Best lighting for a 55g

[sparkiesford]

I just have standard lighting on my 55g, I have several plants, but they aren't doing the best. They aren't dieing, but just not flourishing. The main one that keeps browning is the amazon sword. It is a sand substrate so I know there is very little nutrients in it. When I do a water change(once a week) I add these little fertilizer pellets that go in the sand, but they don't seem to do much. What is a better fert then these? And obviously there is a lot of choices on lighting, but what is the most economical? And how many wpg would be ideal? I would like to add more plants and eventually change the substrate. But the lighting is just so expensive.
Thanks

[Damon]

Start with 2x55 pc or 2x54 T5 lighting. Adding CO2 will be helpful also.

[MyraVan]

I use 2 x 39W T5 HO on my 58g. I don't use CO2 or ferts, but my substrate has 1" of soil in it, so that provides plenty of nutrients for the plants. I have a few different types of swords and they are doing fine. Not growing like weeds, but steadily growing and looking nicely green.

T5 HOs are the most energy efficient aquarium lighting that I know of, providing the most light per watt, so in that sense they are the most evironmentally friendly lights you can buy. They aren't that cheap over here, though.

Damon, do you know of any aquarium lighting that is even more efficient?

[sparkiesford]

I want to buy some new lighting, but I don't want to spend more then $100 if possible. That is my main dilemma. I am on a budget because my wife and I are expecting our first baby in November.

[Damon]

T5 are the most efficient that I know of (though I'm sure new technology is out there or coming). I can get a 4 ft t5 HO strip for about $34.00 here in Ohio. 2 would run less than 80. I dont think you're going to get much cheaper than that unless its used.

[JustOneMore20]

Whether you have a 4ft strip light or 2 24" hoods, I think either way you can retrofit a 2x55w kit from http://www.ahsupply.com into them. The 2x55w kits are about $65 plus shipping. You'd have to follow the diagrams and do it yourself, but I've heard its not that difficult. You will have to take the "guts" out of your current strip/hoods (ballast, reflector, etc...) and replace with the CF kit. Thats probably the cheapest you are going to get, but there is some work involved.

I'm a big fan of Coralife fixtures. Hellolights.com is a good place to buy them and usually has the best prices. They have a 4ft 2x65w fixture for $125 plus tax, which is over your stated price range. Its my experience that Coralife fixtures last years and they are reliable. It would be a good investment IMO and would allow you to grow alot more plants then you can now.

HTH!

[Damon]

Originally Posted by JustOneMore20

Whether you have a 4ft strip light or 2 24" hoods, I think either way you can retrofit a 2x55w kit from http://www.ahsupply.com into them. The 2x55w kits are about $65 plus shipping.

Thats without bulbs. Expect another $25.00 per bulb in that equation.

[KiltyONeal]

If you're on a budget, you may consider just using 4ft T12/T8 shop light fixtures. I use two of these fixtures for my 75g. I found some nice flat ones at either Lowes or Home Depot. I got the bulbs there too. I use a combination of the full spectrum (2) and plant growth (2) bulbs. Definitely less than $100 for everything.

This has worked great for me. I added DIY CO2 and now I kick back and watch the plants grow!

http://s24.photobucket.com/albums/c3...lantGrowth.swf

[sparkiesford]

Wow thanks for all the options guys. i really do appreciate it.

[JustOneMore20]

Originally Posted by Damon

Thats without bulbs. Expect another $25.00 per bulb in that equation.

Ahh...thanks Damon. Forgot about bulbs.

[guppyart]

I second kilty,, I used a single pair of T12s above my tank and it did perfectly fine,, I just upgraded to a 4 bulb system.
no need for to pay extra for good plant growth if you don't need to

[davedudeman]

I don't wanna freak you out but we both happen to live in the same town. WEIRD.

[Dr_House]

sparkiesford - Congratulations on the upcoming bundle of joy! It looks like you're pretty well covered with lighting options here. In regard to just how much you need, it really depends on what type of plants you want to grow. Plants such as anubias, cryptocorynes, java fern and java moss will all do well without intense lighting, though any plant will grow more with more light. I've even found my amazon swords do well in my 40 gallon aquarium, which is running on standard lighting.

The light that comes with the tank is usually between .5 and 1 watt per gallon. If you want to grow a wider variety of plants, you'll want to be in the 2+ watts per gallon range.

You may also want to look into dosing with something like Flourish (manufactured by Seachem) to aid in growth. As I mentioned, I have amazon swords in my 40 gallon with about .5 watts per gallon and they are doing well. The only thing I add is Flourish and I tend to overfeed my fish a bit (not recommending that) which will make more "nutritents" for the plants as well.

[musho3210]

the most efficiant are LED's, im pretty sure MH are more efficient than some fluorescents but i dont think they are more efficient than T5's.

[SBDTHUR]

Can you please not bring old threads alive again?