# Help what's the best light's for my tank and plants



## thunderjack14 (Nov 28, 2014)

Hello everyone !

I need a bit of help to determine the best lights for my tank setup to give the best plant growth.

This is what i'm running now and will be replacing soon because the lamps are over one year old.

Pressurized Co2 is running around 24/30 ppm lighting are T5HO 4 bulbs Coralife colormax,coralife 6700k,aquatic life 10000k,aquatic life 420/460 running at 6 hours a day. Light canopy is 30 inches from the gravel bed (tank has a glass cover that the light needs to penetrate) (The tank size is 150 U.S gallon) 

Plants in tank are anubias nana,Anubias barteri, java ferns, Java Fern Windelov, mellon swords,Ozelot - Red and Amazon Swords, Cryptocoryne wendtii.


I was thinking to run with.

(1)Roseate T5-HO Freshwater Lamp - 54 W - 48" 
(1)Aquatic Life 6,000K T5-HO Lamp - 54 W - 48" 
(1)Aquatic Life 10,000K T5-HO Marine Lamp - 54 W - 48"
(1)Coralife Actinic T5-HO Fluorescent Lamp - 54 W - 48"

Any help or recommendation would be welcomed.

Thanks in advance.


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## Newt (Apr 1, 2004)

(1)Roseate T5-HO Freshwater Lamp - 54 W - 48" - OK for planted tank
(1)Aquatic Life 6,000K T5-HO Lamp - 54 W - 48" - Should be OK
(1)Aquatic Life 10,000K T5-HO Marine Lamp - 54 W - 48" - Saltwater tank bulb - NG
(1)Coralife Actinic T5-HO Fluorescent Lamp - 54 W - 48" - Saltwater tank bulb - NG

It would help to find the spectral output for the first 2 bulbs. It will let you know how much blue, green and red light you have and what strength.


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## thunderjack14 (Nov 28, 2014)

Hello newt !

Thanks for you help.

Roseate T5-HO Freshwater Lamp - 54 W - 48" it say the kelvin spectrum is 650 nm ,(blue) 441-490.5 / 11.17% (green) 491-540.5 / 7.46% (red) 651-700.5 / 21.46%


And Aquatic Life 6,000K T5-HO Lamp - 54 W - 48" it say the Kelvin spectrum 6000k(blue) 441-490.5 / 18.71% (green) 491-590.5 / 12.26% (red) 651-700.5 / 2.89%

I have 4 slot's on my hood (aquaticlife with built in timers) two lamps are ok and two are not can you recommend two other bulbs for the other two slots or can i use two of each. but i would rather have a soft light running for two hours and then with all four lights on at the same time for a blast of light for the photosynthesis period of the plants.for a total of 6 hours. But i know i might need to readjust the lighting period with the new lights. they are only running six hours a day right now because i don't have the right lighting on the tank and i had algae problems so i cut a bit on the lighting time to help control the algae. trying to get the best lighting to make my plants grow better to out compete the algae.

Tanks ever so much for your help.


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## thunderjack14 (Nov 28, 2014)

Hello newt !

Just another quick question what the difference between a 6000k kelvin and 6500k kelvin is just the brightness or does it penetrate the water for deeper tanks because my light's are 31 inches from my gravel bed this is 150 gallon deep tank. 

Tanks again for your time.


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## Newt (Apr 1, 2004)

Probably not much difference in 6K and 6.5K bulbs. This kelvin range of bulbs tend to have lots of green light. It depends on the manufacturer. The only benefit is for your eyes/viewing. Green light lends to brightness (lumens). Blue light penetrates water much better than red light. Its the red and blue light that creates photosynthesis.

The two bulbs you gave the info on should balance well. One T5HO I like is the Giesmann Aquaflora. I don't care much for their Midday bulb. They are not cheap so shop around if you want some. Giesmann recommends using the two bulbs together but any 5K to 6.5K bulb should be good with the Aquaflora - like a GE.


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## thunderjack14 (Nov 28, 2014)

Hello newt!

Well i checked into (Giesmann tropic) and (Giesmann super flora) maybe two of each. They seem to be very highly rated. i posable might have a seller thats having a clear out sale. All new lamps, 4 lamps for 90 dollars. I tried to find info on how long they last i know the one's i'm using now aquatic life lamps and i'm going on just over a year now with no problems. But should be changed every year anyways.


Well thanks for the info and support i will drop you a line when i receive the lights and let you know how the plants responded to the new lights.

Take care.


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## Newt (Apr 1, 2004)

I went to the Giessmann website. It appears they have a line-up change.
Lots of green in those 2 bulbs. You can do better for the money.


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## thunderjack14 (Nov 28, 2014)

OH OH i just went ahead and bought them will they still be ok for the plants that i have even if they got too much green spectrum instead of more red spectrum? hope so.


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## thunderjack14 (Nov 28, 2014)

Well i bought two Giesemann T5 HO 54W - 48" Powerchrome T5 Fluorescent Bulb - Midday and two Giesemann T5 HO 54W - 48" Powerchrome T5 Fluorescent Bulb -Aquaflora and i must say its been about a month now and the plants just took off and are growing nice and healthy. And the colors of the red and green plants look great. love the T5 bulbs.


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## Newt (Apr 1, 2004)

thunderjack14 said:


> Hello newt!
> 
> Well i checked into (Giesmann tropic) and (Giesmann super flora) maybe two of each. They seem to be very highly rated. i posable might have a seller thats having a clear out sale. All new lamps, 4 lamps for 90 dollars. I tried to find info on how long they last i know the one's i'm using now aquatic life lamps and i'm going on just over a year now with no problems. *But should be changed every year anyways.*
> 
> ...


The T5HO bulbs have a graph and should be good for 18,000 to 20,000 hours before the cathode and phosphor begin to degrade. I would say you are good for two years at a minimum. If you have a good ballast then longer life can be expected.


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