# Planted lighting



## tedf (Jul 29, 2012)

In looking at two fixtures I need some help.

http://www.aquatraders.com/EVO-Quad-72- ... /56239.htm

http://www.marineandreef.com/AquaticLif ... 01038f.htm


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## fusion (Jun 21, 2012)

You will need to decide which "look" you like better

I have LED on a 37 and fluorescent on a 29, i like the look of the fluorescent better, Try to get a look at both before you decide, maby 1 of your LFS has some on display.


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## fusion (Jun 21, 2012)

Ooops just realised your asking about lights for plants  
Dont know about that lol


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## tedf (Jul 29, 2012)

I think the t5 go will work alot better for plants.


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

Given your two choices, I agree the T5. But only because it uses this bulb: 6500K

They make LED fixtures for plants. Next time I buy a plant fixture, it will be LED.


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## TonyRG (May 28, 2012)

I depends on what plants you are going to have. Do you know what you are going to plant yet?


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## tedf (Jul 29, 2012)

No not yet I'm still wOrking on getting equipment. Prabally something that will grow close to the bottom and something in the middle and something higher. Any suggestions ?


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## TonyRG (May 28, 2012)

are you planting a cichlid tank? If so the only plants that I would recomend are java ferns and anuibas. cichlids will not eat them they are low light and you dont need c02


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## tedf (Jul 29, 2012)

Ya I'm planning on planting a cichlid tank, prabally going new world / south American, other than the plants u recommend cichlids will eat them and up root them?


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## SikkAquariums (Aug 14, 2012)

I currently have a dual t5 flouresecnt setup, and will be doing anubias, java, some hairgrass as well in the tank. Only other concern I have other than what kind of lighting as I would like to move the REEF capabable LED by marineland w/ built in timer system, and moonlight, I have read that the Glass tops on the tanks reduce your lighting by at least 50%! So I am loosing 50% of my tank showing by not having good lighting, any suggestions on how to penetrate deeper with the lights or some other top that works better without blocking so much light?? thanks! and will co2 help the anubias and java grow faster/bigger?


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

You want the right amount of light, not too much, not too little. Anubias and java are slow growers and too much light will harm them. Mine do like CO2 but it is not as necessary for these as many other plants...the hairgrass may like the CO2 and high light more.


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## tedf (Jul 29, 2012)

Is it good to run 6000k & super actinic good for plants.


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

actinic, no. Not sure about 6000K, I've always used 6700K and I believe 6500 is the nonUS equivalent.


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## SikkAquariums (Aug 14, 2012)

why is the actinic not good for the plants? I run one of those and a 6700 i think..


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

Plants don't utilize the blue light efficiently, but algae do.


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## tharsis (Dec 5, 2012)

Both of those fixtures will probably be overkill for a planted tank unless you are blasting the tank with a ton of CO2 or you are keeping the fixture 2 feet above the top of the tank. That much light is just asking for an algae farm. I am running 2XT5HO fixtures on my 75 gallon tank and I am getting algae on my anubias, I am controlling it alittle bit by dosing carbon. The fixture you linked to has individual reflectors as well which mine doesn't, so that increases the intensity as well.

LED's will grow plants beautifully, just make sure that they are in the right spectrum range, plants don't care what the source is as long as they have the right spectrum to drive photosynthesis. Daylight (6500K) is great but so is 10000K. I have had planted tanks that were lit solely with 10000K LED's and they did wonderfully. The one you linked to is 10000K and actinics so it will look very blue...it really depends on the aesthetics that you want for the tank. The one you linked to isn't dimmable, there are some out there that have the different Kelvin LEDs on different dimmer switches so you can adjust them to get the right color, and it also limits the light intensity, those might be a better alternative.

The actinics don't do anything for the plants, they are not in the right spectrum range. Algae doesn't really use it either to be honest, since FW algae photosynthesis the same light as plants. The only thing it affects is the 'color' of the tank, some people find that the blue hue clashes with the green of the plants so it is not commonly used in planted tanks.

If it were me, I would go with the T5HO fixture, that way you can play around with different bulbs, 6700K - 10000K 0 roseate etc to get the right color for the tank.


