aqurium lighting for a 10 gallon planted tank

gillman · 01-05-2013, 11:44 AM

I am wondering on what type of lighting I should have on my 10 gallon planted tank. I do not know alot about planted aquriums but I am trying to learn more any information on lighting and on planted aquriums such as matnice will be apreciated.

Fuzz · 01-08-2013, 09:43 PM

co2? ferts? substrate? what plants are you trying to grow?

we need more than "what kind of lights should i get"

TankdreamerJim · 01-08-2013, 11:37 PM

I would go with a LED light that is for growing plants. It will be a little more expensive but worth it. I wish I could get one but I won't buy one until my old light dies out!

Fuzz · 01-09-2013, 08:42 PM

Originally Posted by TankdreamerJim

I would go with a LED light that is for growing plants. It will be a little more expensive but worth it. I wish I could get one but I won't buy one until my old light dies out!

be prepared to spend over 500 dollars, then...even those "reef capable" marineland LED's that cost a lot only put out medium PAR. For that much money, you can buy two dual-T5HO fixtures, which will put you in the high, very high, and "too high" range.

they do last a long time and they do save on energy, but you need to spend big bucks to get LED's that can compare to T5HO's

they are only 24", so you'd need 2 of them for a 55 gallon or 3 of them for a 6-foot tank.

You can get away with those Marineland LED's, but keep in mind that Marineland isn't a high end brand. Their products aren't all that spectacular compared to some of the others. Same goes for Fluval and every other brand you see at fish stores. The good stuff comes from the internet(unless you live close to some kind of crazy plant store that carries better stuff, like ADA

not trying to be a jerk or anything, just giving my opinion