# Lighting opinion for 55 gallon



## Grizzle Fish (May 29, 2014)

Hello,
Would you please recommend an inexpensive lighting solution for my 55 gallon (48" long) aquarium in El Natural?

I was looking at T5 HO in 6500k such as Odyssea. The lamps are 54 watts each. I'm not sure if there could be any justification for getting a four lamp fixture V.S. a two lamp? If I went with a four lamp fixture I'm sure that the other two lamps wouldn't run very often, as I would have timers on them.

I'm trying to keep the costs down, but what I have now is a 2x 32Watt T8 shop light. 64 total watts seems to be too little light even for El Natural. There is no natural sunlight coming in to supplement my tank where it sits.

I don't want to cheap out to the point of compromising my project. So any recommendations are welcome. I could use some help here from ya'all.

Thanks,
Grizz


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## bbjai (May 10, 2014)

hagen glo single lamp perfect! i use this and so does many others for dirt tank of this size.


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## qwe123 (Jun 15, 2011)

I actually plan on using a 2x 32watt T8 shot light like you already have on my up and coming 75. If it ends up not enough light, you could just add a second one. Seems cheaper than any of those T5HO fixtures...


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## Grizzle Fish (May 29, 2014)

Thanks to both of you for your replies. Had some family visiting so I was off-line for a bit. bbjai, those lights sound nice, but unless I ran a couple of them it would be even less light than I have now. So I'm a little unsure if that is what you were suggesting, or if you meant that I could get by with only one of them for a 55 gallon tank?

qwe123: Thanks goes out to you as well. That is actually nice to hear. I have done a fair amount of research but I seem to always feel as though I come up a little short in being able to predict just what amount of light I will be needing for my 55 gallon El Natural set up. There does seem to be a consensus from some of the very experienced planters that people tend to over light their tanks. I guess in this day and age we are all awash in overkill, being taught that more is always better. Obviously though that is not always the case.

So I will stick with what I have, twin 32w T8 lamps. Adding another one would be a problem though, as there is not enough width on my tank to accommodate a second fixture. If it came to that I would have to go ahead and purchase the twin T5 HO. So that will be my ace in the hole.

So now, unless I hear anything to the contrary, I just need to purchase a couple of 48" T8 plant bulbs. I believe that 6500k is what's recommended for planted aquarium in T8. I'll read up on that a bit more and see if that holds to be true.

Thanks again.

Peace,
Grizz


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## bbjai (May 10, 2014)

well are you going for low tech? no co2 or with co2? my light suggestion is for a no co2 tank. and it works well for all low light growers. one t5ho with a good reflector can beat out any 2 t8s IMHO. If you are counting watts per gallon no one does that for t5ho's.

http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/showthread.php?t=184368

par instead of watts.


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## bbjai (May 10, 2014)

http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/showthread.php?t=105774&highlight=t8+vs+t5ho

Here is another thread for comparison. Of course finding a t5ho fixture with good reflector is the key.


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## Grizzle Fish (May 29, 2014)

Ah, I have been shown the light. :hail:

bbjal, I checked out Hoppy's chart, did some math, and found that a T5HO is {{{*2.8*}}} times as strong as a T8NO bulb. Now I have a better understanding of your post.

And yes, indeed I'm going with low tech, no co2. Here they call that "El Natural".

Another post from Hoppy that shows the par value for a twin 48" Hagen GLO to be about 45 PAR at 20". So for a single bulb fixture that would put it at approximately 22.5 PAR at 20" deep. He rates the reflectors of the Hagan GLO fixtures as _*poor*_ and suggests that they are more suitable for short tanks rather than tall ones.
http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/showthread.php?t=183345

So, the question becomes, how much PAR at the substrate do I need to support a 21" deep El Natural aquarium.

Per Hoppy:
*Low light - 15-30* micromols of PAR - CO2 is not needed, but is helpful to the plants
*Medium light - 35-50* micromols of PAR - CO2 may be needed to avoid too many nuisance algae problems
*High light - 50+* micromols of PAR - pressurized CO2 is essential to avoid major algae problems
http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/showthread.php?t=184368

I found a very reasonably priced lighting system with a highly rated german reflector made by AquaticLife for just over $100. That brand is one of, if not the top rated brand in efficiency on Hoppy's graph where he did a comparison of many different lighting manufactures.

