# Pure Noob. 55 gal - How much light?



## Sammy T (Jul 4, 2009)

I am currently running a 55 gal tank. My light set up is causing my plants to die within a few days of getting them. I have two hoods each with 18 inch 15 watt bulbs.

The more and more I read about lighting, it seems that I am way under the limit. What is the Ideal amount of wattage needed for a 55 gal and what lights do you recommend? I have the common flouresent light set up and all the other lights ive seen like corallife have different connections than the stock ones. Would I have to buy new hoods or what?

If anyone could help out it would be great... I am trying to get something set up before my plants die!


Thanks in Advance!


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## dmastin (Jun 27, 2009)

Folks talk about watts per gallon and you need more for plants (there's a whole lighting subsection on this forum).
There are many possibilities. 
For a quick fix I'd get a glass canopy and put a Coralife F/W T-5 Aqualight Double Strip Light-48" on it. That would give you closer to 1 watt per gallon, which is not much, but a start. It also depends on the kind of plants you have.


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## Travis.808 (Apr 2, 2009)

I have a ah supply 4x55w http://www.ahsupply.com/36-55w.htm setup on my 55g gives me 4wpg simple math for my simple mind. You can retrofit the kit in your existing hood. Double check before you order though. You should decide what kind of plants you want first then figure out what kind of lighting you'll need based on your plant choices. I have plants in my tank which require medium to high lighting. 2wpg would probably be where you want to shoot for as a minimum I believe but again, take your time look around and figure out your plants/style first. Good luck


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## Avi (Apr 7, 2004)

I think you'd do well with Travis's recommendation, though I'd recommend T5 lighting rather than the power compacts. Ideally, IMO, five 39-watt bulbs in varying color renditions would be optimum for you to be able to grow just about any plants you might want...including a lot of reds, if that appeals to you. If you find that it's too much for you, many T5 fixtures allow you to run some bulbs on one timer and the others on a second timer.


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## mudboots (Jun 24, 2009)

If you're willing to buy new fixtures, check out fishneedit.com and look at what they have in the T5 lines. They are the best price around for what you get. If you want to go low-med light you could get 2 24" 2 strip fixtures which will give you 1.75 wpg, or a 48" 2 strip (need to know the wattage per lamp). Or you can wait until they're 4lamp models are ready in August and get a single 48" 4 strip and have planty of light. 

Like Travis wrote, make sure you know what plants you want first.

Personally, I grow low light plants in El Natural tanks (no filtration, no CO2, no ferts) and am happy with the results (I might post some pics next month or the following in the El Natural forum). My 20 gallon is set with T5-HO lighting at 2.4 wpg (6700K 24 watt strips), and my 125 gallon is set up with T5-HO lighting at 1.25 wpg (2 6700K and 2 10000K 39 watt strips).


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## pambe1975 (May 27, 2009)

I am a noob myself and ran into the same problem. I would have to agree with Travis on first make sure you know what kind of plants you want to grow and go based on their requirements.


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