# confused on lighting



## geo20 (Dec 13, 2007)

okay i have java mosses and ferns in my 55 gal. and i also have a sword i just put in. the bulbs are 18" and they say F15 T8. and i gues the wattage is 27 per light? so thats almost one watt per gallon. is this fine for those plants i have in there? thanks
G

also how long do the lights need to be on?


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## ZOSICK (May 25, 2005)

geo20 said:


> okay i have java mosses and ferns in my 55 gal. and i also have a sword i just put in. the bulbs are 18" and they say F15 T8. and i gues the wattage is 27 per light? so thats almost one watt per gallon. is this fine for those plants i have in there? thanks
> G


watts is some what inconsequential when your talking about light output, a better indication would be lumen's.

the kelvin range should be between 6,500 and 10,000.


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## geo20 (Dec 13, 2007)

06 C6 LS2 said:


> okay i have java mosses and ferns in my 55 gal. and i also have a sword i just put in. the bulbs are 18" and they say F15 T8. and i gues the wattage is 27 per light? so thats almost one watt per gallon. is this fine for those plants i have in there? thanks
> G


watts is some what inconsequential when your talking about light output, a better indication would be lumen's.

the kelvin range should be between 6,500 and 10,000.
[/quote]
it doesnt say that anywere?


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## ZOSICK (May 25, 2005)

geo20 said:


> okay i have java mosses and ferns in my 55 gal. and i also have a sword i just put in. the bulbs are 18" and they say F15 T8. and i gues the wattage is 27 per light? so thats almost one watt per gallon. is this fine for those plants i have in there? thanks
> G


watts is some what inconsequential when your talking about light output, a better indication would be lumen's.

the kelvin range should be between 6,500 and 10,000.
[/quote]
it doesnt say that anywere?
[/quote]

what the k range or the lumen out put?


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## geo20 (Dec 13, 2007)

06 C6 LS2 said:


> okay i have java mosses and ferns in my 55 gal. and i also have a sword i just put in. the bulbs are 18" and they say F15 T8. and i gues the wattage is 27 per light? so thats almost one watt per gallon. is this fine for those plants i have in there? thanks
> G


watts is some what inconsequential when your talking about light output, a better indication would be lumen's.

the kelvin range should be between 6,500 and 10,000.
[/quote]
it doesnt say that anywere?
[/quote]

what the k range or the lumen out put?
[/quote]
the only thing i see is 27B


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## ZOSICK (May 25, 2005)

geo20 said:


> okay i have java mosses and ferns in my 55 gal. and i also have a sword i just put in. the bulbs are 18" and they say F15 T8. and i gues the wattage is 27 per light? so thats almost one watt per gallon. is this fine for those plants i have in there? thanks
> G


watts is some what inconsequential when your talking about light output, a better indication would be lumen's.

the kelvin range should be between 6,500 and 10,000.
[/quote]
it doesnt say that anywere?
[/quote]

what the k range or the lumen out put?
[/quote]
the only thing i see is 27B
[/quote]

sounds like a manufacturer code.

do you know the manufacturer of the bulb or bulbs.


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## geo20 (Dec 13, 2007)

06 C6 LS2 said:


> okay i have java mosses and ferns in my 55 gal. and i also have a sword i just put in. the bulbs are 18" and they say F15 T8. and i gues the wattage is 27 per light? so thats almost one watt per gallon. is this fine for those plants i have in there? thanks
> G


watts is some what inconsequential when your talking about light output, a better indication would be lumen's.

the kelvin range should be between 6,500 and 10,000.
[/quote]
it doesnt say that anywere?
[/quote]

what the k range or the lumen out put?
[/quote]
the only thing i see is 27B
[/quote]

sounds like a manufacturer code.

do you know the manufacturer of the bulb or bulbs.
[/quote]
Eclipse


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## ZOSICK (May 25, 2005)

well I don't have any experience with eclipse nor have I heard of a bulb manufacturer named eclipse I do know they make hoods but I would assume they don't manufacture there own bulbs(outsourced).

good luck with your search for information on these bulbs.


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## Piranha Guru (Nov 24, 2005)

geo20 said:


> okay i have java mosses and ferns in my 55 gal. and i also have a sword i just put in. the bulbs are 18" and they say F15 T8. and i gues the wattage is 27 per light? so thats almost one watt per gallon. is this fine for those plants i have in there? thanks
> G
> 
> also how long do the lights need to be on?


27w is high for an 18" T8...Eclipse bulbs are 15w at the 18" length.

