# Bright Lights and Bushy Tails



## TankAaron (Aug 8, 2014)

Hello all,

When it comes to lighting, what is the proper way to grow bushy cabombas?

I remember reading, the last time I did research on this, that to make the stem segments in between leaves on plants such as cabomba, shorter, lower amounts of light were better. The reasoning given was that light toward the higher end of the plant's needs would cause it to grow faster, and therefore longer stem segments, leading to scrawny looking plants.

Now, it seems, that what I read is the complete opposite. That higher light amounts will lead to bushier stems.

I am not an expert. Not by a long shot. So would some experts please share their knowledge?

I have a 10g tank. I bought two 13W CFLs, 5000k, 825 lumens each. That's the highest kelvin rating I could find at Lowes. The only switch I could do is to 23W bulbs, also 5000k, 1600 lumens each.

I found this page, yesterday, which I appreciate a lot. It helps me judge lighting based on lumens, rather than watts per gallon.

I am not going to be testing for par (spelling?) any time soon. So having an idea on lumens is nice.

Going by watts per gallon, which I know is the worst way to judge it, I would have 2.6W/g. Which I believe puts it in the higher end of low light.

Going by lumens, I will have 165 lumens per gallon (41.25 lumens per liter). Going by the chart on the link, that would put me at mid to high end of medium lighting. This level of lighting is what I'd like to shoot for. I do not want to try an expert level of planting. I do not have the resources, money, time, and energy, to spend on that.

I could go with one 13W, and one 23W bulb. I'd really hate to do that. The asymmetry would make my CDO flare up. If I did, I would end up with 3.6W/g, 242.5 lumens per gallon, which is 60.625 lumens per liter. That puts me at high to very high lighting.

To prevent any CDO reactions, I would go with two 23W bulbs, but that would make the lighting way higher, and all I'll be dosing for CO2 is Excel. I would imagine that would end up getting expensive.

The only other thing that I'm wanting, is for my red plants, whichever I end up getting, to be really red. I'm guessing lighting would also affect that. Or do only chemicals, like ferts and such affect the coloring?

Thank you for taking the time to read this.


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## TankAaron (Aug 8, 2014)

Just an update: This thread has the list of plants I will be getting.

The most demanding in that list, I think, is HC.

So having the HC in mind, what do you guys think about my lighting?

Oh, also I found out that Home Depot has 6500K lights. 13W @ 810 lumens each, and I can just walk in, and buy. Or 23W, 1600 lumens, which I'd have to order.


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## Michael (Jul 20, 2010)

The CFLs are a good light source for shallow tanks like your 10 gallon. I use them over several of my similar-sized Walstad tanks.

That said, I've never been successful long-term with Altenanthera in those tanks. I've never tried HC, but suspect that it would require higher light and most likely CO2.


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## TankAaron (Aug 8, 2014)

Okay, then I'll get the 23W 6500K ones. That'll be 80 lumens per liter. According to Tropica.com, 50+ lumens per liter is high lighting, and required for advanced level plants. I should be okay with lighting for a while.

Now to start saving up for a CO2 system. I'll start checking out that forum.

Thank you.


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