Which one is better? FL, PL or MH?

[prof]

Hi all

I was wondering what type of lighting is better; FL...PL...or MH fo ra planted tank

[ScottTCS]

Hi Prof

I would not say which one is better but rather thru my experience & also the setup of your tank.

Mine is a 4ft by 1.5ft by 1.5ft tank.

Previously, i had PL Light 4 x 55W (220w) but i found that my riccia which is planted right below was not bubbling.

So I installed two MH light 150W(7k) and the plant starts bubbling again.

From this, I found that although my PL is bright but the MH light is able maintain its beam all the way to the bottom but not my PL light

But if you read the forum, we are using 3 to 4 watts/gallon.

If your fish tank is 60 gallon, then use 3 x 60 = 180watt, you need a total of 180watt of light in your planted tank.

Hope that helps

ScottTCS

[williamng]

Personal opinion: -

1) FL - Long reputation and many lights specifically designed for aquarium usage (T. In my opinion is the most stable due to the long history. New design T5 is more compact and powerful however still unproven as this stage. Used for aquarium with depth < 2ft

2) PL - More powerful than FL but only 6500k light available. Other than ADA, no one design special PL light for aquarium as yet. Used for aquarium with depth < 2ft

3) MH - Very powerful light. Basically used for big tank where depth is more than 2ft tall.

For me, I dont follow the 3W/ gallon rule. I follow this: http://www.fitchfamily.com/lighting.html as I believe the light requirement for all tanks dont follow a linear equation..

[Salphur]

Hi,
i guess the one shortcoming for PL light is that the light projected is more concentrated rather than a good spread of light around the whole tank. For example, my rotalas (at the fringes of my 2 feet tank) will not grow straight up and instead growing at an angle towards my single 55w PL tube.

The solution for my 2 feet, is to get a 2x 36W PL light which has staggered the placement of 2 tubes to allow better spread of light, unless there is a higher budget to go for a T5HO lightset.

Just my two cents worth.

Cheers!

[williamng]

Yes. I do agree with the light projection thing.

[eddyq]

It depend on what type of plants you intent to plant. If tank height is below 2ft then FL or PL is ideal.

[Aquaculture]

To add to the equation. I prefer my T5HO. Was rather itchy to go for the MH at one stage but when I realise that I would need a chiller to complement it, I KIV the idea...at least for the moment.

[bossteck]

Just to add.
PL do come in other color tempreatures as well. I am currently using 8000K tubes. I know at least 1 brand has 10000K tubes as well.

Having said that, I guess the general drift of which is better is 'horses for courses'. There's no 'better' one, only whiclh is most suitable for your needs. That's why you probably need to decide on the type of plants you're keeping, the depth of your tank, if you planning to have a chiller and so on.

Cheers

[Shadow]

I vote for MH love those ripple shadow effect

[williamng]

Hi Bossteck

Can you share which brand of PL light comes in 8000k? Where to purchase?

[bossteck]

Hi William,

Elbiru has 8000 and 10000K PL tubes. I got 10000K ones from Nature Aquarium last year. By the way, what I got was 55W type.

I believe Osram has PL tubes that are in the range of 8000K as well.

These days, I buy my PL tubes from hardware shops instead.

I take whatever brand is the cheapest. Most of them have no indication of color tempreature, but are rated as 'Warm White' or 'Day Light'. Go for the 'Day Light' tubes. I did a visual comparison of the 'Day Light' tubes with the 6500K tubes I have on hand, results suggests that the 'Day Light' tubes are whiter (hence higher tempreature).

[williamng]

Oh, according to amano, it seems that 8000k PL lights are the best. I am currently using Philip 865PL 36W. It seems to be much brighter than the original Magnum II light tube.

[Salphur]

For PL tube brand wise, i preferred Philips as it is supposedly more efficient ( read a Straits Time article quite some time back when they did a comparison on the brands and light tubes and rated Philips quite highly).

Cheers!

[o2bubble]

8000k is the best and looks much clearer and brighter than usual 6500k. I'm using 2x 150w ADA MH 8k bulbs and like it very much.