upgrade

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
C

cichlidbuddy

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Jun 25, 2007
223
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Groton, CT
i am really wanting to upgrade my lighting on my tanks. so i can get more plants. can anyone give me some recommendations? i have done some research, but there are really too many choices out there.

also what s more important? the K# of the bulb or watts?
 
Wattage is more important IMO. In a freshwater planted aquarium, more things can go wrong with incorrect wattage than with "incorrect" color temps.

Your wattage is going to depend on what type of plants you have, the size of your tank, and if your dosing ferts or CO2.

For color temp, anything 5000K and higher is going to be fine. Some people like the look of the higher temps, but that's a personal preference.
 
Read the stickies there is a lot of info about lighting in there. What size tank is this, how deep is it, will you have co2, and what level of lighting are you aiming for?
 
schaadrak;1063209;1063209 said:
Wattage is more important IMO. In a freshwater planted aquarium, more things can go wrong with incorrect wattage than with "incorrect" color temps.

Your wattage is going to depend on what type of plants you have, the size of your tank, and if your dosing ferts or CO2.

For color temp, anything 5000K and higher is going to be fine. Some people like the look of the higher temps, but that's a personal preference.
Click to expand...
Very wrong line of thought. 60,000W of incandescent lighting over 100 gallons is not going to grow much more than algae and maybe java moss. The most important thing is not the wattage (in fact wattage is not important at all) but rather, the spectrum of the bulbs, and the lumens put out by the bulbs. Lux is important only if you are worried about efficiency (which is good to be worried about). 5000K and higher is also to vague. A 15,000K bulb or a 20,000K bulb will do nothing for freshwater plants.
 
For those tanks I'd look for a HO T5 as they are intense, put out tons of light, and can be purchased in the proper size. Also, the 10G isn't 12" wide, it is 20x10x10.
 
can i put the HO T5 bulbs in my current fixtures? i just checked drsfostersmith.com and their HO T5 fixture section doesnt have 20" or 30".
 
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