Lighting on the affordable side?

[jennisof]

Looking for advice on a 90-gallon tank, currently running a Coralife 2x65w light, just hooked up CO2 injection, low to mid light plants currently.

I am told that the T5 bulbs are a bit cheaper to run over long term, and cooler while still giving good light. So...are all t-5, 6500 bulbs basically equal? Does a more expensive (and aquarium-designed) lighting system really give that much better results than say, an office fixture or shoplight system?

I had read that the TEK lights are fabulous, but they are very pricey.
I am told that the Coralife ones are good too.
When it comes down to it, what's a good, cheap, energy-efficient, cool-running system that works well?

Any ideas or recommendations?

Thanks!

[Bogdan]

With a 2x 65W over 90G tank don't bother with CO2. What you need is two or three times more light before your plant will start to use extra CO2. Personally I don't believe in any so called "full spectrum" bulbs/tubes. T5 are good especially the HO which I am currently using. Anything with the right K (I use 6000 to 10000) will do. I am using the generic GE tubes. Plants grow like crazy, have to trim very often.

[Matt in Houston]

With a 2x 65W over 90G tank don't bother with CO2. What you need is two or three times more light before your plant will start to use extra CO2. Personally I don't believe in any so called "full spectrum" bulbs/tubes. T5 are good especially the HO which I am currently using. Anything with the right K (I use 6000 to 10000) will do. I am using the generic GE tubes. Plants grow like crazy, have to trim very often.

I'm going to have to respectfully disagree with your post...

I have an 85g hi-tech planted tank with two 48w Hagen T5HO fixtures...one over each side. So I have just around 1.13wpg. I ran this with setup with no co2, then DIY co2, and then a 10lb bottle with controller. There is a HUGE difference....now my plants are growing like crazy and pearl all day.

In addition, the K (Kelvin) rating has nothing to do with plants. That is the color of the light as humans see it. For instance, an 18000k Hagen powerglo can grow plants like crazy. Why? It is because of the actual spectrum of the light...not the kelvin rating.

Look at the side of the box on a package of lights, and they usually show a spectrum graph. Look for a spike in blue and a spike in reds...most plant bulbs have very little green spectrum...this area of light isnt used much by plants at all. However that color is the color Humans see most...so just because its brighter to you doesnt mean its brighter/better for the plants.

You have more light than me....but I would recommend t5ho over CFL. I would also recommend co2...trust me you have enough light for low-mid light plants to benefit from co2.

[newb]

dont know if your interested, but I have 2 36" Odyssea T5 fixtures if you would like to purchase them cheaply. Just let me know. these dont get very hot and I have had them for nearly 8months now. I just upgraded to MH's and wont be needing them anymore. $45 for both of them with bulbs included.

[Bogdan]

I'm going to have to respectfully disagree with your post...

"I have an 85g hi-tech planted tank with two 48w Hagen T5HO fixtures...one over each side. So I have just around 1.13wpg. I ran this with setup with no co2, then DIY co2, and then a 10lb bottle with controller. There is a HUGE difference....now my plants are growing like crazy and pearl all day."

You are right Matt, I made false assumption, which is that someone who adds CO2 want to grow the so called more difficult plants (the one which will not grow without CO2 and more light). What I see in your beautiful tank are plants that not require much lighting. Yes I believe that when you added CO2 they grow faster but the whole point for introducing CO2 was to be able to grow difficult plants not to grow plants which will grow anyway just slower.

"In addition, the K (Kelvin) rating has nothing to do with plants. That is the color of the light as humans see it. For instance, an 18000k Hagen powerglo can grow plants like crazy. Why? It is because of the actual spectrum of the light...not the kelvin rating."

Again agree with you, I didn't mean to say that the K number influences growth of plants. It only gives the perception of color. High K more blue low K more yellow. The average based on what people like is about 6000K.

"Look at the side of the box on a package of lights, and they usually show a spectrum graph. Look for a spike in blue and a spike in reds...most plant bulbs have very little green spectrum...this area of light isnt used much by plants at all. However that color is the color Humans see most...so just because its brighter to you doesnt mean its brighter/better for the plants."

As I said based on my experience it doesn't matter, my plants grow as well under GE tubes as under Hagen. The difference that I see is GE is much cheaper.

"You have more light than me....but I would recommend t5ho over CFL. I would also recommend co2...trust me you have enough light for low-mid light plants to benefit from co2. "

Yes, if you want to grow low light plants faster that is definitely the way to go. But if you want to grow plants that require high light then CO2 by itself will not help you.

Good luck.

[Matt in Houston]

I guess we need to know then, do you plan on just growing the low-mid light plants like you have been? Or are you looking for more light to grow higher light plants?

Either way I would still ditch the CFL and go T5HO for a planted tank.

[jennisof]

Eventually I would love to be able to mix in some reds, which seem to require higher light.

[manifresh006]

Eventually I would love to be able to mix in some reds, which seem to require higher light.

Yes they will need a good light for the red plant well the better the light they brighter the red and i mean better light output not cost$$$ of lamp...lol

But also it will require fertilizers like iron and such

[jennisof]

But back to the initial question...is a shoplight type fixture for 20 bucks and 2 - 4 Agrosun type HO T5 bulbs at $15 each going to do a very similar job to, say, a coralife setup? Aside from the relative beauty of each light, I'm more concerned with the actual grow-power and affordability of it.

About 200 dollars difference between the shoplight setup with good bulbs and a tank-intentional, german-engineered setup. I mean, like in a car, once you have dependability, the rest is just marketing and luxury. In your opininons, will the basic system do enough or should I shell out the bucks for the TEK or Oceanic lighting?

[Mzungu]

If you can find a T5-HO setup for $20, go for it!! The differences are mainly in the reflectors and the housing - a shoplight fixture will probably have to be hung from the ceiling, whereas many aquarium type fixtures can just be placed on glass tops.

[Matt in Houston]

As you know the plants dont care what kind of fixture you have...as long as you have enough of the right kind of light, you should be good. The shop light is going to save you some money and would probably work if you do it right...Myself I havent really looked into that option...at the Lowes by my house I havent found the T5HO bulbs, just the standard stuff....maybe I didnt look very hard.

Just seems worth it to spend a little on a nice light that has built in timers and proper cooling, as well as good reflectors and caps. Its just less to have to deal with. I would highly recommend the Aquatic Life light with the built in timers. Its an excellent fixture and also has built in LEDs for night viewing.

Good luck with whatever you decide!