Needs ur opinion

[KK1]

Hi Everyone, I ordered a T5HO plant grow light from Drs. F&Smith which will be arriving shortly. I am about to make my plant purchases (correct I hope this time) from Planted Aquarium Central (http://shop.plantedaquariumscentral.com/) & I want to know what plant/light level category suits me best. I am adding color & need to know which plants would thrive in my tank. My light is "high" but I do NOT use a CO2 set up, just use Excel periodically. Does this now lower me to a "medium light' tank for my plant choices in buying? Its a single bulb fixture also.

[madagascariensis]

What's the total wattage, tank size and height, plants you are planning on? Regarding your excel question, plants require 3 main things to grow, which are nutrients, light and co2. An excess of one cannot compensate for the deficiency of another. It's like a chain in being only as strong as the weakest link. Therefore unless you dim your light or increase the efficiency of your co2 supplementation, algae will likely grow to "fill the gap".

[talldutchie]

Hmmm..

Little to go on here. A single tube T5ho would qualify as medium in my opinion.

Still worth it to buy some liquid Co2 and a decent general fertilizer

[KK1]

My tank is 55g, 48" & 20" high. I had a 18000k light bulb but was told by another member to change my spectrum. Keeping the T5HO fixture I ordered a T5HO plant grow light bulb from a reputable source. It's 54w. I am making sure about ordering Ludwigia-ovalis, repens, glandulosa for example. Also there r more which clearly state higher lighting turns them redder. I use SeachemExcel & CompSupplement for my CO2. Is this enough to get them at least half-way red,lol ?

[dishsnthings]

I bought a new Aquatic Life Edge right after Christmas. I also use no C02, but do use Excel. I'm still learning the issues with lighting. It is programmable and it hard! Apparently all the plants I had prior were low to med light. This light started killing them off right away. I've re-homed some plants to appropriate light tanks. The others I did this little trick for 'shade". My LFS sells large anubias (with nice broad leaves) on the cheap. So I have many zip tied to suction cups and placed as high as I can. The leaves give nice 'shade' below. Every so often I have to trim the upper most leaves that are taking the brunt of the lighting, kind of like a sacrificial plant. Not ideal, but until I get past this learning curve it helps.