Do I have the right light for my tank?

[Schaffer 23]

Hello everyone! I have a question. About 8 months ago I bought a new 44-gallon aquarium for a planted/community fish (mostly tetra's) tank. I was "upgrading" from a 55-gallon I had barrowed from a friend who got me started; it had a standard "work shop" ballast with one 'aquarium' bulb and one regualr light bulb in it. At the time I was making the purchase, I needed a light that would fit the hood and the guy at the fish shop sold me on a Coralife Aqualife CF Hood. It has 4 bulbs connected together and draws 96-watts. It is described as a "50/50" on the bulb and at all the aquarium on-line shops I have been too. One of the shops implies on their website that this bulb IS NOT for freshwater planted tanks - it is intended for saltwater micro tanks. Are they right?

My planted tank has an anubias and another plant that I can't identify. The anubias has taken off when I made the tank switch and the plant I can't identify started to shrink back. In the old tank it was the opposite. The unidentied plant used to grow so fast in the old tank I had to trim it so I could have some open water space! I tried some kabomba in the tank recently and it all died off in a matter of weeks! Is this the lighting that is causing this problem?

Any ideas or advice? I am starting to really understand why so many "smarties" are attracted to fish-keeping. So much to know! Thanks!

 

[Aulonochromis]

They are right, that bulb is for marine tanks. 50/50 means half daylight and half actinic. The daylight part is good, but actinic will grow algae better than it will plants. I don't use CF bulbs myself, but I hear the GE 9325Ks are awesome for plants.

Beware of what those people at fish shops tell you to buy, especially regarding plants because most fish shops are clueless when it comes to aquatic weeds. They just buy new ones when the old ones die.

 

[Yenko]

It's kind of funny that people go to all this effort to grow plants that are little more than weeds in their native countries.

Oh, and your canopy is ok, your bulbs are not. If you can replace the 50/50 tubes with normal ones then you should be alright. Don't buy specialty bulbs; you can get good results with a 50/50 combonation of cool white and warm white tubes that can be bought for $5 at your hardware store, not $30 at your fish store.

 

[Schaffer 23]

It's no trouble . It's a hobby. It's intersting.

 

[Yenko]

It's no trouble . It's a hobby. It's intersting.

I agree, I was just stating a fact.

 

[konrad05]

It's kind of funny that people go to all this effort to grow plants that are little more than weeds in their native countries.

Oh, and your canopy is ok, your bulbs are not. If you can replace the 50/50 tubes with normal ones then you should be alright. Don't buy specialty bulbs; you can get good results with a 50/50 combonation of cool white and warm white tubes that can be bought for $5 at your hardware store, not $30 at your fish store.

Actually, I have to disagree. Buying cool white and warm white tubes will do no good to your plants, so you might as well not put them in at all. What you need is in fact, specialty bulbs. They're expensive, but they produce results. I've tried taking the cheap route (buying full spectrum bulbs at home depot for 8$), but all growth was horrible until I replaced them with triphosphorus coralife bulbs. Since then, everything has been growing great. Good luck on your planted tank!

 

[Nisha]

It's true, 50/50 is more for SW tanks. You really need to get full spectrum bulbs for FW plants, especially if you want to grow cabomba or any red plant varieties. I would recommend that you take your bulbs back and ask for an exchange at your lfs if you can.

Anubias is generally a very slow growing and hardy plant and doesn't actually require lots of light. It would be best if you identify your other plant so that you can ensure that your next lighting purchase suits it. Tropica

Hope this helps.

 

[Yenko]

Triphosphorus bulbs are good from what I've heard. I was referring more to the ones intended for freshwater plants. Oh, and triphosphorus bulbs are sometimes used for commerical lighting; so you can find very cheap ones sometimes. If I can find them in my area I might use them.

 

[Schaffer 23]

Thanks for the help everyone! What K should I be using? I have found several sources that state the bulbs should have a 6700K light and some that state that 10,000K is correct...

Also, has anyone heard anything about Hellolights.com? They seem to come-up in all the internet searches I have done on lighting...

Conrad05 - Your tank is beautiful (the 55). What kind of fish do you have in your tank? What kind of plants do you have? What do you use to get the correct water hardness so make growht like that? Michigan water is sort-of hard and I have also been told that this is one of the keys to growing plants like you have. Thanks. B)