Need Lighting Advise.

[snowflake311]

I have a 55 Gal tank the hood it came with is old. It only hold a 17 watt on each side. Basically the light is just so you can see the fish.

I'm not looking for anything crazy I don't to have to get a CO2 injector So I'm looking for mid lighting. I'm looking at this one. What do you think?
http/www.bigalsonline.com/BigAlsUS/ctl36...blestriplight48

But I'm a little unsure about what a T5 light is. What should I be looking for?

What light would you recommend For a 55 gal tank that will not need CO2?

 

[aaronnorth]

T5 reffers to the diamter of the tube.

T5 = 5/8th of 1"
T8 = 1"

T5 penetrate deeper into the water and they are more efficent. You dont need as much lighting as you would if you were to buy T8.

Dont go above 80w T8 OR 60w T5

you can over over by a few watts if need be

 

[snowflake311]

Ok so that light has 2 x 28 watt T5 bulbs. So total wattage of 56. Is that a good amount of light for moderate to low light plants? Or should I keep the 2 x 17 watt lights I have to ad a bit more? Maybe put different color lights in like one reddish one for plant growth.

OR should I go with Aqualight Power Compact Fixture for Freshwater - Straight Pin - 2 x 65W - 48 in.

 

[aaronnorth]

56w of T5 would be a good target. you will have 1WPG, but like i said above because they give out more watts per square inch you dont need as much. With that level of lighting you can grow a fair range of plants.

microsorum pteropus species
anubias sp
moss sp
cryptocoryne sp
hygrophillia sp
rotala sp
egeria densa
moss balls
echinodorous sp.
marsilea sp
eleocharis sp

There should be enough opitions for you there. You could also add a fertiliser weekly to help aid growth. Something such as tropica plant nutrition+ or seachem flourish.

 

[snowflake311]

Yes I ordered some Flourish excel and a few others there was a little package deal. I also added Flourish tabs yesterday. I was wondering if the type of light being a T5 would mean I would not need as many watts thanks for clearing that up.