lighting for a planted 55!!

[Winks]

That a lot of money for java moss.

Its not that much money, especially for lighting, let alone the wattage you are getting, and if he wants to get swords or other plants that require more light he can without having to buy another light set up.

Rj, another cool thing with the pro fixture is that it has timers for each of the three lights. one timer for moon lights, one for two of the bulbs, and one for the other two bulbs, so you can set which banks of lighting are running and when. Then if you want to start with ferns, moss, and anubias, you can move the 10000K bulbs the the one bank of lights (it comes with 2 atinics and 2 10000k) and just run those so you are only using 108w of useable light,then you wont promote lots of algae growth with excess lighting.

 

[FSM]

You're going to turn your tank into an algae farm with the 4x54W fixture, even with the cheap reflectors.

 

[Winks]

You're going to turn your tank into an algae farm with the 4x54W fixture, even with the cheap reflectors.

Well....... not if you only use 108 of those watts like my previous post suggests

 

[knicks791]

Winks, Watts per gal is not a good way to messure how much light a tank needs. Lumens is a much better rating. Pls see http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=73446.

 

[FSM]

2 bulbs is still probably too much.

 

[m1ste2tea]

I purchased this fixture for my 55g... http://cgi.ebay.com/48-T5-HO-Aquarium-Light-Freshwater-Plant-108W-2x-6700K_W0QQitemZ110516096125QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item19bb45cc7d#ht_1928wt_939 about half a year ago, it came with two 6700K bulbs that grow my anubias, amazon swords, java moss and fern. Do not use a CO2 system, just a bit of flourish excell and the plants are growing very well. I think that any more watts/lumens will be unnecessary for what you are trying to grow. but if you are looking to expand into other high light demanding plants then go with the 4 bulb set up and replace the 10000k bulbs with something between 4000-5500, and that way you will have the best range for all plants.

 

[rj32l]

yeah i plan on doing plants that require more light eventually once i get the basics down with the easier plants.. so we will see..i guess ill do some more research with lighting

 

[m1ste2tea]

if you are handy with the tools and have some spare time, you can always create a DIY lighting system using screw-in compact fluorescents, and hardware from home depot.

check this video out... best bang for your buck.
[YT]<object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/Rs_QRorECvo&hl=en_US&fs=1&color1=0x2b405b&color2=0x6b8ab6"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/Rs_QRorECvo&hl=en_US&fs=1&color1=0x2b405b&color2=0x6b8ab6" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object>[/YT]