How many Watts per gallon?

[reziztor]

What would you say is be the best WTP, on my 180L (47 gallon) with the following plants:

75% ground cover - Glossostigma elatinoides
many - Rotala rotundifolia
many - Red Ludwigia
bunch - Tonina Fluviatilis
bunch - Bacopa caroliniana
two - Anubias Nana
single - Kleiner Bar Swordplant

This is a soft water tank with CO2.

Thank you very much for any help.

 

[ewurm]

Minimum 3 watts per gallon, better if you have 5 or more.

 

[MrHarris]

3-4 will do.

 

[reziztor]

OK, thanks. But I'm a beginner when it comes to high-light plants.

And I'm a little confused.

So if I want 3-5 WPG, that begs the question: How do I do that with 4 light fixtures of 36"? The most watts I can find at 36" for full spectrum is 30.

4 x 30 = 120 / 47 = 2.5

 

[tinkerman]

You need compact flourecents to get over 3 watts/gal.

 

[Havey]

36" AquaVue Power Compact Aquarium Light 192W $129.00

Two of these.

 

[WyldFya]

You need compact flourecents to get over 3 watts/gal.

Not necessarily... The WPG rule was meant for T12 bulbs originally. You can also use a number of other types of bulbs. HO T5, MH, VHO, LED.

 

[WyldFya]

OK, thanks. But I'm a beginner when it comes to high-light plants.

And I'm a little confused.

So if I want 3-5 WPG, that begs the question: How do I do that with 4 light fixtures of 36"? The most watts I can find at 36" for full spectrum is 30.

4 x 30 = 120 / 47 = 2.5

Instead of looking at watts, start looking for lights that either a have more lumens, ie. HO T5, MH, CF, or LED. A better method is too look at the lux rating which is how many lumens a light puts out for the energy used.

 

[reziztor]

36" AquaVue Power Compact Aquarium Light 192W $129.00

Two of these.

These sound great, however I googled them and they are only sold on Ebay by some people in Kentucky. And they don't ship outside the USA.

 

[reziztor]

Instead of looking at watts, start looking for lights that either a have more lumens, ie. HO T5, MH, CF, or LED. A better method is too look at the lux rating which is how many lumens a light puts out for the energy used.

Thanks I'll keep looking around. Most of our stuff in Korea is made in China with no markings. Pretty much the only quality plant lights you can get at LFS or online here are Arcadia (UK) ORIGINAL TROPICAL LAMPS - but they dont list the lumens. I do know they are 7,500 K (Kelvin) each.

http://www.arcadia-uk.info/product.php?pid=11&mid=10&lan=en&sub=&id=

Thank you guys so much for not blowing me off. You're being a great help to me.