So I need to get a light for my 75 gallon and was wondering if a 40 watt 4 foot shop light would work and sustain any plants?
Shop Lights?
- Thread starter NCStateFisher
- Start date
Depends on the plants and the bulbs. If you want high light plants, not so much. If you go with Java Fern/moss probably yes. How many bulbs are you planning to have?
I would think you should be fine. Its my understanding that firtilization is the bottle neck of most plant growth in fish tanks. Not light or Co2, I could be wrong tho.
You can however, buy growlights, or daylight (10,000k bulbs) for t8 and t5 fixtures if you find your plants are wilting. They're slightly expensive but most can be run for 1.5 years. and since you'll only have the lights on 50% of the time, you should get 3 years out of the bulbs
You can however, buy growlights, or daylight (10,000k bulbs) for t8 and t5 fixtures if you find your plants are wilting. They're slightly expensive but most can be run for 1.5 years. and since you'll only have the lights on 50% of the time, you should get 3 years out of the bulbs
TheRealAndyCook;4655868; said:
What it low light? Just curious. Wouldnt you want high light to support plant life? I currently have a 4ft. shop light on an 80gal with 1 cheap cool blue light and a coralife antinic bulb and everything is super crispy. Ive even started to cultivate about 1/4in. bed of algae on some of the rocks which I personally love.
I meant low light plants. There are ones that require a low PAR and should do fine with a high wattage of standard lights, where as some plants require a high par to even sustain life.
Antinic bulbs produce a section of the light spectrum that helps coral and invertebrate grow, and don't provide any extra help compared to a light of the same wattage of a fluorescent lamp (assuming they are both rated at the same Kelvin)
AFAIK.
Antinic bulbs produce a section of the light spectrum that helps coral and invertebrate grow, and don't provide any extra help compared to a light of the same wattage of a fluorescent lamp (assuming they are both rated at the same Kelvin)
AFAIK.
TheRealAndyCook;4656214; said:
Ok thanks man. And thanks again for proving I know nothing about aquatic plants or lights. I just know I didnt what to pay a couple hundred bucks for a light fixture and have had success with a shop light. I spray painted the outside of mine black and it hides all the wires and HOB's and really looks nice, Plus the glass lid is still exposed so feeding is real easy.
FishingOut;4656264; said:
I'm in the same situation, glad to see you've had success with it - gives me a bit more confidence