A good beginners question...
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You can fit two 56 watt compacts there, like Osram Sylvania 840 (cool white) or 860 (daylight). Together with a good reflector and no glass between the lights and the water surface it should be more than enough.
By the way, special plant lights are usually much more expensive and give less light. You should use them only as addition to good cool white / daylight lighting, IMHO.
By the way, special plant lights are usually much more expensive and give less light. You should use them only as addition to good cool white / daylight lighting, IMHO.
what i found is the cool whites only provide more of the red spectrum which is good for house plants but not much for aquatic i've tryed them beside my 6500k compacts and alone
,alone they were not enough to get the florals to open on my plants so imo stick with good plant lights
i'm not trying to start a flame war so if you know something i dont would be interested to hear it.
,alone they were not enough to get the florals to open on my plants so imo stick with good plant lights
i'm not trying to start a flame war so if you know something i dont would be interested to hear it.
Cool whites definitely give more yellowish color to everything, I personally don't mind it. I've found them totaly satisfactory in all my aquariums. Note that I have DIY CO2 in all of them, because my tap water is 20dGH and pH 8.5, so without CO2 it's not trivial to grow anything. You can see some photos in my gallery of my tanks, so it works for me 
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About the best light color temperature for aquatic plants - Diana Walstad in her book "Ecology of the planted aquarium" shows pretty convincing table with comparison of different lights. According to her, the cool white alone and cool white with daylight mixture works best.
But as always in our hobby - it depends on so many factors, everyone should find what works best for him, right
.
.About the best light color temperature for aquatic plants - Diana Walstad in her book "Ecology of the planted aquarium" shows pretty convincing table with comparison of different lights. According to her, the cool white alone and cool white with daylight mixture works best.
But as always in our hobby - it depends on so many factors, everyone should find what works best for him, right
.
Stas said:Cool whites definitely give more yellowish color to everything, I personally don't mind it. I've found them totaly satisfactory in all my aquariums. Note that I have DIY CO2 in all of them, because my tap water is 20dGH and pH 8.5, so without CO2 it's not trivial to grow anything. You can see some photos in my gallery of my tanks, so it works for me
About the best light color temperature for aquatic plants - Diana Walstad in her book "Ecology of the planted aquarium" shows pretty convincing table with comparison of different lights. According to her, the cool white alone and cool white with daylight mixture works best.
But as always in our hobby - it depends on so many factors, everyone should find what works best for him, right
that i agree with some peeps need diferent setups according to they system
Howdy,
And welcome to MFK!
I am not sure if you have the brand Dennerle in the UK, but they are the best European brand for aquarium lighting: I once had a Congo White/Amazon Day mix which worked well. Try a Juwel cover.
HarleyK
And welcome to MFK!
I am not sure if you have the brand Dennerle in the UK, but they are the best European brand for aquarium lighting: I once had a Congo White/Amazon Day mix which worked well. Try a Juwel cover.
HarleyK