Lighting

[twiztid1980]

I would like to know what 2 bulbs to go with for best plant growth. What I mean is what kelvin to go for like maybe 1 6500k bulb and and 1 12k bulb. Any info would be great.

[jeffs99dime]

I would like to know what 2 bulbs to go with for best plant growth. What I mean is what kelvin to go for like maybe 1 6500k bulb and and 1 12k bulb. Any info would be great.

depends on the depth of your tank and what type of plants you will be keeping

[Slinky_Bass]

For decent plant growth 2 watts per gallon is the reccomended. Hygros, java fern, anubias, some crypts and swords will all do well if you supply them with this. I'd recommend going flourescent as opposed to incandescent as tubes run much cooler than bulbs. Bulbs waste to much energy as heat as opposed to light. For plant growth, kelvin isn't as important as wattage and spectrum.

Like Jeff said, depending on your tank depth, volume and what kind of plants you want to keep you need to calculate your lighting needs accordingly. I'd say go with 2 watts, unless your tank is really tall, then go with 2.5 or 3 to make sure the light reaches the bottom. My flourescents have a kelvin of 10k, I don't think you really need more than this, and if you've got the space/fittings in your hood, go with one 'white light' tube and maybe one red.

Choose the easier plants to begin with (the ones I mentioned earlier are just some of the few) and you'll have a beautiful, thriving planted tank in no time. As time goes by and yor plants are established and growing, you also need to keep an eye out for signs of macro/micro nutrient deficiencies (see link). To combat this I use tetra plantamin, but I'm sure there are many more brands on the market that also do the trick.

Best of luck with your planted tank :)

http://www.csd.net/~cgadd/aqua/art_plant_nutrient.htm

[twiztid1980]

Thats what im curious about now I know the higher the kelvin the bluer the hue and lower is more red so if I'm using 2 bulbs what kelvin should each be.

[Slinky_Bass]

Check out these links, between them they have a good explanation of Kelvin ratings and other lighting considerations that need to be taken in consideration according to tank volume, depth and plant type.

Since I don't know your tank stats and what type of plants you keep, I can't really say what kelvin the two bulbs should be, but I can tell you that in my tanks i have 2 watts for every gallon, the tubes are all 10 000k each, and my plants are growing really well.

http://www.aquariumguys.com/diy-aquarium-lighting.html
http://saltaquarium.about.com/cs/lighting/l/aa031300f.htmhttp://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?cls=16&cat=1789&articleid=2689

[twiztid1980]

Ok well my aquarium will be a 50 gall 36x18x18 I will be using plants like cryptocoryn that require low light if thats any help.
So you think 10,000k is a good choice and as for wattage I have a 20 long right now and am only using a 24 watt bulb and my crypto is growing pretty well.

My only other question is about a t6 H.O. fixture will this fixture take the t5 bulbs or not I cant find info on this.

[twiztid1980]

Does this look like it will work. now from what ive found the bulb is 50% 10,000k and 50% actinic at 96watts. http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ih=020&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWA%3AIT&viewitem=&item=300072321016&rd=1&rd=1