What kind of lights are you using?

[Sean]

Just wondering what everyine is using out there in planted tank land?

I've been reading some alternatives to flourescent and wondering if people would post their experiences with;

1. MH
2. High and/or low pressure Sodium bulbs
3. VHO
4. Compact Flourescent.

Thanks,

Sean.

[MexCrombie]

Hi sean, I have a 150 gal tank and use flourecent lights, I've found all other to be more expensive and also burn hot, try to use a couple of strips instead of just one, this also depends on the dept of your tanks, mine happens to be quite deep so I'm using 3 different intensity lamps. I have several palnts and they all seems to be doing very well. Hope this helps.

Saul

[ddaquaria]

One each 120, I use 2-250W MH and CO2. Yes, they make the room warm - so I turn on the ceiling fan. On the next 120, I'm doing 2-175s with Co2. On the 36 corner, I have 4x15W Flourescents that I have had for more than 3 years and no CO2. On my 20 holding tank, 2x15W and Co2.

[Don_Lee]

I have a 4x96 watt compact flourescent setup from AHSupply.com. I have really been pleased with the CF lights, they are nice and bright and seem to grow plants well.

Don ;D

[ddaquaria]

Don_Lee, put a tank size with your specs. It may be more helpful to Sean. (400W on a 55 gallon is completely different from 400 W on a 120)

[Sean]

Thanks everyone, I've been reading a little bit and like what the high pressure sodium lights can do. They seem relatively inexpensive and was wondering what others thought.

I've seen ahsupply.com and the product seems like a good one as well. I'm glad to hear that people are having good experiences with something other that standard flourescent lights.

[Don_Lee]

LOL, it is a 180 gallon tank. Sorry I forgot that.......

Don

[giroux68]

I had 4 of those flouro bulbs that go in regular light sockets in a DIY hood. Then this slimy algee started to take over. unplugged 2 of them to see what would happen. Long story short - the light from these blubs is just what the algee needed - thats what I get for being cheap. Off to AHS.

[ronrca]

the light from these blubs is just what the algee needed

What does algae need? Any kind of light, does not matter if it is fluorescent, halogen, HPS, etc! Algae is a plant when it really comes down to it. I find it hard to believe that just because of the lights, you are getting algae growth and therefore have to get different lights. I have found that at different lighting levels, different stains of algae grow. For example, the common brown algae usually grows in low light, add more lighting and it goes away but then green algae grows. Therefore, no matter what lighting you have, you will get algae. The trick is balancing the plant requirements to out compete the algae. Not an easy thing to do however fertilization, the right amount of light and the right kind of plants are the basic's in competing with algae. ;)

I use diy fluorescent lighting with cool white tubes. I overdrive my fluorescents getting 2-2.5x the normal output. Everything works great and grows like mad. ;)

[giroux68]

how do you up the output of a light? Change the ballast? Fill us in...

I agree with you about the lighting requirements of algae - those lights just promoted the slimey type that covered everything - different lights, no more algae of that type.

[EthanCote.com]

hey Ronrca,

you can send some of your new growth my way. Mine aren't doing too well even with two 40W bulbs and terralit nutrients.

The swords seem to be dying, I think it caught some disease or something. Oh well, guess I might be joining the "Lightside" pretty soon...dare I say no gravel and no plants? Oh mine. :o

I'll stick around the "Darkside" a tad longer to see how things turn out, hopefully the plants will do well since I do like a tank with plants.


Cheers,

Chi.

[ronrca]

LOL Chi!

How big is your tank Chi? PM me your specs!

About the overdriving fluorescents, are you quite handy and comfortable (ie. knowledgable) with electricity? I thought Id ask before explaining.

[giroux68]

I'm fine with the electric stuff. Let's hear it.

[EthanCote.com]

I'll take some pics tonight if I can ever get the shutter speed to work correctly.

So from my above comment, you can safely assume I'm not technical and really really do not wish to play around with that stuffs. My two 40W fluroscent will do ;D If I can't get the plants to live, I'll settle for live healthy Discus ;D ;D

Thanx anyhow Ronrca ;D

Although on the bright side, my crypts seem to be doing well, they r hard to kill. I just love those plants and will stock my tank with them once my other plants die out ;D


Cheers,

Chi.

