Lightning confusion...
 

Hi,

I am so confused about the necessary lightning for healthy plants.

I have a 33gal tank, 36" long, 12" wide and 16" height.

With the kit came a aquaglo 24", 20W 400 lumens 55 Lux 18000kelvin

I am not sure it is enough for my plants, I have several kinds,
anubias, ludwigias, cabombas, echonidorus, and others that I can't
think of the name.

I was at the lfs and they have sun glo and life glo.
a 20W sun glo lamp will provide 1230 lumens and 125 Lux and 4200Kelvin

same 20w life glo (there's life glo 2, but the specs seem to be the
same), and provides 1440 lumens, 135 lux and 6700kelvin.

Price wise life glo is quadruple of sun glo. $40cad.

Each lamp also has a graphic on the side but I imagine it's something
to do with spectrum but I have no clue how to read it.

My plants right now seem to be okay, but would I be better off with
another lamp, and if yes which one?

Undecided Wanderer...

Check out the Aquatic Plant FAQ at http://fins.actwin.com/aquariafaq.html it
has a good section covering lighting.

General rule of thumb is at least 2watts / gallon if you have plants that do
well in low light. If you are going for plants that require a lot of light
you will need 3-4watts/gallon. I have 260W over my 75G and I can grow just
about anything. I have tried the really expensive bulbs and I have used
cheaper ones. The more expensive ones certainly worked well but was it
worth the cost? That is up to the individual. Many people use the GE
aquarium bulbs and I am now using the Phillips Plant & Aquarium bulbs that I
buy at Home Depot for approximately $9US for 48" 40W.

The graphic on the side represents the colors of light emitted by the bulb.
Plants need light in the red and blue spectrums as they reflect the green
spectrum. Humans are most sensitive to the green spectrum. So the less
expensive plant bulbs will not appear as bright even though they are putting
off more light that can actually be used by the plants.


wrote in message
ups.com...
Hi,

I am so confused about the necessary lightning for healthy plants.

I have a 33gal tank, 36" long, 12" wide and 16" height.

With the kit came a aquaglo 24", 20W 400 lumens 55 Lux 18000kelvin

I am not sure it is enough for my plants, I have several kinds,
anubias, ludwigias, cabombas, echonidorus, and others that I can't
think of the name.

I was at the lfs and they have sun glo and life glo.
a 20W sun glo lamp will provide 1230 lumens and 125 Lux and 4200Kelvin

same 20w life glo (there's life glo 2, but the specs seem to be the
same), and provides 1440 lumens, 135 lux and 6700kelvin.

Price wise life glo is quadruple of sun glo. $40cad.

Each lamp also has a graphic on the side but I imagine it's something
to do with spectrum but I have no clue how to read it.

My plants right now seem to be okay, but would I be better off with
another lamp, and if yes which one?

Undecided Wanderer...

My canopy only holds one lamp, how do you guys get to have some much
wattage?

Nikki Casali wrote:
My two planted tanks didn't come with hoods with light fittings
installed.

I'll make that clearer!
My two planted tanks came with hoods without the light fittings
pre-installed.

Nikki

On 3 May 2005 13:01:22 -0700, "
wrote:

Hi,

I am so confused about the necessary lightning for healthy plants.

I have a 33gal tank, 36" long, 12" wide and 16" height.

With the kit came a aquaglo 24", 20W 400 lumens 55 Lux 18000kelvin

I am not sure it is enough for my plants, I have several kinds,
anubias, ludwigias, cabombas, echonidorus, and others that I can't
think of the name.

I was at the lfs and they have sun glo and life glo.
a 20W sun glo lamp will provide 1230 lumens and 125 Lux and 4200Kelvin

same 20w life glo (there's life glo 2, but the specs seem to be the
same), and provides 1440 lumens, 135 lux and 6700kelvin.

Price wise life glo is quadruple of sun glo. $40cad.

Each lamp also has a graphic on the side but I imagine it's something
to do with spectrum but I have no clue how to read it.

My plants right now seem to be okay, but would I be better off with
another lamp, and if yes which one?

Undecided Wanderer...


If you change anything you can expect some change in response. My
guiding line, "if it ain't broke, why fix it?" Of course, if you like
to play, then expect your plants to react individually. Since your
plants are now ok, why make changes.

Plants need different kinds of light. For me, the secret is to find
plants compatible with the lighting the tank has. In my case the
lighting ratio is less than 1.5 watts per gallon, so I bought plants
that accept the ratio. I don't know how you selected your plants, but
if you lucked out and got plants happy with the existing lights, be
happy. I went through a couple of plant changes taking months to find
if they would survive before getting compatible arrangements.

Of course, if time and money are unimportant and variety is, then
experiment. No one is going to be able to do more than suggest, you
will have to bear the results.

dick

Well, the life-glo is probably the best and brightest, but I too have
found that they have a ridiculous & prohibitive cost. You may be best
off to just use a generic 6500K bulb.... available at many hardware
stores, Home Depots, etc.

I am seeing some light. :)

I also like Dick advice... if its not broke dont fix it. :)