Which Lighting System? Pics Of Current Setup For Help

[fishcam]

Hi,

I've had my tank for about 8 weeks now, and I need to get some better lighting for things to grow and look more like one of the planted tanks posted in the members tanks sections.

What do you all think of either of these?

http/www.drsfostersmith.com/Product/Prod...p;N=2004+113345

http/www.drsfostersmith.com/Product/Prod...p;N=2004+113345

As you can see in the picture, I've got a 55 gallon tank, 8-10 plants (I dont know their names...) and about 15 fish (gouriamis and giant dianos mostly). I currently bubble CO2 into the tank using a yeast/sugar mixture, I have a bubble wand on during the daylight hours, and there's just pebbles on the bottom. The temps are about 78 degs, with a ph of about 7.0.

Can anyone help me with these lights? Would it be possible to use them in a salt water reef setup later on?

The one setup would give about 4.8 watts per gallon... which seems to be the rule around here. Is the price good?

I'm really new to lighting, clearly, so any help would be appreciated.

You can see the tank here... http/labs.ddoud.com:443/tank.jpg


Thanks

ps, i'm in the states, so any overseas order places wont do any good

 

[Liam]

The lights seem to be specifically for a saltwater set up with corals. Plant lights tend to have a different K number like 6500K, as far as I know its better to have lighting designed specifically for plants. I am not sure if plant bulbs can be used on the lighting system you are considering. If so then I wouldn’t see a problem with those lights. 4.8 watts is quite a high amount of light, 2.5 is usually enough on tanks the size of yours, 2.5 is considered a high light tank. That much light with the amount of plants you have might encourage algae. I had a look at your plants, I would add a lot more if you are going to upgrade the lighting to even 2.5WPG.

Is the bubble wand for the Co2 or from an air pump. If its from an air pump then it will gas off the Co2.

Very nice tank and fish. Looking good

 

[fishcam]

Thanks for your thoughts. I wasnt aware that coral light was different than freshwater plant light. The bubbles are just air, its on half of the day, and the CO2 bubbles constantly towards the left side of the picture. You say I'm killing the effect of the CO2 with all that air?

 

[xJake]

Lighting spectrum for saltwater and planted tanks are indeed different. Saltwater (for corals at least) need 10000K-20000K whereas plants need 6000K-7000K. I would suggest looking at Champion Lighting. They're a very good company. They have a great selection of lighting and other equipment, are very reliable, they ship quickly, and they usually let you choose the bulb you want for your lighting fixture. They also sell quality products are cheap prices. I haven't bought anything there I wasn't satisfied with.

 

[voo]

IMO the lights you looked at would be too powerful for a person new to high-tec planting. It could be possible, but i think you'd struggle with algae a lot. Also as mentioned the tubes are designed for marine tanks, so it'd be best replacing them.

If you was considering marine later on, an option could be to get these and run half the tubes, which are replaced with those suitable for plants. Aim for around 2-3 WPG.

The bubblewand will create a lot of surface agitation, which releases the CO2 from the water. With a high-tec setup you want to minimise the surface agitation so that your CO2 is higher. I'd stop the bubblewand immediately, especially as it's only a DIY CO2 on a large tank. Also if your filter is creating a lot of surface movement, adjust it so that the movement is minimal. If it's heavily planted then the plants would provide enough oxygen, provided the tank isnt overstocked. However as you're just starting and don't have many plants, have a little surface movement at least. Keep an eye on your fish, if they're gasping for air, create more surface movement.

Some people do run a bubblewand/airstone during the night when using DIY CO2 as it cant be shut off. This provides the water with extra oxygen that the plants use at night. Keep a check on your fish when the lights go out and in the morning. If you see them gasping at the surface for air then i'd recommend running an airstone at night. A Bubblewand is probably too much surface agitation.

EDIT: I'd also recommend you check your CO2 levels. Do you know how to do this, using a KH and pH test kit? On a tank that size you might need to be running 2 DIY CO2 kits. If your CO2 is low and you get high lighting, you'll run into problems.