You would need 4 18" bulbs to get just over 1w per gallon, and that isn't a lot of lumens. Your java moss and java fern would be okay at 1wpg, but right now you have just over 1/2w per gallon.


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## geo20 (Dec 13, 2007)

BioTeAcH said:


> okay i have java mosses and ferns in my 55 gal. and i also have a sword i just put in. the bulbs are 18" and they say F15 T8. and i gues the wattage is 27 per light? so thats almost one watt per gallon. is this fine for those plants i have in there? thanks
> G
> 
> also how long do the lights need to be on?


27w is high for an 18" T8...Eclipse bulbs are 15w at the 18" length.

You would need 4 18" bulbs to get just over 1w per gallon, and that isn't a lot of lumens. Your java moss and java fern would be okay at 1wpg, but right now you have just over 1/2w per gallon.
[/quote]
oh thanks alot for that. i thought java do good in any kind of light really? and is the sword gunna be okay?


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## Piranha Guru (Nov 24, 2005)

geo20 said:


> okay i have java mosses and ferns in my 55 gal. and i also have a sword i just put in. the bulbs are 18" and they say F15 T8. and i gues the wattage is 27 per light? so thats almost one watt per gallon. is this fine for those plants i have in there? thanks
> G
> 
> also how long do the lights need to be on?


27w is high for an 18" T8...Eclipse bulbs are 15w at the 18" length.

You would need 4 18" bulbs to get just over 1w per gallon, and that isn't a lot of lumens. Your java moss and java fern would be okay at 1wpg, but right now you have just over 1/2w per gallon.
[/quote]
oh thanks alot for that. i thought java do good in any kind of light really? and is the sword gunna be okay?
[/quote]

Java will survive in 1/2wpg, but they won't do good. I don't think the sword will make it...even 1wpg of normal fluorescent lighting for a sword is pushing it.


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## pirayaman (Nov 3, 2007)

hey geo im pushing it i had less than 1 watt per gallon and the swords did just fine didnt grow at all but seemed to maintain themselves your other plants are fine

what kinda ferts are you using even though at that kinda wpg you would be fine without them


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## geo20 (Dec 13, 2007)

pirayaman said:


> hey geo im pushing it i had less than 1 watt per gallon and the swords did just fine didnt grow at all but seemed to maintain themselves your other plants are fine
> 
> what kinda ferts are you using even though at that kinda wpg you would be fine without them


yea im not using any ferts. this is my first attemt at a planted. maknwar sent me some plants that are going well(see my pics a couple posts down) and my java moss has been in the tank for about a week and its bright green and seems to be gwrowing around the wood.


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## pirayaman (Nov 3, 2007)

geo20 said:


> hey geo im pushing it i had less than 1 watt per gallon and the swords did just fine didnt grow at all but seemed to maintain themselves your other plants are fine
> 
> what kinda ferts are you using even though at that kinda wpg you would be fine without them


yea im not using any ferts. this is my first attemt at a planted. maknwar sent me some plants that are going well(see my pics a couple posts down) and my java moss has been in the tank for about a week and its bright green and seems to be gwrowing around the wood.
[/quote]

sounds god to me many people have many different experinces with many different plants so jsut watch your plants carefully so you know when they need something or dont

i would deff go for more wpg though it will help your plants grow better


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## geo20 (Dec 13, 2007)

pirayaman said:


> hey geo im pushing it i had less than 1 watt per gallon and the swords did just fine didnt grow at all but seemed to maintain themselves your other plants are fine
> 
> what kinda ferts are you using even though at that kinda wpg you would be fine without them


yea im not using any ferts. this is my first attemt at a planted. maknwar sent me some plants that are going well(see my pics a couple posts down) and my java moss has been in the tank for about a week and its bright green and seems to be gwrowing around the wood.
[/quote]

sounds god to me many people have many different experinces with many different plants so jsut watch your plants carefully so you know when they need something or dont

i would deff go for more wpg though it will help your plants grow better
[/quote]
how can i do that? buy diff flourecent lights?


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## JoeDizzleMPLS (Nov 5, 2007)

yeah, you'll need to either buy another fixture to replace the one you have or to add to it. there are alot of pretty cheap fixtures out there depending on what your goals for the tank are.


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## geo20 (Dec 13, 2007)

well one of my hoods broke today so im going to buy glass tops. wich means i can get a light fixture thats good for my tank. what should i get?


