Mystic54

So I was at my LFS today and bought a amazon sword plant. Well the associate that was helping me told me I would need a strong light for it since they are a "strong" light plant. He showed me what he suggested but I didn't get it then since he was the guy who told me it would be okay to put 15 fish in a 10 gallon aquarium and it wouldnt be over stock. Yeah, um...sure okay.
Anyways! I have a 20 gallon high aquarium with the standard lighting and I know absoultely nothing about lighting. I was wondering if you guys could steer me in the right direction about what type of lighting to provide my plant with?
Also I eventually would want to replace all my fake plants I have (about 3 or 4) with live plants.

MPrudent

Stong light and good light are two different things....Most swords actually require "good" light as opposed to strong light. 12 hours of good light is recommended for swords. If you were to have anything over 2 watts per gallon in your tank and leave it on for 12 hours at a time you will most likely develop an algae problem. I would recommend 30-40 watts of t5 or compact fluorescent lighting for 12 hours a day. If you start to develop algae then start cutting back your photo period until the algae is under control.

Mystic54

The bulb I have now is 15W, I just checked. I leave it on for about 10-12 hours per day. Is that sufficent for the sword plants or do I need to upgrade to a different bulb? And umm...do I have a compact fluorescent bulb? or are those not usually standard bulbs?

MPrudent

You most likely have a standard fluorescent fixture. 20W might be ok being on for 12 hours a day. Make sure to monitor the swords and if you notice any signs of low light (weak stems, yellowing, or spindly/leggy) then you know its time for more light.

coffeebean

personally i think you will need to upgrade your lighting. the most cost effective may be to get a glass lid and another standard fluorescent fixture second hand. you also want to change out your factory bulbs for plant bulbs which give off a different spectrum of light.

i have the coralife fixtures on one tank, double factory hoods on one, and one of these on another tank: http://www.petsandponds.com/en/aquar...p16901493.html
that fixture was much more cost effective and i actually like it better then the coralife fixtures

cg49me

A relatively cheap solution is to hit your local hardware store and pick up some shop lights. You'll either want to hang them or rig up a mount to keep them slightly above your tank so water doesn't hit the bulbs or fixture (strongly recommend glass tops for your tank). As mentioned, you can get special flouescent bulbs that give of plant-growing-conducive spectrums.

If you want a slightly higher end light that won't run you too much dinero, check out the Nova Extreme T5 HO two bulb fixtures. They make "freshwater versions", which just come with a different bulb instead of giving you an acintic one which would be useless for freshwater. I got a 48" fixture from a seller on Amazon, cost me less than $110 shipped.

Neither of these is going to get you a TON of light, but it should be plenty for your Sword.

harpua2002

A 2x 24W HO T5 fixture is going to put you into CO2 and fert territory for sure. That's a lot of light for a 20. I used a 2x 24W HO T5 over a 3 foot 45 gallon and was able to keep medium light plants easily. I dosed ferts and it was a great tank. I can't imagine what it would be like on a 20 though... that's enough light for a reef over a 20!

Mystic54

Lol, see I know absoultely nothing about lighting so I'm definitely glad you let me know. At least now I know what type of lighting I would need for a 20 gallon reef
Is it even possible to just get a stronger bulb and not replace the actual fixture (hood) I really don't have the money to be spending on a different fixture at this moment.

JennDFK

I have a sword in a low light tank (only 15 watts on a 29 gallon hex)... and while it doesn't thrive, it is hanging in there. If you can't afford to upgrade lighting you might just think about getting plants that like lower lighting... Java fern, java moss, and anubias to name a few. That is what I did in my hex tank... I'm going to upgrade the lighting soon... but until then I already have a few nice plants in there.

harpua2002

Well, I'd certainly put more light over a reef, but you could have a cool softie reef in a 20 with 2x 24W HO T5.

Unfortunately, the bulb type that you can use is determined by the ballast that you have in your existing fixture, so you're stuck with what you have. You could guy a retrofit kit if you're handy- www.ahsupply.com has nice ones.