[RandalB]

I absolutely agree with ronrca about the overdriving. I love it. It has given me great results in a tank that I could'nt use any other light in. (35 Hexagon has room for 1x15 watt flourescent bulb fixture. It won't even fit the 2x13 watt PC kit from AH supply)I rebuilt it, squeezed in another 15 watt, used a 4x48" tube ballast for 2 tubes and Now I can grow all the nice high light plants I want (Thing's brighter than a 55 watt PC by my light meter) Total Project cost: $27.00 including bulbs.

I started out with a brown and green algae problem but the algae went alway with high planting density and DIY Co2 injection.

Great Suggestion Ronrca :thumbsup:

RandalB

[ronrca]

Thanks Randal! Anytime! Just passing on info that helped me save a ton of dough!

Anyways, the overdriving of fluorescents! There is a thread about it already that I'll refer you to with another link at the bottom to the original 'inventor' of this idea.

http://forum.simplydiscus.com//index.php?board=7;action=display;threadid=3864

I hope that helps! If you have any questions, please ask and I'll help out the best I can! ;)

How big is your tank Chi? Are you getting at least 2 watts/G? C02 injection, dosing frequency?

[EthanCote.com]

haha r u nut Ronrca? ;)

With those parameters I'll probably end up spending an arm and a leg, I have already spend enough cash on the Discus ;)

The tank is a 75 gallons, with half of it BB and other half with gravel and some sag. I'm getting about 1W/gallon now. It should be sufficient for low light loving plants.

I love Swords, but if I can't get them to grow then I'll just have to substitute them with something that will.


Cheers,

Chi.

[ronrca]

So no C02 injection then? How many times do you dose with ferts?

It is true! C02 can be expensive but have you thought about the sugar/yeast method. It is very very cheap! But if you only have 1W/G, you probably do not need it anyways!

[EthanCote.com]

To be honest with you Ronrca,

I am focusing all energy and cost on Discus right now. I admit, I haven't done much for the plants except for getting them another bulb and some slow releasing fertilizer call terralit, but that is the best I can do for them for now, until my fish gets back to health.

I got one Discus that has stopped eating so I'm in the process of treating my whole tank, since its probaby best since I'm sure the rest got watever that sicked one had.

Once everyone is back to health, then I'll shift my focus to the plants. Interestingly enuff I plan to get rid of half my gravel ;D, I am trying to have more BB space ;D Guess I'm starting to see the light.....


Cheers,

Chi.

[ronrca]

:thumbsup:

Starting to see the light? You mean you are getting out of planted tanks? >:( Dont do that! :-\

First priority is your discus! You can remove your gravel if you want but why not stick with potted plants! If I do a planted discus tank next time, I would not use any gravel only potted plants and driftwood!

You are treating your planted tank with meds? What kind of med? Imo, I never treat my planted tank. One reason is that it is 90G and most meds are based on per gallon. That is a lot of med! Another reason is I made a bad experience. It was not because my fish were sick but I had massive green water (accidential overdose on ferts). I use a producted called 'velvet gone' by Jungle. Supposedly it does not harm plants. O, no! Does not harm them. It killed them. So, no more meds at all. If my fish get sick, into the 10 or 20G for treatment. ;)

[vosevichs]

I'm using 3 32 watt T-8 flourescent bulbs. All overdriven 2X over a 55 gal. tank in a home made lightbox. Check out the thread about Kicking it in to overdrive.

Good Luck
Scott Vosevich

[SoloDiscus]

On my 75g I am currently using a power compact from custom sealife 2x65w and one 40 watt strip light

[ChloroPhil]

I use CF lighting almost exclusively. The exception being a 14w standard flourescent over a 5.5 anubias tank.

I'm currently running:
2x96w and 2x55w over a 90g
1x36w over a 20g
1x13w over a 5.5g

I'm looking forward to trying MH over a 6' tank in the near future.

Chi,
With that lighting try Cryptocorynes or large Anubias, I bet they'll do much better than swords. Add a few substrate fertilizer tabs every 4 months and you'll be golden.