Aquarium lighting

[mistahoo]

Roshan's basically named everything, but I agree. That is a ton of light! Shouldn't be a problem growing anything in there so long as your CO2 is stable and that if you do dose excel to do it on a timed schedule. Filling in the tank with a lot of plants will help prevent any algae issues that may come with the high light and excess nutrients (CO2 & Excel)

[Roshan8768]

You have more than enough light for 99% of the plants out there. You may have some spread issues since the fixture is so close to the tank, but other than that with good water parameters you should be able to grow anything you want since you have a stable source of CO2. How are your plants doing so far?

[steelo27]

That's a ton of light. You're going to have loads of algae issues if you don't raise those lights or do CO2/excel. I would add a lot of plants so that your tank is 50-75% filled with plants to outcompete the algae at the start. Also keep your photoperiod short ~8 hrs. GL

Oh yeah, i have pressurized co2, dose excel, and 3 otto cats, 2 mystery snails and one bristal nose pleco... (as well as other fish but thats my algea team).

But for some reason i would still place my light at medium to possibly medium high. Its 19" from subtrate surface to the light which i do have sitting on top of the glass canopy.

[Roshan8768]

Hey guys, im new to this forum. Im gonna try to bring this discussio? Back to lighting for a sec..... Ok, so i have a 55 gallon established aquarium that for the first 8 months i kept as a fish only tank. But i have since decided to try my hand at live plants again (its been years since my last attempt..didnt do any research then though and just thought if i throw the plant in water it would grow lol).

So first i thought i will just do low light plants, so i upgraded the standard lighting with a 48" LED Finnex Fugeray Planted +, which i have read in many forums is sufficient for low to medium light plants. Then i started to learn that all the pretty non boring plant require medium to High light. So i bought another fixture with 2 48" T5 HO bulbs at 54 watts per bulb. So i am now running both the Finnex LED and the T5s. Being that LED's cant be assessed by the old watts per gallon method, i am having difficulty knowing what level of lighting i have. Is it medium or high? Really would like to know because I have some high light red plants on the way lol

That's a ton of light. You're going to have loads of algae issues if you don't raise those lights or do CO2/excel. I would add a lot of plants so that your tank is 50-75% filled with plants to outcompete the algae at the start. Also keep your photoperiod short ~8 hrs. GL

[steelo27]

Hey guys, im new to this forum. Im gonna try to bring this discussio? Back to lighting for a sec..... Ok, so i have a 55 gallon established aquarium that for the first 8 months i kept as a fish only tank. But i have since decided to try my hand at live plants again (its been years since my last attempt..didnt do any research then though and just thought if i throw the plant in water it would grow lol).

So first i thought i will just do low light plants, so i upgraded the standard lighting with a 48" LED Finnex Fugeray Planted +, which i have read in many forums is sufficient for low to medium light plants. Then i started to learn that all the pretty non boring plant require medium to High light. So i bought another fixture with 2 48" T5 HO bulbs at 54 watts per bulb. So i am now running both the Finnex LED and the T5s. Being that LED's cant be assessed by the old watts per gallon method, i am having difficulty knowing what level of lighting i have. Is it medium or high? Really would like to know because I have some high light red plants on the way lol

[troy tucker]

There are hundreds of different types of Pleco. So many they give them numbers not names. Important to note. Some types of Pleco don't eat algae at all and other its their basic food. Commons eat algae but can grow up to 3 feet. That's way to big for a 55g tank. Other like bristle nose only get 6inches. And IMO>are the best algae eaters. Algae growth his easy to stop just by stopping all light from getting to the tank. Black it out by covering it with a blanket or something like that for a few days. It will kill all the algae.

[morpheus]

the males get the bristles, and females may have small bumps if anything. at that size, if it were a male, it would be obvious.

I have one common black pleco in my 56g and he is doing just fine in controlling the algae/extra food. with your tank being new, just make sure to supplement his diet with algae wafers or sinking pellets since algae and fallen food may not be abundant. as long as you keep the gravel clean too. you have a lot of room in the tank so i wouldnt be worried about size right now. they all grow at different rates. mine has been int he tank for a few years and hasnt grown all that much.

another option is snails if you ever tire of plecos. i have 3 zebra nerites that keep one of my 10g tanks spotless. never seen them in stores like petsmart. would have to call around to other shops

[Austy16414]

Pretty sure it's a common, I don't see any bristle on his nose. From pictures it appears that's the main difference .

If you notice it's not working out, look for a bristlenose. I've had a ton of success with them, never been happier with a pleco's work

[Renzo]

Did you get a common pleco? I've found bristlenoses are the most efficient plecos. Commons grow too fast, then end up making more waste than they clean

Pretty sure it's a common, I don't see any bristle on his nose. From pictures it appears that's the main difference .

[Austy16414]

I added a 3- 4" algae eater to the tank yesterday. How many are good for a 55 g tank?

Did you get a common pleco? I've found bristlenoses are the most efficient plecos. Commons grow too fast, then end up making more waste than they clean

[Renzo]

I agree with all the posts so far. how long the lights are on is up to you. like troy suggested, i have mine hooked up to timers i got at target or walmart. they are on about 10-12 hours a day total, so the lights are on when i am around to observe them.

i also have algae eaters in every tank to keep that in check.

I added a 3- 4" algae eater to the tank yesterday. How many are good for a 55 g tank?

[morpheus]

I agree with all the posts so far. how long the lights are on is up to you. like troy suggested, i have mine hooked up to timers i got at target or walmart. they are on about 10-12 hours a day total, so the lights are on when i am around to observe them.

i also have algae eaters in every tank to keep that in check.

[troy tucker]

You can get a Timer for about $5.00. To keep the algae down.

[Austy16414]

Nahhh. Algae doesn't seem to effect fish at all really.

Agreed. Just looks like crap

[myjohnson]

Nahhh. Algae doesn't seem to effect fish at all really.