Lighting Help Please

[KimA]

Hi,

I've currently got x2 Hagen Power-Glo's (25w 18000K) running on my Juwel Vision 180 (40 gal) - the tank's currently lightly planted with Apongeton, Java Fern, Amazon Swords and Anubis (waiting on Giant Vallis and Crypt to arrive from Greenline).

I'm not running CO2 - but adding Seachem's Flourish weekly and Flourish Excel every other day with some TetraPlant PlantMin every 4 weeks - all plants to date are doing okay and growing nicely.

Personally, after reading some of the pinned topics on here (in particular George Farmer's one on lighting), I think these tubes are far too bright/too much blue? - so am thinking of switching over to Interpet's Daylight Plus and Tri Plus instead, but would like some opinions as to whether these would be suitable please.

Also, what would be a good carpeting plant for the tank? (it has a fine black gravel)

Sorry if I've missed anything.

Thanks
Kim

 

[SuperColey1]

Not overly sure about the lighting, I don't believe half the K ratings on them but I know that around 6500K is supposed to be the ideal.

Just reading you use Flourish Excel, and you are getting a val. This is the warning on all vals on www.plantgeek.net:

***Special note*** This plant seems to be sensitive to Flourish Excel, to the point it "melts" completely off if given enough.

 

[KimA]

Not overly sure about the lighting, I don't believe half the K ratings on them but I know that around 6500K is supposed to be the ideal.

Just reading you use Flourish Excel, and you are getting a val. This is the warning on all vals on www.plantgeek.net:

***Special note*** This plant seems to be sensitive to Flourish Excel, to the point it "melts" completely off if given enough.

Okay, thanks for that

 

[Wonderboy]

The bulbs you list look much more promising in my opinion - I would definetly give them a shot, as I think they would perform much better than the ones you are using now for any planted tank.

~ Wonderboy!

 

[KimA]

The bulbs you list look much more promising in my opinion - I would definetly give them a shot, as I think they would perform much better than the ones you are using now for any planted tank.

~ Wonderboy!

Thanks - will hopefully be able to get them from my lfs this afternoon

 

[Dave Spencer]

A mix of Daylight Plus and Triplus should give you good results, especially when it comes to giving the tank a nice colour rendition. I don`t have any real experience of other lights, but I know the T5s I use are excellent.

 

[KimA]

A mix of Daylight Plus and Triplus should give you good results, especially when it comes to giving the tank a nice colour rendition. I don`t have any real experience of other lights, but I know the T5s I use are excellent.

Great - which way round would you put them? or is it just a case of try it and see what you prefer?

 

[Themuleous]

Try and see

I have a power glo 18000 k and to be honest if anything it looks pink to me which is completely wrong, so I would forget the K rating of the tubes and gets ones designed for plants, the daylight and triplus and both excellent tube, as are the Arcadia freshwater tubes. Plants will adapt to a wide range of lighting conditions.

BTW that excel warning goes for hornwort and riccia as well IME

Sam

 

[Dave Spencer]

I put the Triplus a the back simply because it is designed for plant growth, and the back of my tank is where the majority of the plant mass is.

 

[alanchown]

BTW that excel warning goes for hornwort and riccia as well IME

Sam

I'll keep a look out for that, I've been triple dosing for 3 weeks to try and get rid of some filamentous algae (not sure if its made much difference) But my crypts seem to love it- the leaves look really healthy. I pus some riccia in a week or so ago and its just beginning to grow beyond the net-I also got some other stuff similar (and for the life of me I can't remember what its called) supposed to be easier to grow-looks much the same as the day it went in!

Alan

 

[KimA]

Thank you everyone - I've managed to get 2 Interpet Tri-Plus, but only 1 Interpet Daylight Plus (another ordered in for next week). In the meantime I've put the Juwel Daylite (25w) bulb on the front of the other tank - would this be sufficient permanently, or should I still get the other Interpet Daylight Plus?