# New HOT5 lighting for my 55 Gal =D



## joevw007 (Jul 6, 2011)

so I got a strip of 48 inch T5 lighting for my tank, 54 watts 2 bulbs approx 9720 Lumens to add to the fourescent lighting system I already had, and man did my tank get bright! my plants took off like crazy sprouting new roots and leaves every day. 


Before:









After:









this picture doesnt do justice to ho much brighter its gotten. well i just wanted to share my excitement with the forum haha.


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## Rob72 (Apr 2, 2011)

looks good, you should post before and after pics


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## joevw007 (Jul 6, 2011)

Rob72 said:


> looks good, you should post before and after pics


i did =/ the first one is before and the second one is after. I know its hard to tell because my camera auto corrected for the extra light. but you can kinda tell


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## Rob72 (Apr 2, 2011)

oh ok i looked again and you can see some difference looks god


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

So you have both fixtures on there now? I would say the lower one is not needed. Is the new light with 2 bulbs of 54W each? If it is 108W total, the may be a little on the high side for your tank. If you do not have CO2, you will not want to run it for more that 5-6hrs a day. Without CO2, eventually your plants will start to suffer or algae can become a problem.


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## joevw007 (Jul 6, 2011)

jrman83 said:


> So you have both fixtures on there now? I would say the lower one is not needed. Is the new light with 2 bulbs of 54W each? If it is 108W total, the may be a little on the high side for your tank. If you do not have CO2, you will not want to run it for more that 5-6hrs a day. Without CO2, eventually your plants will start to suffer or algae can become a problem.


I have an emperor 400 on 24 hrs a day and a 40 inch bubble wall that covers almost the whole back of my tank on 20 hrs a day. the aeration is at its max and the plants have seemed to thrive. i also have 6 corys, 2 bristlenoses, 5 chinese algae eaters, and 8 snails to clean that algae and they havent ever let a surface turn a bit brown or green and they love to clean the clear algae off the leaves =D. it seems to be doing super well and I watch the fish clean the plants all day long. Ive been leaving it on for about 10 - 12 hours a day. but if any algae starts to grow I will immediately take your advice and keep the other two off and shorten the time the lights are on.

how will the plants suffer may I ask? Ive seen constant growth since I got the lights but will something eventually happen to them? Im pretty new to this whole thing so any help is appreciated.


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## joevw007 (Jul 6, 2011)

Rob72 said:


> oh ok i looked again and you can see some difference looks god


thanks! =D it makes the plants look much more green


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

Aeration has little to do with anything regarding your light. There are two essential elements that plants need to grow - light and CO2. The higher the light the more the plant is driven to use CO2. If there is not enough CO2 present, then the plant is trying to grow at a rate that the light is driving it to, but the CO2 will not be adequate. What you're left with is a plant that suffers. Mostly will occur with fast growing plants. When the plant weakens from it, it will be consumed with algae. 

If you have only had this light for a short time, none of the ill effects of a high light may be showing yet. With that kind of lighting period (length) it's just a matter of time before some things show.


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## joevw007 (Jul 6, 2011)

jrman83 said:


> Aeration has little to do with anything regarding your light. There are two essential elements that plants need to grow - light and CO2. The higher the light the more the plant is driven to use CO2. If there is not enough CO2 present, then the plant is trying to grow at a rate that the light is driving it to, but the CO2 will not be adequate. What you're left with is a plant that suffers. Mostly will occur with fast growing plants. When the plant weakens from it, it will be consumed with algae.
> 
> If you have only had this light for a short time, none of the ill effects of a high light may be showing yet. With that kind of lighting period (length) it's just a matter of time before some things show.


So aerating the tank doesnt add CO2? 4% or so of the air we breathe is Co2 so shouldnt it enter the water through aeration?


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## majerah1 (Oct 29, 2010)

Aeration adds more oxygen to the water.the small amount of CO2 added from an air pump will not be enough for the plants.


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

joevw007 said:


> So aerating the tank doesnt add CO2? 4% or so of the air we breathe is Co2 so shouldnt it enter the water through aeration?


I answered this, but the site died again when I hit the submit button....what you are talking about will add CO2, but other things you are doing will defeat it. When your filter return crashes into the water it causes surface disturbance and this makes your CO2 gas out of your tank. Bubble walls do nothing but help push CO2 out of your tank as well. Some people running pressurized system actually use bubble bars to help rid the tank of CO2 when their light goes off.

What you are talking about are negligible differences anyway. You would never get to levels that will affect your plants one way or the other.


