correct lighting

[2fishy]

i was reading another thread about this but didnt wanna invade it with my question. i have a 200L tank, with only about 20 neons, 1 blue ram and 1 bristlenose. the tank is about 500 deep and the lighting isnt very strong and most of the plants keep dying, the plants in my other tank seem to do ok coz they are very deep and the lighting is stronger. Do i need to get metal halide? the tank is 4ft long and i have a 3ft double lighthood in it.

[Caryl]

My 4ft has 2 double 4ft fluoros on it and the plants grow very well. Metal halides aren't required, just better fluoros.

[supasi]

MH light would work , but expensive to run

See if you can get two 4 foot double fittings

That should give you enough light to grow most plants.

What sort of plants keep dieing on you?

I have a three foot with 2 X 2 foot flouros and my tank is 450 deep and I have no trouble with crypts a large sword and java mos and even get algae growth on my anubias.

I would love MH myself but cant justify cost of running them, when i get satisfactory results

[alanmin4304]

How high is the water level, how high are the lights above the water and how long do you have them going each day? For example, I have a tank which is 1150mm long and 500mm of water depth with the lights about 100mm above the water. The lights are on 17 hours/day and they are like yours 2 x 3ft flouros (about 60watts). Everyone has there own ideas but I use one growlux type tube and one cool white tube and this setup grows and propagates a number of sword plants including: uraquayensis, red special, barthii, leopard, ozelot, martii, rose, red rubin and parviflorus. All of these plants require reasonable light. There is also three types of Crypts, lace java fern and a small sagittaria. Not much room for fish, but there are a few.

[2fishy]

the plants i have been trying to grow are polysperma and hygrophila mostly, some of the red hygro has survived and getting quite tall and the leaves at the top look really healthy compared to the lower part of the plant. The water is 45cm deep and the light is 4cm above the water. i am pretty sure one of the tubes is a grolux and the other one could be a standard one? i dont think a 4ft hood will fit inside the lid on my fish tank coz it will be ever so slightly to long.

[alanmin4304]

How long are the lights on each day and how old are the tubes?

Red Hygro is not an hygrophila, it is alternanthera reineckii roseafolia and is one of the few red plants which grows OK in moderate light. I think your plants should grow well if your tubes are not too old and they are on long enough each day.

[2fishy]

lights are on about 12 hours a day, maybe i should up that? 1 tube is only about 2-3 months old and the other mite be about a year old.

[2fishy]

oh and alan you are right about the plant it is what you said. do i need more intense tubes?

[alanmin4304]

If the newer one is the growlux it might pay to get a new cool white--cheap as chips

[2fishy]

ok thanks. also i know of people using regular tubes that people would have on their own ceilings. is this advisable? or is it best to get the proper ones thru the LFS? and if so why arent the regular tubes ok?

[supasi]

Its to do with the spectrum and colour temperature of the tubes.

Its fine to use tube bought from bunnings or mitre 10 , just make sure you get the ones rated around 6500k, otherwise known as cool daylight bulbs. Very white light, similar to midday sunlight.

they commonly are coded with the numbers 865, which in short means its 80 on colour scale at 6500 kelvin rating.

The difference with most common home bulbs(fluoros) is that most people prefer the warm yellowy orange light which is not really adequate for plant growth.

The bulbs sold inLFS are fine but your paying extra for fancy packaging and branding, although some of the spectrums like the coral tubes are almost impossible to buy any other way.

My advise is just use tube from bunnings etc that are rated at 6500k.

Thats all I use and my plants grow wonderfully.

Also as Alanmin suggests combining with a growlux tube will prob be better but thats up to you, and how much you wanna grow your plants

HTH

[supasi]

Also Simian done an awesome job in this thread to explain fluoros.

Check it out

http://www.fnzas.org.nz/fishroom/lighti ... 32844.html

[alanmin4304]

I use a growlux type (20000k) and a cool white (4000k), Others use daylight (6500k). The choice is yours. Growlux is dearer and can be bought through a pet shop or cheaper from a lighting wholesaler. The others can be bought from bunnings/mitre10 etc and are cheaper. Once the ends of the tube go darker the light emitted is not as good and it pays to change the tubes. At that time you might as well get a new starter as they only cost about $1 and a bad starter shortens the life of the tube. Plants need plenty of blue and red light, that is what the growlux type tubes are made for and why they look purple. Blue makes plants compact and red makes them scrawny--both makes them healthy. What is right is what works best for you.

[whetu]

If you have room for a second three-foot double light hood, then I would suggest adding one. So you can keep the two existing tubes you already have (if you want) and add another two of the ones suggested here.

Daylight tubes are less than $10 from a hardware store like Bunnings or Mitre 10 so it's not a huge investment.

[2fishy]

i just replaced a tube on my small 2 ft tank and bought a 10000k bulb from the LFS for it. cost me $20. ill have a think about adding an extra lighthood to the 4ft tank, but i dont have any more spare plugs so will have to work something out!

[alanmin4304]

You could try leaving the lights on for 18 hours/day and see if things improve.

[2fishy]

will try that alan and will also buy a few more plants that are close to the bottom and see if they grow.

[alanmin4304]

If you want low plants try Echinodorus tenellus latifolius or Sagittaria microfolia as they need less light than most of the others.

[2fishy]

ok thanks but can u tell me what they are commonly called in the pet stores please?

[alanmin4304]

They wouldn't know what it was in the pet store other than it was a plant at so much a bunch. I have both but have very little at this time of year because I grow it emersed and am trying to hold a little til the spring. There are pople on this site who sell it from time to time --suggest you ask on the buy/sell section.