Lighting question

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Jack Dempsey
MFK Member
Feb 9, 2013
361
3
33
Marietta, Ohio
I am turning my 220 72x24x30 into a planted tank, I already have one current usa led + light on it and was wondering if i got another if the two would be enough for most plants or if i should be looking for something like a T5 Ho fixture? Any help appreciated I'm new to planted tanks and the watts per gallon system.
 
I don't have much experience with LED lights, so i can only take a guess here, but i would say for probably most low - medium light plants you should be okay, but with a height of 30" you may find some carpeting plants that need high light levels (such as HC) may suffer or grow slower?

But either way, i would wait for someone who has a bit more knowledge in this area to give you a better / more accurate answer...

Also, are you planning on adding pressurized Co2 to the tank? Since with high light levels most people recommend using Co2 or you may find algae taking over the tank quite quickly if there are a lot of nutrients in the tank...
 
LED should be fine but I would add another set of LED if you go with full planted tank. I don't have issue with LED light on my planted tank white light output range 6.5k to 10k and blue light is 20k.
 
it's a knock off product (or similar) without programmable function of National Geographic LED 48". The price seem legit and it's always cheaper to buy online.
 
Your problem with LED will be two fold. You have wide and tall tank. LEDs don't have much spread and lose their brightness for long distances.

Tbh, what you'd spend in quality LEDs it might just be easier to get some t5ho. I'm assuming you're doing low tech yes?

The thing with LED is that to have a single layer of lights going along your tank you'd need 2 fixtures as is, although BML makes 72" long units.

Even then you'd want at least 2 layers of light to cover the front and back of your tank, although perhaps 3 would be better (rows of light is probably a better wording).

T5HO will cost you in yearly bulb replacements and energy consumption however, so it's up to you. But lighting is one of the most important aspects of a planted tank so you'd want to get it right the first time.


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