What’s the ideal lighting for a freshwater planted tank?

Hello! I have a 48” DeepBlue T5 HO high output lighting system 108W.

Currently I am running one 48” DeepBlue HO white daylight bulb which is 54W and 10000K.
I also am running another light on the next bulb strip which is a 48” Fluval Power spectrum HO bulb which is 54W and 18000K.

These lights are in perfect condition and I am wondering, is this set up enough lighting for my 75 gallon moderately planted tank?

If so then would it be low light, medium light, or high light?

Please give me some insight on how these bulbs will work running together and whether they are enough or not. Thank you!!!

 

The combination should give a full spectrum the plants need, also they should be plenty bright for most aquarium plants. Brighter lights allow faster growth if there are no other limiting factors but often light is not the limiting factor so more watts won't make a difference.
Anyway faster growing plants just need more attention.
I would say your set up is at the high light end of the plant spectrum.
If you want to go higher light in the future I would look into high output LED systems

 

The combination should give a full spectrum the plants need, also they should be plenty bright for most aquarium plants. Brighter lights allow faster growth if there are no other limiting factors but often light is not the limiting factor so more watts won't make a difference.
Anyway faster growing plants just need more attention.
I would say your set up is at the high light end of the plant spectrum.
If you want to go higher light in the future I would look into high output LED systems

Wow thank you very much for your answer I appreciate that a lot I wasn’t thinking I’d get a nice clear answer as yours!

 

10000k and 18000k are more optimal for marine tanks and is quite a harsh, bright light; 6500k to 8000k is considered the ideal spectrum for planted aquariums.

I would consider your setup medium-output... Watts-Per-Gallon is outdated and not super accurate at this point but you're running 1.44 WPG, with 3+ WPG considered high lighting. With LEDs, since they are more energy efficient and don't use as much power, PAR is a much more accurate way to determine the intensity of light.

 

10000k and 18000k are more optimal for marine tanks and is quite a harsh, bright light; 6500k to 8000k is considered the ideal spectrum for planted aquariums.

I would consider your setup medium-output... Watts-Per-Gallon is outdated and not super accurate at this point but you're running 1.44 WPG, with 3+ WPG considered high lighting. With LEDs, since they are more energy efficient and don't use as much power, PAR is a much more accurate way to determine the intensity of light.

Now what do I do with the lights? Throw them out? I believe a 10000k is a good spectrum for plants, and since it’s low watt another 18000k would benefit as well I heard from another commenter

 

Now what do I do with the lights? Throw them out? I believe a 10000k is a good spectrum for plants, and since it’s low watt another 18000k would benefit as well I heard from another commenter

No need to throw them out, it just isn't the ideal spectrum; I used a 10000k light on a planted 30 gallon shrimp breeding tank with good results. I was just stating that most hobbyists use the 6500K to 8000K for plants. Since T5-HO need to be replaced every 6 months to a year, you could always experiment with lower spectrum bulbs later on.

As T5-HO age, their spectrum changes. It may not be visible to us, but in marine tanks it can cause issues with corals and algae outbreaks. This is why it is important to routinely swap them out. In a freshwater tank I'm unsure if it will pose issues as I've only ever used LEDs with the exception of my very first 10 gallon betta tank years ago.

 

Thanks! I was looking at the koval LED lighting, the 45-50” light seems promising. And cheap!!!
Do you think that the koval LED will do better for the plants than the fluorescent lighting and possibly keep the heat down?

 

Thanks! I was looking at the koval LED lighting, the 45-50” light seems promising. And cheap!!!
Do you think that the koval LED will do better for the plants than the fluorescent lighting and possibly keep the heat down?

Can you link the light?

 

Looks like a great buy

 

You think it’s enough for my moderately planted 75 gallon tank? Enough watts or lumens or Kelvin or whatever they take freshwater plants

Hello! I’ve been hearing that the ideal lighting for fresh water aquarium plants is around 6500k to 10000k.
I have a 10000k and 18000k bulbs on my dual HO lamp
Should I change both to a 6500k?
Should I leave the 10000k because I know 18000k is a bit too much lighting and won’t benefit my plants.

Can I buy a Phillips 32W T8 bulb with 6500k daylight? Will that work for my lighting for the plants?

Please somebody give me an answer on this topic so I can change my bulbs ASAP!

 

I had a Lifeglo 6500 T8 in mine for awhile. Seemed to work good for low light plants. I just got a LED so I could just get whatever plants I liked instead of just low light ones. I think you may need to change them more so they keep potency.

 

6500K is the best color temp. T5s are usually superior to T8s

 

But I can’t make my T8 fit T5’s

Is there any way my Dual Bulb T8 HO bulbs with the reflector can make enough lighting to keep my plants growing? Will it still be low light?? How can I make it high light should I just stick with the 18000k?

 

If you want plants to grow, get the aquarium closer to a window. Natural sunlight is the best for aquatic plants and it's free. But I understand that it's not always possible to move the aquarium or a window may not be available.