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## testeve (Sep 17, 2012)

DJRansome said:


> Plants don't utilize the blue light efficiently, but algae do.


When I started my heavily planted tank several years ago, I liked the way the actinic bulb made the fish colors pop, so I had one actinic bulb in the mix. I was getting a really hard concrete like algae on my tank walls, that was really difficult to remove. I took out the actinic and that "concrete" algae went away.

Now I just use one 6500k bulb and one 10,000k bulb and everyone thing is great.


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## CrypticLifeStyle (Dec 14, 2009)

It's all about the peak red and blue spectrum which 6500k gives off and par of the light. 10,000k is honestly outside the spectrum plants need or want, that's for corals. If you don't want to pay LFS prices for those bulbs HD or most hardware stores sell 6500/6700k bulbs at half the price. If you havn't planted yet I stress you get eco-complete first, it'll pay off in the long run. It's expensive but best do it right the first time around. Flourish/excell is a great liquid fert to use. I've had success using pfs as a substrate but it can be difficult to maintain with cichlid sifting and hope to eventually mix eco into it. If you don't have the funds for a co2 System the liquid stuff will get you by for a little while or you can make your own with a diy recipe and 2 liter bottle with a air tube coming out into the tank. Just really do your research before you get really into it. There's more in having a successful planted tank then keeping fish in it lol


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## tharsis (Dec 5, 2012)

A 10000K bulb still gives plenty of useable light in the correct spectrum though so a 6500K and 10000K bulb are really interchangeable in my opinion, it comes down to personal preference in terms of the color of the tank. I like to do a mix of 6700K and 10000K bulbs to get away from the yellow hues.


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## CrypticLifeStyle (Dec 14, 2009)

tharsis said:


> A 10000K bulb still gives plenty of useable light in the correct spectrum though so a 6500K and 10000K bulb are really interchangeable in my opinion, it comes down to personal preference in terms of the color of the tank. I like to do a mix of 6700K and 10000K bulbs to get away from the yellow hues.


True plants can grow under 10k but is it ideal no. Let's take a few factors in. Natural sunlight is 5k on the surface without shade scientifically speaking. Now that light degrades a lot as it travels through the water. What spectrums grow plants best. Blue and red mixed though one is better whether the plant is in a vegative stage or not. Blue peaks around 4k red peaks around 10/12k. 6500/6700 tends to be the happy medium. Personally if mixing a 10k in I'd try with it a 6500k and 4k all together. My triple 6500k light doesn't give any yellow hues but we also need to take in each manufactures k rating is never the same as another's. But the real factor in tank plant light success is the par rating.which is a whole other story. If the op can determine what par he needs for his specific plants **** have more insight on lighting options. Depth of the tank - light output in par hitting the bottom .


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## tharsis (Dec 5, 2012)

The difference between the spectra is pretty minimal, there is plenty of useable radiation in the 500-600 range for the 10000K bulbs to drive photosynthesis for plants.










I have had 10000K and 6700K mixes with great success. If you light a tank with just 6700K and then light a tank with just 10000K and have them side by side, there is a big difference in the color. You can see just in the plots I provided that the 6700K produces alot more yellow.

All I am saying is that there is some wiggle room with the K-ratings to adjust the look of the tank to what you prefer.

I agree that PAR is the most important parameter. OP wants low light plants which is why I suggested that his two fixtures are overkill, even if the tank is 24" deep, that will be too much light unless he wants to dose a ton of excel or CO2.


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## kevins007 (Dec 22, 2012)

I just purchased an LED from buildmyled.com and it is a very nice light. I have a 75 gallon tank and the plants are doing supper. I encourage you to check them out. Plus, they offer a 30 day return if you are unhappy for any reason.


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## CrypticLifeStyle (Dec 14, 2009)

This would be more of the spectrum curve i would be referring to. Shows a bit more of what i was saying. I would definitely recommend LED's, but hard to say what light would work well without knowing the tank size. I've heard great feedback about buildmyled.com as kevin007 mentioned through a planted tank forum. When you know what size tank your getting or have of thats the case i'd call them up, and tell them the size, and your needs are, and they'll make you one that best fits them.


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