My first planted, this light cool?

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
Clay;4455707; said:
Way overkill for the plants and the depth of the tank. NOt5 is fine. It's a good light, actually. I think they run a 6700 and a 10k?


If running the corallife light what light range would you get for a 29 gallon? Any idea?
 
m1ste2tea;4455587; said:
Id look for a t5HO model, they are more efficient in terms of lumens per watt. nice water lettuce btw

High output is actually slightly less efficient, lumens/watt, but a good quality T5HO fixture will have individual reflectors for each bulb, unlike this fixture so the actual light intensity (PAR) per watt is probably higher.
 
I like all this advice from people who have never actually used this light...

T5HO is too much for a 20 gallon long with no co2 IMO...

I have been able to grow anything I've put in my tank with this light... from dwarf baby tears (which people insisted did poorly on low tech setups) to an amazon sword compacta (that is no longer very compact!). My crypts are growing like weeds.

It's a 20 gallon long... it's not a rimless ADA nature aquarium showpiece. This light is great for growing any low to midlight plants without co2.
 
as someone who has used this light on a 20G long, I concur . . .
 
I will also chime in and keep it updated how this light works out for me. Going about one day strong now! Hehe.

For what I am doing I think it should be perfect, and also affordable. Of course, with my record (and I'm sure many of you) I will eventually go nuts and drop hundreds of dollars on making a really awesome one like I do with everything else. But it's a good first-timer and will help me get the first foot out the door.
 
Sab_Fan;4455415; said:
nice . . . are you running open-top?

What do ya mean? I haven't come across anything about open-top. You mean like an aquarium hood? Is it better or worse? Right now I just have the light on top no hoods or glass or anything.
 
hermeticcharm;4456898; said:
What do ya mean? I haven't come across anything about open-top. You mean like an aquarium hood? Is it better or worse? Right now I just have the light on top no hoods or glass or anything.

yes, that is what is meant by "open-top" . . . it means there is no glass top or hood, and the light is directly over the open water . . .

I'm pretty sure if you check the instructions, you'll see this light is not meant to be used over open water, but only over a glass top . . . the plastic splash guard on the lights will offer some protection, but only some

I also run open-tops, but I only use lights that are made to be used that way . . .
 
Hm, I must of got ripped off because mine didn't come with instructions. It was the last one on the shelf, I wonder if they had used it as a display model at some point.
 
the best lighting for any plant are high intensity discharge lights (HID) they are allot more intense than flourescents which helps with the light scattering problem
 
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