on Plant Geek use this K temperature. Not only Coralife, but other companies carry this spectrum range as well. So it's up to you. You can also use K temperatures above and below 6,700K - again, it's up to you. I cannot tell you how your plant growth will be with the K spectrum above or below 6,700K since I've never used other bulbs. Well, I had a lightbulb that was around 10,000K over my 30 gallon tank in the past, and my plants died under that light over the course of some time, though I had very few plants then so I don't even think that counts. Also had a lightbulb way below 6,700K in the past, and the plants didn't do that well with it either. That is, for me. So, once again, that's just my personal experience. What you'll choose is up to you.

As it says in the above Guide:

"Some lightbulbs are more suitable for planted aquaria while others are specifically for saltwater reef tanks. The reason you see all saltwater tanks with blue lighting is that they have lightbulbs with a lot of blue spectrum in them. While this blue lighting is beneficial to saltwater reef tanks, it would be possibly disastrous for a planted tank. The blue spectrum in lighting encourages algal growth. If algae cover all of your plants, the plants will no longer be able to receive light, and will therefore die. The blue lighting has a very high Kelvin temperature, and the light color leaning toward a more yellowish spectrum has a lower Kelvin temperature ... 6,700K daylight white bulbs are generally the brightest of all the bulbs. The color of this bulb tends to be more of a yellowish/white bulb. Plants tend to thrive under this color temperature ... This, of course, doesn't mean you "have to" have this particular spectrum. You can have anything between 6,700K and 10,000K for a planted tank. You can even have a lightbulb that is below 6,700K, although I am not sure if it will provide successful plant growth ... but it may very well do so. Any lightbulb above 10,000K (that is ACTINIC) will have too much of the blue spectrum for a planted tank, so avoid it in order to prevent excessive algal growth. Chances are you'll always have algae, but you'll have much less algae with a lightbulb at or under 10,000K than with a lightbulb over 10,000K/ACTINIC. Whatever the small amounts of algae you'll have, your algae eater(s) should take care of them."

So like I said, just read that LIGHTING section in the article.

P.S. Kate, what kind of a setup exactly are you aiming at? What kind of a tank will it be? Will it be fully or moderately planted? What substrate will you have and what kinds of plants? These factors should guide you in determining how many watts of lighting you need to have and whether you'll need CO2 or not.

capekate

g'morning Isabella
thank you so much for the link.. I read it and I think that I understand it a bit better. But my math for determining the wattage for my 55 is not so good.
For plants I would like to add java moss to driftwood and some rocks. I would like to try a few amazon swords again, as my others died in the low light I had. I would also like to use java fern... some frill plants (forgot their latin name) and some anubias. (sp?). I would like to try and find replacement tubes for my standard size hood. It fits 2 lights one on each side.
I wanted to convert to sand for substrate, but my husband talked me out of that. Guess i will wait til I get another 55 to do that. So, I have natural pebbles for gravel right now. I do have some jungle lab plant fizz tabs that I could use.
So guess it comes down to a partial planted tank, at this point. With low light plants, tho Im not quite sure what the swords need.
My light tubes are 17 inches long, and I think the last time I did a search for this size online I was not able to find them, they seemed to be 18 inches. So I may be measureing wrong. I measured the tube size only and not the added space where they connect into. I would also have to look at the prongs that are at the end to make sure I get the right one too.
Thanks again for all your help... at this point I am still looking and will not order anything til I am sure i know what I am doing.

Isabella

Kate, I'm assuming that you want to buy higher wattage lightbulbs for the double fixture you have right now, right? And the one you have is a standard one, correct? In that case, I'm afraid, if you buy higher wattage lightbulbs, they will not work in your fixture as it's not designed to house higher wattage lightbulbs. Unless you'll be buying the same wattage lughtbulbs you had before, only with a different spectrum (i.e. different K temperature). Higher wattage won't work in a standard fixture, but same wattage and different K temperature will. What is the total wattage of the 2 lightbulbs that your standard fixture holds right now? (And it's 48" long, right?)

capekate

Ohhh boy... I was afraid of that! But it makes sense that I cannot use a higher wattage than what came with the standard hood.
The total wattage of my two light tubes comes to 30 watts. 15w each.
maybe a 'total spectrum' light may help?
The tank length is 48 inches, The hood has two compartments. In each compartment I believe the tube measured at 17 inches long.
Does this help?

Isabella

Well ... a total of 30 watts over a 55 gallon tank ... will give you only about 0.5 watts per gallon of lighting. I mean, maybe plants like Java Moss, Java Fern, and Anubias (and maybe Hornwort) will do OK under this lighting, but Swords will not in the long run. I'm sorry . And I am saying this from my own experience. You can certainly try to grow these plants under the same wattage but just different K temperature and see how that works out before buying a more expensive compact fluorescent fixture.

P.S. You can also try Water Sprite - it grows pretty well under very low lighting (with 6,700 K temp.) in my 30 gallon tank.

capekate

This is why my amazon sword died....
How can I find the K temperature? and what K temperature would be recommended for the low light plants such as java moss, java fern and the Anubias? Water Sprite is nice too.. but wouldnt that block out what little light I would have for the java moss and fern?

Isabella

If you trim Water Sprite regulary and plant it so that it's not in the way of other plants and the light ... then it won't block the light, lol . And as for the spectrum, all plants use the same spectrum (they all photosynthesize in the same way), no single plant requires a different spectrum than some other plant. It's just the intensity/wattage/strength of lighting that varies between the plants - some plants need stronger lighting, while others don't.

So once again, just follow this info when selecting K temperature for your plants:

"Some lightbulbs are more suitable for planted aquaria while others are specifically for saltwater reef tanks. The reason you see all saltwater tanks with blue lighting is that they have lightbulbs with a lot of blue spectrum in them. While this blue lighting is beneficial to saltwater reef tanks, it would be possibly disastrous for a planted tank. The blue spectrum in lighting encourages algal growth. If algae cover all of your plants, the plants will no longer be able to receive light, and will therefore die. The blue lighting has a very high Kelvin temperature, and the light color leaning toward a more yellowish spectrum has a lower Kelvin temperature ... 6,700K daylight white bulbs are generally the brightest of all the bulbs. The color of this bulb tends to be more of a yellowish/white bulb. Plants tend to thrive under this color temperature ... This, of course, doesn't mean you "have to" have this particular spectrum. You can have anything between 6,700K and 10,000K for a planted tank. You can even have a lightbulb that is below 6,700K, although I am not sure if it will provide successful plant growth ... but it may very well do so. Any lightbulb above 10,000K (that is ACTINIC) will have too much of the blue spectrum for a planted tank, so avoid it in order to prevent excessive algal growth. Chances are you'll always have algae, but you'll have much less algae with a lightbulb at or under 10,000K than with a lightbulb over 10,000K/ACTINIC. Whatever the small amounts of algae you'll have, your algae eater(s) should take care of them."

capekate

Thanks for your help Isabella. I thought that water sprite floated on top of the water, that was my concern when I thought they would block the light ...
I have some reading up to do.. and really appreciate your help with the lights!

Isabella

You're welcome Kate - my pleasure to help you .

Water Sprite can be grown BOTH as floating and as planted in gravel. I keep it both ways in my 30 gallon tank as this is the only type of live plant I have there right now. If you keep it rooted in gravel, you can trim the top and the sides so that it doesn't overshadow other plants .