freshwater lighting
- Thread starter Dan49
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MD Ocean Girl
New member
Not sure about metal halides for freshwater plants.....the light might actually be too strong for them.....but I honestly don't know, as I've never used them or read about their use over freshwater tanks.
I use T5 bulbs over my freshwater tanks. Recommended amount of light for most plants is 2-3 watts/gallon. I've actually found that with a good reflector, you need even less. I have a 48" 2 bulb T5 HO fixture on my 55 gallon planted freshwater tank, and I need to trim my plants every 10 days or so due to their growth. Keep in mind that I've had this tank up and running for 3 years, though it's changed location and aquascape many times. The plants I have in it now have been in the tank for 8 months or so.....In the last couple months, their growth has really taken off (when I put in new bulbs). I run a geissmann aquablue + bulb and a coralife colormax bulb in the fixture (will be changing out the coralife colormax bulb soon to a geissmann bulb made for freshwater tanks).
Over my 30 gallon, i run one 36" single bulb HO hagen glo fixture with a geissmann aquablue + bulb (the reflector on this fixture is amazing!). This tank has been established for 2 years, with no real significant changes since I set it up. The growth is a little bit slower in this tank, but I had some algae issues when I had more light on the tank.
IME, I'd stick with T5 bulbs, as they provide a great color spectrum for freshwater tanks, they use a lot less electricity, and you need a lot less light to grow plants vs. corals.
Hope this helps!
I use T5 bulbs over my freshwater tanks. Recommended amount of light for most plants is 2-3 watts/gallon. I've actually found that with a good reflector, you need even less. I have a 48" 2 bulb T5 HO fixture on my 55 gallon planted freshwater tank, and I need to trim my plants every 10 days or so due to their growth. Keep in mind that I've had this tank up and running for 3 years, though it's changed location and aquascape many times. The plants I have in it now have been in the tank for 8 months or so.....In the last couple months, their growth has really taken off (when I put in new bulbs). I run a geissmann aquablue + bulb and a coralife colormax bulb in the fixture (will be changing out the coralife colormax bulb soon to a geissmann bulb made for freshwater tanks).
Over my 30 gallon, i run one 36" single bulb HO hagen glo fixture with a geissmann aquablue + bulb (the reflector on this fixture is amazing!). This tank has been established for 2 years, with no real significant changes since I set it up. The growth is a little bit slower in this tank, but I had some algae issues when I had more light on the tank.
IME, I'd stick with T5 bulbs, as they provide a great color spectrum for freshwater tanks, they use a lot less electricity, and you need a lot less light to grow plants vs. corals.
Hope this helps!
DEEP BLUE SIX
New member
T5 HOs are perfect. 10,000K is a popular kelvin range. But there are other scenarios needed in some cases.
Metal Halides ARE used by people on planted tanks as well.
LEDs are also starting to come around for the planted freshwater tank.
I will start by saying that it is not about "more light" in the planted aquarium. It is about having a better substrate in your planted aquarium and proper light ranges depending on plants. Like corals sort of, different plants need to be planted at different heights too. None of the growth I had with my planted aquariums would be possible without the proper nutrients available to the plants in the substrate. Plus there is so much more to learn really on planted tanks. What I've said here is just a snippet. I'll add one more thing: Co2 is crucial in a real planted tank. You need to get one of those bubble drip set ups w/Co2 tank if you don't already have one. You can purchase or DIY yourself one home made.
There are not A LOT of good suppliers locally of the best plants. "Some" LFS all over have some locally. There are an amazing aray of freshwater Shrimps (some colorful too) available for a very fascinating planted tank environment. Hard to find locally. Petco(even though I hate them and chains) have started carrying some too recently.
I know G from ABC can help you with a lot of this too and he can get things.
I suggest you check out an excellent website: the planted tank.
http://www.plantedtank.net
Much like an RC for that. You can start researching from experienced people right away.
Also, find some books by Takashi Amano if you can. (Japanese Planted Tank Guru) Well worth the look and reads. I have some. But not willing to sell. I've found the book "hard to find" recently.
Metal Halides ARE used by people on planted tanks as well.
LEDs are also starting to come around for the planted freshwater tank.
I will start by saying that it is not about "more light" in the planted aquarium. It is about having a better substrate in your planted aquarium and proper light ranges depending on plants. Like corals sort of, different plants need to be planted at different heights too. None of the growth I had with my planted aquariums would be possible without the proper nutrients available to the plants in the substrate. Plus there is so much more to learn really on planted tanks. What I've said here is just a snippet. I'll add one more thing: Co2 is crucial in a real planted tank. You need to get one of those bubble drip set ups w/Co2 tank if you don't already have one. You can purchase or DIY yourself one home made.
There are not A LOT of good suppliers locally of the best plants. "Some" LFS all over have some locally. There are an amazing aray of freshwater Shrimps (some colorful too) available for a very fascinating planted tank environment. Hard to find locally. Petco(even though I hate them and chains) have started carrying some too recently.
I know G from ABC can help you with a lot of this too and he can get things.
