WPG

[KeonTheKing]

ok 3 months ago when i bought my 37 gallon visio tall aqarium i told my LFS that i needed very good lighting because i wanted a planted tank they reccmoened the light for me. now i realized its 2 t-5 7500k lights 18 wats each is that enough for my plants or not?

[yikesjason]

I am pretty sure that would not make for a highlight tank. But you should be able to grow most of what you would want to grow.

[Chad Hughes]

Keon,

Plants need a minimum threshold of light to survive and grow and this minimum is not expressed in the watt per gallon rule. Lux per square inch (LSI) of surface area is a much more accurate way of calculating light requirements in any planted aquarium.

Low light is 12-17 LSI — you can grow a fair amount of aquarium plants.
Medium light is 20-25 LSI — you can grow most of the aquarium plants available.
High light is 28-32 LSI — you can grow all aquarium plants.

Find the surface area of your tank in square inches.

EXAMPLE:

A 55 gallon tank is 48” x 13” = 624 square inches of surface area.

Take the LSI number you want to reach and multiply the surface area by the LSI.

25 LSI (medium light) x 624 = 15,600

Take the result and divide it by the LUX rating of your chosen light.

(1 lux ~0.012 watts)

15,600 x 0.012= 187.2 watts of light for out 55 gallon example.


This system isn’t perfect but it’s much more accurate the the “watts per gallon” rule.

Hope that helps you a bit!

[yikesjason]

How tall is your aquarium?

[discusjoe27]

Keon,

Plants need a minimum threshold of light to survive and grow and this minimum is not expressed in the watt per gallon rule. Lux per square inch (LSI) of surface area is a much more accurate way of calculating light requirements in any planted aquarium.

Low light is 12-17 LSI — you can grow a fair amount of aquarium plants.
Medium light is 20-25 LSI — you can grow most of the aquarium plants available.
High light is 28-32 LSI — you can grow all aquarium plants.

Find the surface area of your tank in square inches.

EXAMPLE:

A 55 gallon tank is 48” x 13” = 624 square inches of surface area.

Take the LSI number you want to reach and multiply the surface area by the LSI.

25 LSI (medium light) x 624 = 15,600

Take the result and divide it by the LUX rating of your chosen light.

(1 lux ~0.012 watts)

15,600 x 0.012= 187.2 watts of light for out 55 gallon example.


This system isn’t perfect but it’s much more accurate the the “watts per gallon” rule.

Hope that helps you a bit!

how would I do this for power compacts, 96x2-192 watts total over a 55 gallon.

[Chad Hughes]

how would I do this for power compacts, 96x2-192 watts total over a 55 gallon.

192 watts over a 55 gallon tank is considered high light. Be prepared to incorporate a pressurized CO2 system.

Best wishes!

[darbex]

What kind of plants do you want?