The only problem is that it does not come in single bulb configuration. I can get it in 2 lamp configuration, 2x54watt T5HO. Sitting on my 21" aquarium, with the 5" stand-off mounting brackets will give me about 45PAR at the substrate. I can mitigate that some by covering the top of the tank with glass and using surface plants, which I planned on doing both already. I can adjust lighting cycles a bit too. The fixture comes with one 6000k lamp and one 650nm (red) lamp. I like the idea of having the red wavelength in there. (one power cord).

I'm thinking that that fixture should work out pretty well for me, but of course my only concern is that it may be too intense for El Natural with it's 45 PAR. But again, I can take some measures. I did read that someone was indeed using it with success on an El Natural tank the same height as mine. So I found that to be promising. 

Opinions?


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## Michael (Jul 20, 2010)

Grizz, you may want to read through this thread: http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/...tic-plant-club/80982-par-data-collection.html

I agree with bb; one T5 HO tube with a good reflector is plenty for a 55. To condense the results from the thread above, we have found that with 30-40 PAR at the substrate, you can grow almost anything. PAR of 25-30 is fine for low-tech Walstad tanks. PAR of 15-20 limits you to low-light species only.


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## bbjai (May 10, 2014)

lol yea hoppy does rate it poor but it works with a 55 gallon because i have a friend that uses it for a 55 gallon. While i use it for a 50 gallon the tank is 18.5" tall and i have mounts that mount it up another 2 inch from the tank so. The lighting is very acceptable for low maintenance tank. You have to understand that the more powerful light means you will need to supplement nutrients faster and probably dose excel. with a lower par levels your plants my grow slower(less maintenance) and still give you the results you want just takes longer. 

Just dont let your stems grow too long with the hagen though lol cause then the bottom doesnt get enough light and all things go byebye (happened to me). same with the nana vals -_- lol i was lazy and didnt trim and all my plants that got covered went melty


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## Grizzle Fish (May 29, 2014)

Hello again to all of you. I have spent most of the day pondering over your suggestions to go with the Hagen Glo single lamp. I have accepted your recommendation of 25-30 PAR as being the right choice for low-tech Walstad tanks.

So I added a Hagen Glo single lamp to my Amazon basket&#8230; However, (here goes), I ran into problems when trying to find the perfect single lamp for it. I wanted to add a red bulb in there, but of course there was no way to do that. Now, I know, it's more about intensity than color temp, but I have this curse. Perfectionism! Now, in no far stretch am "I" perfect, quite the opposite in fact. But I needle, and fiddle, and tweak things till the cows come home to get whatever it is I'm spending massive amounts of time on-- perfect. So I kind of came back around to the twin lamp AquaticLife system. :tongue1: And here's what (or who), pushed me over the edge into that decision:

*Hoppy says:*


> All T5HO bulbs produce approximately the same intensity at a given distance. So, with two bulbs you just look at the chart for 1/2 of what you want. So, if you want 40 micromols of PAR, you look for 20 micromols on the chart, which would put the bulbs at about 34-35 inches (off the chart). If your tank height is such that the fixture sits with the bulbs 22 inches above the substrate, you would want to raise the fixture 12-13 inches to get 40 micromols at the substrate. The advantage of hanging the fixture above an open tank is that you can then adjust that height until you get the results you want. The chart just tells you that you will have much too much light compared to what you want, if you place it on top of the tank.
> 
> Raising the fixture also allows the light to spread out and give more uniformity of intensity at the substrate from front to back, as well as side to side. And, the bonus is that the intensity will not be nearly as high at the top of the water as it would be with the fixture sitting on the tank.


Obviously the values are different in Hoppy's example compared to what I need, but since he actually references in his chart, the 4 lamp version of the exact same fixture I am interested in, all I had to do was to locate it on the chart and divide by two. The four lamp version of AquaticLife gives you 60 PAR at 40 inches above the substrate. So, with the two lamp AquaticLife system, I can get 30 PAR at the same 40" above the substrate, which is in line with your recommendation. Yea.

(*Michael*, by the way, I read that entire link you referenced. Took me over an hour, but it was so interesting that I had to read the whole thing through)!