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## JoeDizzleMPLS (Nov 5, 2007)

that really depends on how much you wanna spend and how much light you want, you can go with t5s, power compacts, even metal halides. i would probably buy them online, when i've gotten lights off the internet even after shipping, my lights were still about half the price i would have paid in a store.


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## geo20 (Dec 13, 2007)

joedizzlempls said:


> that really depends on how much you wanna spend and how much light you want, you can go with t5s, power compacts, even metal halides. i would probably buy them online, when i've gotten lights off the internet even after shipping, my lights were still about half the price i would have paid in a store.


so i can just buy the bulbs that are 18" right? i dont have to get a whole new light cover?


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## JoeDizzleMPLS (Nov 5, 2007)

geo20 said:


> that really depends on how much you wanna spend and how much light you want, you can go with t5s, power compacts, even metal halides. i would probably buy them online, when i've gotten lights off the internet even after shipping, my lights were still about half the price i would have paid in a store.


so i can just buy the bulbs that are 18" right? i dont have to get a whole new light cover?
[/quote]
no, if you want more wattage, you're gonna have either add another fixture on top or ditch the ones you have and buy a whole new fixture, i'd probably go with the latter. new bulbs will still be rated for your fixture so there won't be an improvement on wattage.


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## ZOSICK (May 25, 2005)

if your in the market for new lights check out the hegan glo t-5 HO's excellent fixture all around but not necessarily cheap.

another one of my favorites are the Nova Extreme t-5 HO not nearly as nice as the glo system but is about half the cost.


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## geo20 (Dec 13, 2007)

joedizzlempls said:


> that really depends on how much you wanna spend and how much light you want, you can go with t5s, power compacts, even metal halides. i would probably buy them online, when i've gotten lights off the internet even after shipping, my lights were still about half the price i would have paid in a store.


so i can just buy the bulbs that are 18" right? i dont have to get a whole new light cover?
[/quote]
no, if you want more wattage, you're gonna have either add another fixture on top or ditch the ones you have and buy a whole new fixture, i'd probably go with the latter. new bulbs will still be rated for your fixture so there won't be an improvement on wattage.
[/quote]
i have a community 90 gallon in my basement. and its one long light fixture on top. what if i used that?


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## JoeDizzleMPLS (Nov 5, 2007)

is it a single 48" 40 watt bulb?


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## geo20 (Dec 13, 2007)

joedizzlempls said:


> is it a single 48" 40 watt bulb?


yes but it holds two 48" bulbs


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## JoeDizzleMPLS (Nov 5, 2007)

ok, so that would be 80 watts on a 55 gallon, that would break down to about 1.45 watts per gallon, that would definitely open up more possibilities


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## geo20 (Dec 13, 2007)

joedizzlempls said:


> ok, so that would be 80 watts on a 55 gallon, that would break down to about 1.45 watts per gallon, that would definitely open up more possibilities


but wouldnt i need co2 with that much ligght? and ferts?


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## Piranha Guru (Nov 24, 2005)

geo20 said:


> ok, so that would be 80 watts on a 55 gallon, that would break down to about 1.45 watts per gallon, that would definitely open up more possibilities


but wouldnt i need co2 with that much ligght? and ferts?
[/quote]

You wouldn't have to...I'd use Fluorish Excel as your carbon source and at least Fluorish Comprehensive if it were me though.


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## JoeDizzleMPLS (Nov 5, 2007)

i have about 1.5 watts per gallon on my tank and i just use flourish and flourish excel


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## maknwar (Jul 16, 2007)

I think geo is hooked now.

I use 2 48" home depot shop lights. Cost me $9 each.


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## geo20 (Dec 13, 2007)

maknwar said:


> I think geo is hooked now.
> 
> I use 2 48" home depot shop lights. Cost me $9 each.


haha yea i think so.
were can i buy that flourish stuff


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## JoeDizzleMPLS (Nov 5, 2007)

your lfs should definitely have it, but if not, you can order huge jugs of the stuff from bigalsonline.com or drsfostersmith.com


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## geo20 (Dec 13, 2007)

joedizzlempls said:


> your lfs should definitely have it, but if not, you can order huge jugs of the stuff from bigalsonline.com or drsfostersmith.com


how does that stuff work. do i just add it after water changes? anything i have to change about my tank?


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## JoeDizzleMPLS (Nov 5, 2007)

the flourish excel will be your carbon source, i have an eheim liquidoser that doses automatically everday so i don't have to deal with it, and then i dose even more after a water change. the flourish is your ferts and you can dose that once or twice a week, i dose right after a water change and then a few days later.


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