Is my LED enough light for these plants?

[cichlidfish]

I have a 150g which is 28" deep. The LED is a 4' full spectrum 6500k Safelite. I want to add low light plants or floating plants. Plants I want to add are java fern, anubias, Brazilian pennywort, Vallisneria, water sprite, and hornwort. I have already added the hornwort, which is doing great, but it's floating near the surface.
Also, what would be the best choice of setting on the LED to make best use of the full spectrum?

 

[markstrimaran]

It's a little weak but, it should work for low light plants. It has 48 red blue green leds, is what the plants will use. The white 6500k don't offer any photosynthesis. So you got about 10 watts of plant growing power, the red and the blues are the best. So roughly 7.5 watts.

 

[cichlidfish]

It's a little weak but, it should work for low light plants. It has 48 red blue green leds, is what the plants will use. The white 6500k don't offer any photosynthesis. So you got about 10 watts of plant growing power, the red and the blues are the best. So roughly 7.5 watts.

Thanks! I'll stick w/ red and blues.

Few questions:

1. Would adding another of the same LED work better?

2. I have a 4' T5 dual fluorescent fixture. They are older bulbs and not sure what kind they are. Would that be better than another LED?

 

[markstrimaran]

10 watts of red blue led, will be roughly equivalent to 25 watts of 2700k t5 tube. Maybe 40 watts of 6500kt5 tube.
Twin 4' t5 tubed will out grow your led fixture. Old tube loose a little, but less than a year old will do fine. I have one coral sun, 50/50 that's 3 years old and still grows plsnts.

 

[FreshyFresh]

Rooted stem plants will likely struggle with this strip light given the height of this tank. Try it and see. Add your fluorescent fixture as well if your setup needs more light.

 

[cichlidfish]

Thanks guys!

 

[Experiment397]

try bacopa if you want stem plants. it will grow in just about any light and will quickly take over a tank if you arent keen on your pruning. ive grown it in as little as a 6w setup. obviously higher power will get better results but for low light I think it easily rivals narrow leaf java ferns and anubias

 

[tiger15]

I am no expert in planted tank, but according to the sticky, Lighting a Planted Tank, 2k lumens for a 24 inch tall, 150g is grossly under lighted for plants. The examples show that you need 10 to 20k lumens for your size tank to support low light plants.