fish guy Posted April 12, 2013 Report Share Posted April 12, 2013 Hi everyone just setup a 450l planted tank but wasnt sure what lighting I require at the mo I hav 2 54 watt t5 but I feel I need more. Thinking of growing medium to low light plant :bggrn: advice appreciated Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fish guy Posted April 12, 2013 Author Report Share Posted April 12, 2013 I mean t8 :thup: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Godly3vil Posted April 12, 2013 Report Share Posted April 12, 2013 Change to a double T5HO and you'll be away laughing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Li@m Posted April 12, 2013 Report Share Posted April 12, 2013 I would change to either Metal Halide or T5HO or even better LEDs! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Godly3vil Posted April 12, 2013 Report Share Posted April 12, 2013 It all depends on what your budget for lighting is, what type of plants you want to grow and if you will be dosing ferts and co2. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adrienne Posted April 12, 2013 Report Share Posted April 12, 2013 It also depends on the height of your tank. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fish guy Posted April 12, 2013 Author Report Share Posted April 12, 2013 My tanks 60cm high and 150 cm long. I was thinking of growing amazon swors, ambulia, crypts, ludwigia and some rotala tiger lotuses ohh and some dwarf sag would diy co2 work for this size Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fish guy Posted April 12, 2013 Author Report Share Posted April 12, 2013 Would this work otherwise http://www.amazon.com/Commercial-Tube-F ... eywords=t5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adrienne Posted April 12, 2013 Report Share Posted April 12, 2013 Your tank is exactly the same size as mine. To get to 60cm with enough light to get down to the substrate of the tank you have you will need as least as much light as I do. I run 2 x double 54w T5H0 on my tank - 3 of these bulbs are arcadia plant tubes and the 4th is an Aqua one sunlight bulb for white light. I also run a twin 54 watt T8 light unit in the middle of these two. The lighting is good enough to grow glosso but its not exactly speedy in its spread. However the lights are plenty strong enough to stop lower level plants reaching - as in stretching for the light. You can see my tank in this link viewtopic.php?f=4&t=61015 The problem with non aquarium commercialised lights are that the bulbs are not colour specific and the proper plant bulbs may not fit into the fixtures. You would need to check. To get good growth for the swords you will really require a substrate fertiliser as these are heavy root feeders. You could try fertiliser tabs but they will not grow as fast or remain as healthy. As far as CO2 goes you will need to go pressurised CO2 on a tank this size. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fish guy Posted April 12, 2013 Author Report Share Posted April 12, 2013 By the way adrienne I love your tank. The substrate im using is daltons aquatic mix should i add anything else Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adrienne Posted April 12, 2013 Report Share Posted April 12, 2013 Aquatic mix is the fertiliser. If you have that as fertiliser your swords will grow just fine. What do you have over it as a substrate to stop it being disturbed by water changes etc? My previous tank had that with daltons propagating sand over it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fish guy Posted April 12, 2013 Author Report Share Posted April 12, 2013 I have just plain old gravel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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