MH lights are another option better then both PC or HO but more expensive in both fixtures and replacement bulbs.
Compact fluorescent Vs Led Vs reg Fluorescent Lighting??
- Thread starter henria86
- Start date
led are good but high cost. get ur self a good light. CO2 is expensive and unnessisary. A good light and some excel and other ferts is all you need. But def just spend a little extra and find a really good light.
really depends imo what you want to accomplish.. i run a fairly simple TT T5HO light on a 20 gal w/ a penguin filter, and a planting base for substrate. I don't do anything special w/ ferts or co2 and am happy w/ my plants. LFS and most the research i've done says chain swords would not do well in my tank. I bought 3 small plants and they have been growing steadily and sending out many runners. I don't have the desire to "garden" and be trimming plants constantly or doing other plant maitence, so thus far I have avoided Co2. depending on what plants, livestock, ect you intend to keep can all make big differences in lighting needs. T5HO for me was the way to go.. if need be I can take a light out... or add more. Fairlly versatile, and won't break the bank. I have been pretty successsful w/ any plant I've tried barring all but some of the hardest to grow species. So far it's been an easy, reliable use of lighting.
guys ??
so what should i get the Pc Or T5ho??
im going to have ferts an the right medium for the plants
so what should i get the Pc Or T5ho??
im going to have ferts an the right medium for the plants
took how many posts but this is the right answer so far.MonsterMinis;3666838; said:
T5 ho is the way to go. they run cooler plus tend to get you more light per watt then cf. just note not all t5 are the same. you want to look for ones with individual reflectors.henria86;3666850; said:
ahsupply are the only cf i run here. though T5 ho is better. try checking these lights out http://www.fishneedit.com/t5ho-ligh.htmlNOLAGT;3666876; said:
T5HO is the way to go as most others have stated. I dont think a PC will have adequate penetration for your tank height.. There is a good comparison on either plantedtank.net or aquaticplantcentral.com about these two technologies. Basically T5 has better penetration and can produce almost twice as much with same watt cause they are much longer. I hope I said that right.
If no CO2 then definitely get soil base for constant carbon source. Co2 is not a must but quite a few plants will demand it. HC carpet is one of them. Dwarf sword is not very choosy.
So a combination of what plants you want to keep and how quickly you want to grow them will dictate what your set up will be like.
Another plug for fishneedit.com. You can add MH later if need be.
If you are searching for Amano style set up or like ones seen in AGA contest then you need co2. I have read the sticky, it is quite interesting. There is a forum called barrreport.com with Tom Barr running it. It has a compilation of several research papers of plant growth and co2. Very telling data. Anecdotal evidence will carry us only so far, research or controlled trials are the way to go for advancement of science.
Short answer get T5ho.
If no CO2 then definitely get soil base for constant carbon source. Co2 is not a must but quite a few plants will demand it. HC carpet is one of them. Dwarf sword is not very choosy.
So a combination of what plants you want to keep and how quickly you want to grow them will dictate what your set up will be like.
Another plug for fishneedit.com. You can add MH later if need be.
If you are searching for Amano style set up or like ones seen in AGA contest then you need co2. I have read the sticky, it is quite interesting. There is a forum called barrreport.com with Tom Barr running it. It has a compilation of several research papers of plant growth and co2. Very telling data. Anecdotal evidence will carry us only so far, research or controlled trials are the way to go for advancement of science.
Short answer get T5ho.
mgamer20o0;3667481; said:
those are some nice looking decent priced t5's...I like that....might have to try some out.
Other thing (and im not sure here) is the colors of the bulbs offered by the t5's. I think the bulb I really liked on my plant tanks was these http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=3578+3733+8068+15381&pcatid=15381
I'll have to look when I get back to work to see but im pretty sure those are it...great color and great for the plants. I ran the 65k's before this and the plants looked great because its a heavy green yellow color but no so good fort he fish. I never ran a 10k cf tho. Those 9325 bulbs made the plants nice but also the fish too.
Not trying to stear you from t5's...just giving info
this is the only real plant tank I tinkered with until it got overrun by funky algae (didn't have the time to fool with it properly). Its a 28gal bowfront with 2x55w 9325k cf bulbs in those ahs reflectors.