I suggest you check out an excellent website: the planted tank.
http://www.plantedtank.net
Much like an RC for that. You can start researching from experienced people right away.
Also, find some books by Takashi Amano if you can. (Japanese Planted Tank Guru) Well worth the look and reads. I have some. But not willing to sell. I've found the book "hard to find" recently.
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The trick with a FW is balancing light levels with nutrient levels, CO2 content and algae growth. Generally speaking, you want to use as little light as you can to get the job done. Less is more. There are people that blast the tank with as much light as you would a reef tank, but they also blast the tank with C02 for explosive, dense, thick plant growth, and carpets of plants on the substrate. People absolutely use MH in the proper spectrum.
I disagree that C02 is necessary. It depends on what you want to accomplish and what plants you want to keep. I run 2x54 watt 6500k T5s from a hydroponics shop over my 125 gallon planted with a dirt substrate, zero ferts or supplements, no C02. I keep lower light plants like swords, hygrophila, crypts, vals, anubias. Plants are thriving.
If you want to grow higher light plants and and carpets on the substrate then yes, I would suggest higher light and C02.
And yes, go to theplantedtank.net and read for days.
I disagree that C02 is necessary. It depends on what you want to accomplish and what plants you want to keep. I run 2x54 watt 6500k T5s from a hydroponics shop over my 125 gallon planted with a dirt substrate, zero ferts or supplements, no C02. I keep lower light plants like swords, hygrophila, crypts, vals, anubias. Plants are thriving.
If you want to grow higher light plants and and carpets on the substrate then yes, I would suggest higher light and C02.
And yes, go to theplantedtank.net and read for days.
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mr86mister
Saltaholic
I agree with Flanders though, a good substrate is all you need. My 20L planted I run 2x24w t5's. 10k and 6500k. No dosing, no fert, just Seachem Flourite. I think halides are more necessary on aquariums deeper than 24" IMO and will require some CO2 supplementation for the higher light plants. If you have plants that need bright light they will use up the CO2 faster, hence the reason for CO2 systems. Lower light plants soak up CO2 slower and enough CO2 exists in the aquarium from fish waste, dying plant matter and the substrate itself.
HTH's a bit.
HTH's a bit.
DEEP BLUE SIX
New member
I support this entirely with the way your looking at it. You don't "really" need Co2. But A LOT of people go to it- especially when they "mix" plants it's more challenging. Higher light plants need it for the best success IMO. Especially if your experimenting with starting a diverse multi-level planted tank with carpets, background tall growing plants as well as lower light level plants which can be shaded some. But good point. Not everyone has to do that. But once you start, if it kicks off it's just like reefing in a way. You keep moving toward the next type of design. I've done plants with nothing special on the tank since the 70's. But those kind of tanks- just personally too me, are boring. I prefer a more diverse style to be employed like some of the Amanos.
Agreed 100%. I would add that if you want any high-light plants at all or all of your plants at peak health all of the time, then C02 is probably a good idea. But if you just want to grow some plants it is not required.
Also, lot of people dose Seachem Excel or generic version of it as a substitute for C02 and as a way of providing a carbon source plants can use to outcompete algae. It is probably worth looking into. I have no experience with it though.
der_wille_zur_macht
Team RC
ABC Reefs has a few nice planted tanks too, though. 
I used a turface product for substrate in all of my planted systems. It's basically the same stuff as the expensive fired-clay soils sold in the hobby, but it's sold as a product to amend the soil on sports fields. You can get it at Lesco and other similar places, about $6 for a GIGANTIC bag.
I've used CO2 on nearly every planted system I've had. Even if you don't want to dose nutrients, it gives higher plants an advantage over pest algae.
For lighting, I've typically "cheaped out." Most of my planted tanks have used VHO ballasts overdriving standard T12 lamps (from Home Depot, they're like $3 each). You kill the lamps a little faster than if you were to use "real" VHO (or T5 HO) but they're dirt dirt cheap, there are a billion colors available, and it's convenient since you can get them at any hardware store in the universe.
Get ready for an attitude change when it comes to lighting. A light system that a planted tank enthusiast would consider "very intense" would, to us reef keepers, look pretty pathetic.
I used a turface product for substrate in all of my planted systems. It's basically the same stuff as the expensive fired-clay soils sold in the hobby, but it's sold as a product to amend the soil on sports fields. You can get it at Lesco and other similar places, about $6 for a GIGANTIC bag.
I've used CO2 on nearly every planted system I've had. Even if you don't want to dose nutrients, it gives higher plants an advantage over pest algae.
For lighting, I've typically "cheaped out." Most of my planted tanks have used VHO ballasts overdriving standard T12 lamps (from Home Depot, they're like $3 each). You kill the lamps a little faster than if you were to use "real" VHO (or T5 HO) but they're dirt dirt cheap, there are a billion colors available, and it's convenient since you can get them at any hardware store in the universe.
Get ready for an attitude change when it comes to lighting. A light system that a planted tank enthusiast would consider "very intense" would, to us reef keepers, look pretty pathetic.