i have two aquaglo 18" T8 18000 k lights in my 55g. i didnt buy them to grow plants just to bring the colors out in my fish. now iv decided to get rid or the plastic plants and try and grow a few low light plants. will the lights i have grow any plants? if so what kind? i dont want a crazy planted tank just a all natural looking tank with a few live plants. do i need to have some kind of co2 system? i dont want to buy one if i dont need to. thanks
will my lights grow anything?
- Thread starter CanadianBacon
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nothing? there has to be something out their that doesnt need much light to grow. i mean the lights say for planted tanks?
what kind of lights would i need to grow some low light plants? my 55 only has spots for 2 18" bulbs?
With your lighting you can grow some basic plants, Java moss, Java ferns, amazon swords, anubias, cryptocorynes and several other low light plants.
thanks WyldFya i knew their had to be some. is their any websites that list low light plants? there's only a couple places by me that sell plants petcity and petsmart which just opened today.
Id switch out your bulbs...theyre not a great K rating for plant growth. You want something 5-10,000K. I got some T8 5500K Tropic Suns by ZooMed and they seem to be working well for me. If your going to grow swords id mix in some laterite to your current substrate and use some root tabs theyre heavy root feeders. Excel is a great plant additive it replaces CO2 injection and will also keep algae at bay which in a tank with light this low is gonna be crucial 
Yeah 18000k sorry still not great i know. im going to take them back and get something in between 5000-10000k . can i get bulbs from homedepot that will be cheaper? if so what kind?