# UV light / PL lights essential for aquatic plants



## sidekicky (Nov 3, 2005)

Hi guys, I'm pretty new to aquascaping and have an inquiry to ask. Is UV light or PL light compulsory for your aqua plants? Or those standard white light (flouresent I supppose) is good enough? I'm deciding on which to get.

My tank is in a position where it does not receive enough sunlight.


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## titan97 (Feb 14, 2005)

Plants absorb most of there energy in the visible light spectrum, so UV lights would do you no good for a planted tank. I'm not sure what PL lights are. Most of us use some form of fluorescent lights, be they NO (Normal output, ie T12 or T8 type bulbs), PC (power compact), ODNO (Overdriven NO), MH (Metal Halide), VHO (Very high output), etc. 

If you are average with DIY projects, ahsupply.com has great stuff. Otherwise, an off-the-shelf light kit would be good. 

Whats matters most is light intensity, ie Watts per gallon. WPG is an approximation, and the rule breaks down on small tanks, tall tanks, and very large tanks. Most people shoot for 2WPG on average. 

Bulb color (the temperature, or K rating) is more subjectable. The lower the K, the more yellow the color (natural daylight, for example). White bulbs are typically up around 10000K or more. Many people prefer the standard ~6700K color found on many bulbs from home improvement stores. Avoid the Actinic bulbs, as they do nothing or very, very little for plants.

-Dustin

EDIT: And unless you want lots of algae, or you want to really babysit your tank, never put your tank is direct sunlight. You've been warned.


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## sidekicky (Nov 3, 2005)

Thanks a lot Dustin, this certainly cleared my mind!


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