amt of light

[M0rph3us]

yo,
im getting a new tank soon... it could be 2.5FT or 3FT not sure yet.. can anyone tell me how much light needed for a 2.5FT and a 3FT.. planning to plant ricca and xmas moss thanks

[M0rph3us]

yo,
im getting a new tank soon... it could be 2.5FT or 3FT not sure yet.. can anyone tell me how much light needed for a 2.5FT and a 3FT.. planning to plant ricca and xmas moss thanks

[M0rph3us]

yo,
im getting a new tank soon... it could be 2.5FT or 3FT not sure yet.. can anyone tell me how much light needed for a 2.5FT and a 3FT.. planning to plant ricca and xmas moss thanks

[M0rph3us]

yo,
im getting a new tank soon... it could be 2.5FT or 3FT not sure yet.. can anyone tell me how much light needed for a 2.5FT and a 3FT.. planning to plant ricca and xmas moss thanks

[juggler]

Try this Aquarium calculator. Riccia is considered light demanding plant. Also depends if you are putting it at the gravel level (needs more light) or nearer the water surface. I had 144W of light in my 2.5ft (30"x15"x16&quot. The Riccia shows bubbling for those tied on a driftwood from mid-level to top. Those at the bottom almost did not bubble.

Hope this helps.

[vinz]

The guideline is 3watts/gallon or higher for light demanding plants like Riccia.

So take your tank dimensions in cm and calculate the volume in cubic cm. Then divide by 1000 to give you litres. Divide that by 3.8 to get your approximate tank volume in US Gallons.

Take the volume and times 3 to get your minimum wattage.

Its sometimes hard to meet this value given the possible combos of lights, so its alright to be slight lower... afterall the true volume of water is probably about 90% of the tank volume.

[M0rph3us]

the tank is 100X65X65 cm... that means i must get 333W of lights?!?!?!? WOW.. thats alot man can anyone comfirm? and....... the lights will sure cost a bomb!

[sherchoo]

As Vinz mentioned, it's only a guide. If you can achive the stipulated lighting values would be good.

I would suggest u go for MH lighting as your depth is quite big. Normal florescent lighting would not be good enuff esp if you're intending to grow Riccia.

2X150W would be quite an overkill but 2X70W would not be enuff. Anyone can comment?

[ZeRoC00l]

My 3 feet as 120W of FL lighting.

My ricca is bubbling beautifully , no matter near the surface or at the bottom, and Xmas moss are growing beautifully.

[]

But remember the more lighting there is the HIGHER the temp.. and tt's not good for the Xmas moss, though the ricca will not be harmed. []

My old tank was 29degrees - 30degrees before I got my Xmas.
Current temp. : 25 degrees - 26 degrees

[vinz]

You sure about the dimensions? It translates to 3.3'x2'x2'? 333W is about right. You can probably bring it down to about 300W.

I've read that for larger tanks, you can go down to about 2.5W/G for light demanding plants. But I'm not sure if your riccia will pearl. One option is to tie the riccia to wood and place it so that the riccia is about half way high in your tank. For the foreground use other plants like E. Quadricostatus or Sagittaria Subulata.

ZeroCool, what is the height and width of your tank? Cos if your tank is 3'x1.5'x1.5', its less then half the volume of his tank.

[M0rph3us]

ok guys i have decided to keep that for my aro and sue the current 2.5FT, which is housing my aro, for the planted instead.. cause the lights are too expensive man... if not i would love to plant in such a hugh tank thanks for all the guide... for my 2.5FT is 4X36W enough? thanks [] [] []

[M0rph3us]

or is there other Watts of lighting? i only saw 36W tubes.. is there any higher ones?? i currently own a 2X36W one.. had to change to another tank cause that tank gave way just started only 4 days on my planted and it gave way.. *sigh*

[M0rph3us]

upz []

[ZeRoC00l]

Arh..... My mistake, only read his first posting.

Read some where in the forum, tt there is a place tt sell MH for abt $70 for 1 piece! So just need to change the bulb to the 6.5K type or as close to it.

Think shold be cheaper since your tank is so huge [:0]

[sherchoo]

ZCool,
For $70 you can get the MH bulb only.....

Morpheus,
It's a better idea to house the Aro in the bigger tank anyway.
There are bigger wattage tubes i.e. 55W PL. But I won't suggest it cos the 55W ballast is not too common. Best go for 36W PL. Although is warmer but it saves you space.

[M0rph3us]

ermm mh lighting need to hang or something right?? dont think i would be able to do it.. u guys know abt those normal kinds?? the watts?? refer to previous post

[M0rph3us]

upz

[juggler]

How about checking Lighting in Amano Aquaria as well?

[vinz]

There are MH that can be placed above your tank. See AquaMart. Not sure where else has them.

You can call Nature to find out what he has. He'll know better then the forumers.

Assuming w and h of 1.5', your 2.5' with 4x36W will have about 3.5W/G of light... very good!!!

[hwchoy]

juggler, don't see why your riccia won't pearl at the substrate level. I only had 108W for my 2ft8' (18-in high) and even the hairgrass is bubbling? Glosso too.