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## joevw007 (Jul 6, 2011)

jrman83 said:


> I answered this, but the site died again when I hit the submit button....what you are talking about will add CO2, but other things you are doing will defeat it. When your filter return crashes into the water it causes surface disturbance and this makes your CO2 gas out of your tank. Bubble walls do nothing but help push CO2 out of your tank as well. Some people running pressurized system actually use bubble bars to help rid the tank of CO2 when their light goes off.
> 
> What you are talking about are negligible differences anyway. You would never get to levels that will affect your plants one way or the other.


okay so theres 2 solutions to this. *** more CO2 or add less light correct?
see Im pretty good with physics and materials and from what I understand aeration works this way: it adds gasses to the water by making the water come in contact with more gaseous surfaces (by adding bubbles) and then all the gasses (co2, nitrogen, oxygen,.. etc) are added to the water. the fish deplete oxygen while releasing C02 into the water. and if there is no aeration the tank will become heavy with H20 molecules and not enough gasses for fish and plants. by using constant aeration I am constantly keeping the water moving and the percentages of gas constant in the water, hopefully meaning the plants never go without CO2 even though its a low conecntration, there should be plenty since there is so much fresh aerated water hitting their leaves constantly. and the percent CO2 in the water may only be 1%, but that 1% is being absorbed by plants and replenished by aeration and fish almost immediately. I may not have as high of a C02 molecule count as someone with a CO2 setup, but through constant aeration the same amount of CO2 molecules should be cycling through my tank, just not all at once like with a CO2 setup. Idk if this is correct but this is the way I looked at it and so far my plants have responded nicely. 

what im gonna do is keep the low lighting on all day and only turn the new t5 lighting on for about 3 hours a day or so just to give it a boost. I appreciate this plant help! you sure do know a lot! =D


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## joevw007 (Jul 6, 2011)

also, I always see my fish (corys, bristlenoses, chinese algae eaters, and snails) cleaning my leaves, will this help keep algae down on the leaves? visually I can see them scrape the clear algae off but maybe theres more i cant see that is effecting the plants. thanks!


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

Your time sharing method may work for you, as long as the higher light is getting less time. I don't believe your plants will do any different with or without the extra you are doing with aeration. Like I said, the amount of CO2 will be very low. You may want to look at a DIY CO2. Although your tank is a little large for it, the concentrations of CO2 will be dramatically higher than naturally through aeration.


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## joevw007 (Jul 6, 2011)

jrman83 said:


> Your time sharing method may work for you, as long as the higher light is getting less time. I don't believe your plants will do any different with or without the extra you are doing with aeration. Like I said, the amount of CO2 will be very low. You may want to look at a DIY CO2. Although your tank is a little large for it, the concentrations of CO2 will be dramatically higher than naturally through aeration.


how much $$ would be involved for a tank my size?


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

A DIY can be about $20. Pressurized around $150.


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## joevw007 (Jul 6, 2011)

jrman83 said:


> A DIY can be about $20. Pressurized around $150.


im a DIY kinda guy then =D


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## FishFlow (Sep 13, 2011)

Search these key words. DIY CO2 reactor and DIY CO2 diffuser.

I have found, while the diy is alot cheaper, it's also alot more maintenance. My reactor bottle needs to be changed out 2x a week. While a pressurized system with 5lb bottle may last me on my small tank a month or two. I still don't think my 29g tank is getting enough co2.


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## joevw007 (Jul 6, 2011)

now running a CO2 system =)))) all smiles haha. made it myself too! post pics in about 20 min


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## joevw007 (Jul 6, 2011)




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## joevw007 (Jul 6, 2011)

now my fish are gasping for air.... what should I do?


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

FishFlow said:


> Search these key words. DIY CO2 reactor and DIY CO2 diffuser.
> 
> I have found, while the diy is alot cheaper, it's also alot more maintenance. My reactor bottle needs to be changed out 2x a week. While a pressurized system with 5lb bottle may last me on my small tank a month or two. I still don't think my 29g tank is getting enough co2.


Sounds like you've done something wrong. A bottle shold last around 3 weeks, unless your bottles are just very small.


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## majerah1 (Oct 29, 2010)

You probably have it a bit strong.At night you should add an airstone.You need a drop checker.


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## joevw007 (Jul 6, 2011)

majerah1 said:


> You probably have it a bit strong.At night you should add an airstone.You need a drop checker.


yea i have a 40 inch bubble wall timed to come on at night. but will they be ok until night time? filter runs 24/7 (emperor 400 filter)

whats a drop checker?


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## FishFlow (Sep 13, 2011)

I know too much CO2 can displace enough Oxygen that the fish can start gasping for air. This isn't good. I'm not an expert, but i'd pull the co2 until someone with more experience chimes in.


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## joevw007 (Jul 6, 2011)

FishFlow said:


> I know too much CO2 can displace enough Oxygen that the fish can start gasping for air. This isn't good. I'm not an expert, but i'd pull the co2 until someone with more experience chimes in.


its all under control now, the fish were swimming into the new bubbles to check them out, then swimming to the top for air. they finally figured out to stay away from the bubbles and to go near the filter for oxygen. seems to be doing well and the bubble wall is on now so there is plenty of air for the fish. thanks for the help fellas.


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