55 plant light

[xDestro]

Need a light for my 55 gallon, every light I see that's "for plants" is crazy expensive so what doea anyone have anything that works well, isn't crazy expensive, and isn't an eyesore on top of the tank? Tank will be planted with "beginner plants" java fern, amazon sword etc. No co2. Amazon links would be appreciated

 

[millerkid519]

Beamworks

 

[Fat Homer]

If you want to go the cheap route, goto a hardware store and pick up a T5 ballast and some T5 bulbs in he 6500K - 8000K range and you should be good to go.,,

 

[Angelphish]

Need a light for my 55 gallon, every light I see that's "for plants" is crazy expensive so what doea anyone have anything that works well, isn't crazy expensive, and isn't an eyesore on top of the tank? Tank will be planted with "beginner plants" java fern, amazon sword etc. No co2. Amazon links would be appreciated

What's your idea of crazy expensive? Kessil A80 Tuna Suns cost about $130 a piece, and your tank would need two. If that's too pricey, most led strips lights in the 6000-7000k range should grow plants well.

These should work well for a low light planted tank:

(2x) http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=35450

https://www.amazon.com/Beamswork-65...&sr=1-17&keywords=aquarium+light+planted&th=1

https://www.amazon.com/Aquatic-Life..._8?s=pet-supplies&ie=UTF8&qid=1487123257&sr=1

 

[tomojsg]

beamswork 10k cheap, super bright, led or a regular aquarium plant
phillips t5 few bucks from most lhs.

 

[xDestro]

Sorry for late reply, I'd like $200 ish to be about max, is that what matters in growing plants? 6000k plus? The aquatic loft t5 stood put to me so I might just go with that.

 

[skjl47]

Hello; How about $35 or so. A few months ago I picked up a 48inch LED shoplight at the local Walmart. It was in the discount aisle for about $25. Had not really planned to use it on a tank at the time.
After opening the box up I decided it did not look bad. The tank came with a plastic hood with places for lights with two 18 inch fluorescent tubes. I removed those and laid the LED shoplight in place. Gave a good even light in the daylight spectrum.

The tank is planted so I have kept a watch on the plants and have found they are doing well. I do not use CO2.

Not the best look but also not so bad.

I had a hood already with hinged lids and glass panels so did not have to be concerned with moisture getting into the light. Back a few decades I rigged the fluorescent shop lights for tanks and kept the moisture out by making glass covers for my tanks.

Back to the two 18 inch light fixtures that came with the tank hood. A couple of years ago I took the fluorescent guts out of the fixtures. I replaced the guts with standard screw in light bases. Two bases in each fixture for a total of four. I put LED bulbs in the sockets in the 6500 K range (daylight/natural). They looked factory, put out good light and also grew my plants well. I like the DIY stuff.

 

[xDestro]

Hello; How about $35 or so. A few months ago I picked up a 48inch LED shoplight at the local Walmart. It was in the discount aisle for about $25. Had not really planned to use it on a tank at the time.
After opening the box up I decided it did not look bad. The tank came with a plastic hood with places for lights with two 18 inch fluorescent tubes. I removed those and laid the LED shoplight in place. Gave a good even light in the daylight spectrum.

The tank is planted so I have kept a watch on the plants and have found they are doing well. I do not use CO2.

Not the best look but also not so bad.

I had a hood already with hinged lids and glass panels so did not have to be concerned with moisture getting into the light. Back a few decades I rigged the fluorescent shop lights for tanks and kept the moisture out by making glass covers for my tanks.

Back to the two 18 inch light fixtures that came with the tank hood. A couple of years ago I took the fluorescent guts out of the fixtures. I replaced the guts with standard screw in light bases. Two bases in each fixture for a total of four. I put LED bulbs in the sockets in the 6500 K range (daylight/natural). They looked factory, put out good light and also grew my plants well. I like the DIY stuff.

Yea iv heard of shoplights doing pretty well but I'd rather have a fixture that looks like it's goes with the tank instead of just layin ontop. I'm still throwing ideas around so I'll definitely keep them in mind tho

 

[J. H.]

I have an ancient 32w 6000k t12 on my tank (it is also a 55) and a little sun exposure through a window full of plants. I'd say you have medium light plants, which is what I have and they are more than happy. Just look around the house and see if you have any spare fixtures. If the fixture you use is not designed for aquarium use, either hang it high above the tank or find a piece of glass or acrylic or even saran wrap and put it underneath. If the fixture you use doesn't have a reflector, the best reflector would be a space blanket, next to cut one off of an old fixture, and finally, if you can't do either of these, use aluminum foil. The reflector is almost as important as the light itself. Even just painting the underside of your lid white can give you1/3 more light!
As for the eyesore, my tank is built into the wall, but any light will look good if you make it a wooden, or even cardboard box. You can use a long flowerpot or two, like they make for windowsills to cover the light. These sometimes come with nice patterns on them

 

[xDestro]

I have an ancient 32w 6000k t12 on my tank (it is also a 55) and a little sun exposure through a window full of plants. I'd say you have medium light plants, which is what I have and they are more than happy. Just look around the house and see if you have any spare fixtures. If the fixture you use is not designed for aquarium use, either hang it high above the tank or find a piece of glass or acrylic or even saran wrap and put it underneath. If the fixture you use doesn't have a reflector, the best reflector would be a space blanket, next to cut one off of an old fixture, and finally, if you can't do either of these, use aluminum foil. The reflector is almost as important as the light itself. Even just painting the underside of your lid white can give you1/3 more light!

The tank came with 2 cheap plastic lids with led strips on inside, they do okay but I can't imagine they'd grow plants and I'd rather not spend money on plants to have them die, I plan on buying glass lids