 

I was using the T5 bulbs, worked good for growing plants, only issue was I was changing the bulbs every 3-4 months, I had 6 total with 5 bulbs in each. Now I use LEDs and love them

 

I was using the T5 bulbs, worked good for growing plants, only issue was I was changing the bulbs every 3-4 months, I had 6 total with 5 bulbs in each. Now I use LEDs and love them

What kind of LED would you recommend I get for my 75 gallon moderately planted tank??? Anything that could get my tank to a medium-high light tank?

 

What kind of LED would you recommend I get for my 75 gallon moderately planted tank??? Anything that could get my tank to a medium-high light tank?

Ooo u run a 75gal too !!
I use a refurbished satellite + pro led.
It's a fantastic light and will expand your plant options alot.

 

What kind of LED would you recommend I get for my 75 gallon moderately planted tank??? Anything that could get my tank to a medium-high light tank?

It really comes down to your price range.
There are cheapo lights that can get you there for $80 to $200
There are also mid level (pricewise) that can get you there for $200 to $400
Then there are the wallet busters that can cost $1000+ to set up.
Cheaper lights may not look as nice as far as spectrum or may have less features, or it may take more fixtures to get you to mid-high light.
The more expensive lights usually have a nicer looking spectrum or more features (but not always). They can also usually push you into ridiculous light levels.
Sometimes the more expensive ones are just more expensive because of their name.

 

What would you recommend I get for a light from $80-$200? Is there one that is enough for a 75Gal with a moderate amount of plants? Perhaps the Fluval planted LED light 3.0?
Maybe the koval LED?
Or the Finnex?
I can’t afford to get $200-$1000 light to be frank it’s a lot for me to chew right now

 

I use a couple of the Fluval planted LED lights 3.0 I also use the Vivagrow 24/7 ( these are the same lights as finnex )

 

What would you recommend I get for a light from $80-$200? Is there one that is enough for a 75Gal with a moderate amount of plants? Perhaps the Fluval planted LED light 3.0?
Maybe the koval LED?
Or the Finnex?
I can’t afford to get $200-$1000 light to be frank it’s a lot for me to chew right now

I have heard great things and seen nice pictures of the Finnex 24/7 CC in action.
I used to have 2x Fluval 2.0's over my 75g. My understanding is that the 3.0 is pretty similar in overall output. I used two because I was concerned with overall spread across the front to back of a 75g. They grew some high light plants with zero problems.
Some people use the nicrews and beamsworks with success. They are cheaper but I have no personal experiences with them.
I use a chihiros wrgb120 now but that's in the $300 range. However, their earlier models are much cheaper and might get you to mid level lighting. I'd research it first though.

 

Wow I’ve never even heard of these lights!! Thanks for the update lol
I should be able to purchase an LED just like yours. The “Chihiros wrgb120”! You have only one correct, if two then I’m going to have to kiss my high light plants good bye

I have heard great things and seen nice pictures of the Finnex 24/7 CC in action.
I used to have 2x Fluval 2.0's over my 75g. My understanding is that the 3.0 is pretty similar in overall output. I used two because I was concerned with overall spread across the front to back of a 75g. They grew some high light plants with zero problems.
Some people use the nicrews and beamsworks with success. They are cheaper but I have no personal experiences with them.
I use a chihiros wrgb120 now but that's in the $300 range. However, their earlier models are much cheaper and might get you to mid level lighting. I'd research it first though.

Wow! Looks amazing! This is the 48” for the 75-90 gallon tank ranges? Possibly even 55?
Will one of these lights give me a bright high light that’s safe and won’t get too hot over the water? Is only one enough??? I really like that light it is perfect for my tank! Thanks!!

 

I use Beamsworks for my big tanks and recently Finnex 24/7 HCL. Both would be ok for a 75g. Maybe later down the rd you could get a another supplementary light for the back, but it would get you going and be similar to a t5 in PAR (maybe even 2 x t5s).

The finnex is fully customizable for spectrum and photoperiod. I'm in Canada and it only cost me 175$ for the Finnex with shipping, BW fspec is about 150$. Saying this through experience growing low light/med light plants in a 90g and 120g.

 

So what would be high lighting? I don’t want to get 3 lights tbh, I can even afford 2 I just want one light that will do the job if that’s possible. Just one med-high LED lighting setup. Any suggestions?

 

So what would be high lighting? I don’t want to get 3 lights tbh, I can even afford 2 I just want one light that will do the job if that’s possible. Just one med-high LED lighting setup. Any suggestions?

High light is considered 80+PAR for freshwater.

The Beamswork DA fspec has good PAR (44 PAR @ 20") according to some online PAR charts. That's medium light at the substrate of your 75g. You could grow some decent plants with it. I have two fixtures to cover the width (front to back) of my large tanks, but I think one fixture could grow some nice plants if you select the right ones and place them in the right spots.

For example, my 90g. To compare it to your 75g.....
I have crypt wendtiI green and stargrass in the foreground. I used stargrass as a carpet and wendtiI grows short enough to use in the foreground. I also use it as as a midground filler in between the taller plants because it tolerates lower light too. I have various bulb plants in the midground and vallisneria in the background. My aponogeton crispus also grew to the surface. Where the val leaves drape the surface and shade the plants below, I grow bolbitis which is a lower light rhizome plant.

