PL lighting for my new 2 ft tank

[apollyon]

hi all, my first post here
starting a 2x1.5x1.5ft tank, with prodac substrate + river sand, ferts and pressurized co2.
will 72w of philips PL lighting be enough?

http://www.lighting.philips.co.in/in...47&tab=listing

if yes, would 36wx2 be a better option or 18wx4?
cuz i think 18x4 would cover the bottom more efficiently

72w is the max i can put in, so if its not enough i will reduce the size of the tank

[pioneer]

hi all, my first post here
starting a 2x1.5x1.5ft tank, with prodac substrate + river sand, ferts and pressurized co2.
will 72w of philips PL lighting be enough?

http://www.lighting.philips.co.in/in...47&tab=listing

if yes, would 36wx2 be a better option or 18wx4?
cuz i think 18x4 would cover the bottom more efficiently

72w is the max i can put in, so if its not enough i will reduce the size of the tank

for a 2ft tank, i think 72w is more than enough. it also depends on the type of plant u having

[apollyon]

hi! thanks for the reply.
am planning to use glosso,HC,dwarf hair grass,anubias,crypts, mebbe a madagascar lace plant, rotala sp., c.demersum...

[apollyon]

anyone???

[ranmasatome]

72w is more than enough..

if you intend to grow lace plant.. make sure you have colder waters.. 26 degrees and below.

[|squee|]

72W is good, you can choose between 36W or 72W if you get the 72W fixture, so flexibility is there.

For glosso you most likely need 72W for it to crawl on the substrate.

[apollyon]

thanks a lot for the replies
will use 2 PL fixtures, a single 36w for the front of the tank (for the glosso n HC) n 18x2 for the rear (for anubias n stem plants)
any advice re. the spectrum? am planning on using 6500K

[kemp]

given me, i would get the 10000 ones

[retro1983]

Try here, what is light for:
http://www.hydroempire.com/store/hyd...osynthesis.php

More on spectrum:
The term kelvin designates the color spectrum of the light bulb. A "full spectrum" bulb is anything between 5000k and 6500k. This has nothing to do with brightness, and bulbs that are very high in the color spectrum, (10,000k) have no value to plant growth. Standard fluorescent, VHOs, and MH all come in full spectrum.

Extract from : http://www.aquabotanic.com/litg.htm

[ronald_t80]

hi....personally i think 72W is juz enough for ur tank. BUT i rem reading from another forum saying 2-3W per gallon is the correct amount....wonder isit true??

[|squee|]

True and not true. It's just a guideline, you need not follow it, especially for smaller tanks like less than 2ft. You need more light over a small area, it's a science physics thing.

[David Moses Heng]

hi....personally i think 72W is juz enough for ur tank. BUT i rem reading from another forum saying 2-3W per gallon is the correct amount....wonder isit true??

72w? I thought 48w is more than sufficient? Currently i am setting up two 2 feeters and will be using t5ho for one and the other one will be using diy osram cooldaylight with e 27 bulkhead for lighting. Both are diy sets though. can anyone comment? thanks

[|squee|]

It depends, 48W will be more than sufficient if you're using plants that prefer low lighting or you're doing a non-CO2 tank etc.

If you want a high-lighted planted tank with glossostigma and crazy growth all over 72W is need or something like that.

[David Moses Heng]

It depends, 48W will be more than sufficient if you're using plants that prefer low lighting or you're doing a non-CO2 tank etc.

If you want a high-lighted planted tank with glossostigma and crazy growth all over 72W is need or something like that.

i'm doing a co2 with external in line reactor. be setting up a amazon theme tank. can advize further?

[|squee|]

I suggest not using a reactor, unless it's the kind that can be seen through. I prefer a diffusor because it gives me a visual... it's easier to spot problems that way you see.

It's all about finding a balance, or having a sense of one. I don't have it .

[David Moses Heng]

I suggest not using a reactor, unless it's the kind that can be seen through. I prefer a diffusor because it gives me a visual... it's easier to spot problems that way you see.

It's all about finding a balance, or having a sense of one. I don't have it .

the reactor is diy using acrylic tubes.

[Ssur]

Hi there,

I have the same size tank as you, and was using a 36watt PL lightset, but have since upgraded to T5HO 3x24watt. With the T5HO lightset, i have 2 switches, so as to toggle the wattage/tubes used. And the light spread is just nice, in my opinon, unlike using the 36watt PL lightset, the spread wasn't suffice.