# Lighting for my aquarium



## ccm290 (Sep 16, 2012)

I have a 24" Marineland floresent bulb (specifics are here: Lighting-Gallery-net - Fluorescent Lamps/MARINELAND F18T8), and I was wandering if this lighting is enough for my plants.

I have:
Aponogeton
Dwarf Lilly
Banana Plants
Hornwort
Dracaena Green Sandy
Onion Plants

Thanks


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## Gizmo (Dec 6, 2010)

I'm assuming the 24" T8 fixture is for the 30 gallon?

If so, I'm afraid your plants aren't going to do very well 

Also, some (the Dracaena, in particular), are not familiar to me and may not be aquatic plants. I know the apogenaton, dwarf lily and hornwart are, but you might want to research the other three. Where did you buy them from?


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## ccm290 (Sep 16, 2012)

I'm sorry about not replying to the thread earlier. I have been busy with school. I have researched, and I found this bulb:

Shop GE 20-Watt T12 2-ft Daylight (6500K) Fluorescent Light Bulb at Lowes.com

Will this work? If not can someone make a suggestion on what lighting would be ideal for my aquarium?


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## Gizmo (Dec 6, 2010)

It won't work, IMO. You should look into T5NO or better yet, T5HO for your tank.


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## ccm290 (Sep 16, 2012)

So should I consider the kelvin rating when I am shopping for a light? If so, what do I need to look for in terms of kelvin?

I looked on Lowe's for T5 HO lights but I found only ones with low kelvin rating.

Thanks.


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## Gizmo (Dec 6, 2010)

10,000K to 6,700K is what I'd advise.


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## ccm290 (Sep 16, 2012)

Would something like this work?

Coralife (Energy Savers) Cl 6700K T5ho Bulb 6700K Flo T5ho Daylight Bulb 24' 24W Light Bulbs - Pets - Shopping.com


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## Gizmo (Dec 6, 2010)

I've used that very fixture before. It's a good one


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## ccm290 (Sep 16, 2012)

Ok, so I went to PetsMart to see if they had the light I needed. I found one, this: 

Aqueon® T5 Fluorescent 6.7K Lamp - Lighting & Hoods - Fish - PetSmart

But the problem now is it won't fit my hood. So I'm assuming the T5's need a special hood to run.

Will any T8 bulbs be enough for my plants?

I also found this Corallife T8 bulb:

Coralife 10,000K High-Intensity Purified Super Daylight Lamps at PETCO

Thanks.


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## Gizmo (Dec 6, 2010)

T8's will grow low-light plants, but they won't be very effective. The T5HO fixtures aren't designed to work with hoods - you'll either need to go open-top tank and perch the T5HO on the sides, or get an all-glass Versa-Top (from PetsMart or PetCo) to cover the tank and the T5HO will perch on the edges again because the Versa-Top is very low-profile compared to a full hood.


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## ccm290 (Sep 16, 2012)

Ok. Thanks for all the information. Now it's time to decide what to do. I didn't want to get another hood, but it looks like I may have to anyway in order to get good plant growth.

Do you know any descent fixtures that will work, and are low cost?


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## Raymond S. (Jan 11, 2013)

If that 30 is the tall one a 6500K may be a bit weak. The Coral 6700K should be ok as long as you don't have any plants that are listed as high light type.
A 10,000K will work in the tall tank as some of the light is cut by the depth. I recently read that one person said he had tried both and got better plant
growth from the 6700K but in a more conventional heigth tank.


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