Just to give an example.

The Finnex 24/7 CC had very similar PAR to the Beamswork DA fspec from what I remember.

I have old Beamsworks fixtures comparable to the newer BW DA series. I also have the Finnex 24/7. Both are good for planting low/medium light plants. Actually, two of these fixtures would be overkill for most low tech tanks IMO.

 

High light is considered 80+PAR for freshwater.

The Beamswork DA fspec has good PAR (44 PAR @ 20") according to some online PAR charts. That's medium light at the substrate of your 75g. You could grow some decent plants with it. I have two fixtures to cover the width (front to back) of my large tanks, but I think one fixture could grow some nice plants if you select the right ones and place them in the right spots.

For example, my 90g. To compare it to your 75g.....
I have crypt wendtiI green and stargrass in the foreground. I used stargrass as a carpet and wendtiI grows short enough to use in the foreground. I also use it as as a midground filler in between the taller plants because it tolerates lower light too. I have various bulb plants in the midground and vallisneria in the background. My aponogeton crispus also grew to the surface. Where the val leaves drape the surface and shade the plants below, I grow bolbitis which is a lower light rhizome plant.

Just to give an example.

The Finnex 24/7 CC had very similar PAR to the Beamswork DA fspec from what I remember.

I have old Beamsworks fixtures comparable to the newer BW DA series. I also have the Finnex 24/7. Both are good for planting low/medium light plants. Actually, two of these fixtures would be overkill for most low tech tanks IMO.

Do you use co2?

 

Do you use co2?

Nope! I do have a soil substrate under the sand/gravel though. But the tank is also 5 years old, so I don't think there is much co2 coming off the soil anymore.

 

Nope! I do have a soil substrate under the sand/gravel though. But the tank is also 5 years old, so I don't think there is much co2 coming off the soil anymore.

Amazing post you made I give you 5 stars!
So here’s the deal now...
These 4 lights are in my shopping cart on amazon. I want two lights for my 75.
There are two Finnex lights the HLC and the CRV
Which would do you prefer I get from the two???
And then there are two other regular led lights that are cheaper and probably less effective. The Beamworks and the Nicrew lights. Which of those two do you prefer I get?
I want one finnex 24/7 and one of the other brand lights which two should I get!!?

 

Thanks for the 5 stars haha!

The Finnex CRV has true 660nm red. This is a deep red for plant photosynthesis. It's more expensive to include this color, so only the CRV has it, is supposed to be much better for plants, but personally I have the Finnex HLC and it's fine. That fixture on max power lights up my whole 120 gallon well and it's only 4ft on a 5ft tank. Fully customizable for spectrum and photoperiod with the remote.

I have the EA Beamswork fspec too. Lol, I have so many tanks! I find it pretty dI'm on its own, but as a supplementary light, it's pretty good I think. It grew my Amazon swords in my 18" deep tank, so good for the top portion and tall plants, while the other fixture will take care of the low plants. The spectrum is cool, meaning it is closer to 10000k then 6500k. Place the stronger light in the front for the shorter foreground plants and the Beamswork or Nicrew in behind for the taller background plants.

I don't have any nicrew fixtures, I'm having trouble figuring out which is better, the EA Beamswork or Nicrew. I think they look very similar. Maybe someone else has the Nicrew.

 

Thanks for the 5 stars haha!

The Finnex CRV has true 660nm red. This is a deep red for plant photosynthesis. It's more expensive to include this color, so only the CRV has it, is supposed to be much better for plants, but personally I have the Finnex HLC and it's fine. That fixture on max power lights up my whole 120 gallon well and it's only 4ft on a 5ft tank. Fully customizable for spectrum and photoperiod with the remote.

I have the EA Beamswork fspec too. Lol, I have so many tanks! I find it pretty dI'm on its own, but as a supplementary light, it's pretty good I think. It grew my Amazon swords in my 18" deep tank, so good for the top portion and tall plants, while the other fixture will take care of the low plants. The spectrum is cool, meaning it is closer to 10000k then 6500k. Place the stronger light in the front for the shorter foreground plants and the Beamswork or Nicrew in behind for the taller background plants.

I don't have any nicrew fixtures, I'm having trouble figuring out which is better, the EA Beamswork or Nicrew. I think they look very similar. Maybe someone else has the Nicrew.

I heard that the vivagrow 24/7 is much better than both Nicrew and Beamworks. Other fish lore members recommend that I get that as a secondary lighting set up. They said that it’s also much cheaper on eBay for only $40 bucks!!!
If anything I believe that this is the best of the cheap secondary lights. I am not sure I’ve never used it tbh but that’s the advice I’ve gotten from other members.

 

For sure! I'm in Canada so I can't get one, hence didn't think of it. That's a great recomendation, glad you found something that will suit you well. Can't believe they are so cheap! I've seen some tanks with a Finnex 24/7 and a vivagrow and they look awesome.