160 watts over 55g?

[wonword]

Hello,
As the title says, i have a 160 watts of t12 flourescents at 6280k over a 55g aquarium, is this sufficient to grow carpeting plants? thanks~John

 

[schaadrak]

They will grow, but I don't think it's intense enough to create a very thick carpet.

 

[item2302]

Very true. I had a 55 gallon planted tank before, using 192 watts total, and did not get a truely thick carpet either.

I did get ground cover, but not the 2 to 3 inches thick type that I have seen in other tanks with much more light.

 

[seattle_530]

Your almost at 3 watts a gallon so i dont think your gonna kill any carpeting plant but it will probably grow up instead of out. You need to be over 3 in a 55 for carpet because the tank is tall so light has to be more intense to penetrate the water depth.

 

[Andrewtfw]

I run 150 watts over a 54 corner and have a full, dense mat of dwarf hairgrass covering the front of the tank. Granted the tank has no lid on it and the fixture is an HQI pendant.

 

[schaadrak]

I run 150 watts over a 54 corner and have a full, dense mat of dwarf hairgrass covering the front of the tank. Granted the tank has no lid on it and the fixture is an HQI pendant.

150W of MH gives you about 12,000 - 16,000 lumens

Four 4ft NO T12 fluorescent tubes (160W) gives you about 4800 - 8000 lumens.

Big difference. That's why W/gal really only applies to fluorescents.

 

[wonword]

cool, thanks for the info guys, im gonna give it a go with shultz aquatic soil.