Please advice on lighting

[AElango]

Hi, I have a 72 gallon aquarium (23 inches deep) and I have been trying to grow plants for ~2 months now.

I have dual strip T5 lights (2x28 watt, 10000k and 6700k) and ecocomplete substrate. I also regularly add liquid carbon and 'seachem' comprehensive supplement to make sure plants get the right nutrients.

I have Anubis, java fern, amazon swords and the radical sword. The plants are surviving, but there is v. little if any growth. I am interested in having more plants and a lush aqua scape.

I suspect that my lighting Is not adequate.

1) do you agree that the lighting is too little?
2) if yes, I read in the following article that sho lights are great. Any thoughts on using the sho instead of the T5's ?

http://www.americanaquariumproducts.com/Aquarium_Lighting.html#sho

Thanks all,
Aravind

[Cliff]

I have java fern and anubis in my 90 gallon (~4 inches taller than your 75gallon)

I had two fixtures just like yours on it, for a total of 4 X 28 watt, all four bulbs were 6700K. The plants seamed to do well. They grew pretty good for me and always looked healthy.

Perhaps a double bulb T5HO might be worth trying (2 X 54 @6700K )

[AElango]

Thanks Cliff. I'll give that a try.

[Cermet]

Maybe consider a yeast driven CO2 system for a low cost boost to the plants. Lighting isn't always the limiting issue but rather, CO2.

[AElango]

Thanks for the tip. I will try that