_So in summery with the AquaLife fixture,_

```
* I get to have both of my lamp choices
* A more versatile fixture
* A superior reflector
*  Better uniformity of light
*  Twice the light for less cost
*  A system that beats out both ATI and Catalina in light intensity
*  And the PAR amount you recommend for my application
```
Seems like I built a good supporting case, but I'm not trying to win a debate here, I just want to put in the research and seek the help that others can kindly provide me so I wind up with a successful aquarium. All of you have been a great help and I appreciate that more than you would probably believe. I know so much more about lighting now and I have you all to thank for that! Awesome!

And, if you have more counter point then please by all means feel free. I highly value all of your opinions!

Grizz


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## bbjai (May 10, 2014)

don't get me wrong i dont work for hagen haha im just cheap so i dont have to replace more than one bulb rofl. but since this was my test tank my next tank i'll be going DIY led  no lamp replacements in the future is the way to go IMHO. go go gadget:third:


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## Grizzle Fish (May 29, 2014)

bbjai said:


> don't get me wrong i dont work for hagen haha im just cheap so i dont have to replace more than one bulb rofl. but since this was my test tank my next tank i'll be going DIY led  no lamp replacements in the future is the way to go IMHO. go go gadget:third:


Hi bb,
I do believe you are correct. Before I lost my job I had a whole pressurized system picked out that I took weeks researching. The lighting I had chosen was BML lighting.
Now I do have to watch my dollars and sense. (pun intended). Planted aquarium in the U.S. is still relatively new for the main stream. I have looked around at the forums and you do see a few different opinions on stuff.

Kind of obviously I guess, I want some flexibility built into my project. I know that Al Natural is challenging. I'm trying to have a bit of failsafe built in. The Light I am after should allow me to upgrade to Co2 if things don't turn out so well. I could add DYI Co2 to the system pretty easily if it came to that.

I plan on using one of those Home Depot DYI shelving setups to support my future lighting fixture. It will allow me to raise or lower it very easily. (see picture). In place of the board will be my light fixture. You can see how easily I could change the height.










My aquarium will sit directly underneath it. A bit of Mickey Mouse genius I must say, :-s


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## Michael (Jul 20, 2010)

Being able to raise or lower the fixture above the tank makes it easy to correct the light level. Do be aware that you may get quite a bit of "light spill" around the tank if you raise the fixture. This may or may not be a problem depending on what other ways you use the room, i.e. television viewing, computer.


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## bbjai (May 10, 2014)

Man that is a good idea I wish I could drill my walls. Guess I'm stuck with those expensive metal poles.


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## Grizzle Fish (May 29, 2014)

Michael said:


> Being able to raise or lower the fixture above the tank makes it easy to correct the light level. Do be aware that you may get quite a bit of "light spill" around the tank if you raise the fixture. This may or may not be a problem depending on what other ways you use the room, i.e. television viewing, computer.


Howdy Michael, I did think of the possibility of light spill-over. I will just have to see how it turns out. Hopefully the shroud will do a sufficient job of shading the front and sides. Otherwise I may have to add to it a bit. I'm pretty handy with tin foil. (just kidding). We will have to see how it turns out. There is always a solution to a problem. If I was the government I would just come up with a new law to take care of the situation. 

My 55 gallon sits in my living room. I purposely didn't put a tv in there. The living room is for when I have friends over to visit. The aquarium is the centerpiece of the room. The aquarium and my Rembrandt. (don't I wish). But what better way to entertain guests by having this great conversation piece sitting there in full view! Now all I have to do is to make some friends, lol.


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## Grizzle Fish (May 29, 2014)

bbjai said:


> Man that is a good idea I wish I could drill my walls. Guess I'm stuck with those expensive metal poles.


Hello bb, with the kind of leverage that the light fixture will put on the fastening braces, assuming that I run those braces all the way down to the floor and use studs to screw into, shouldn't take more than four small wood screws. A little Spackle will take care of the holes if I ever have to remove them. Perhaps you have knotty pine or some kind of fine wood for your walls? That would be a concern. That, or if you have the landlord from hell.

Or maybe it's because you live in one of those houses in the Hollywood hills that are completely surrounded by glass? Yeah, I bet that's it.


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## bbjai (May 10, 2014)

not landlord Fatherlord LOL "I forbid you to drill holes in my wall"


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## Grizzle Fish (May 29, 2014)

So.... If you use a hammer, you are technically not drilling. Correct? :snakeman:


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