Reytube Posted December 17, 2012 Report Share Posted December 17, 2012 I want to start a heavy planted aquarium with Capacity: 500 L (130 U.S. gal) Aquarium Dimensions (W x D x H): 150 x 58 x 65 cm (60 x 22.8 x 25.5 in) I have currently 4x t5ho bulbs 54-watt. I have 2 bright white and 2 blue. It was like this when i bought the tank. Do u think should i make it 4 bright day light or should i leave the way it is. Im just afraid it will be too much light. Thanks guys. And im worried hc plants will not survive if light is not enough. What do u think? Thanks guys Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jvision Posted December 17, 2012 Report Share Posted December 17, 2012 My 120 currently has 3x 54w T5HO - 2 white and one blue (10,000K not actinic) and is growing plants nicely. When I had this in full bore I had 5 bulbs and was growing anything I wanted and lots of it! My bulbs are currently 4" above the surface, but will me upgrading to 2 (or 3)x 12W LEDs plus 2 of the T5HOs (just for color) and raising the bulbs at least another 2". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meeiu Posted December 17, 2012 Report Share Posted December 17, 2012 From my experience, HC does not require that much light. I have a small 10 gallon HC carpet tank which get light from a single 24w T5HO. In my opinion, you have way more than enough light for your tank. Light should be the limiting factor in any aquarium system. You need to make sure you keep your CO2 levels up. I had this happen to me as my CO2 levels were not high enough and my HC began to brown up. Also, make sure your photo-period fits the personality of your tank. Some people have their lights on for 10 hours and their HC is thriving. Some have it for 8, 6, etc. If you check my journal at the link in my signature, I think I personally started out my tank at 8 hours and found this was too much. Then moved to 6 and then finally skimped out to 5 hours a day. My carpet is lush, thick, and green. No CO2 just Excel. No rigorous EI dosing plan. Just 6 hours of light, 24w T5HO on a 45cm long tank, for 5 hours a day. Finally, what color temperature are your 2 bright white lights? Again, this is personal preference but has worked out for me in the past, I would not go over anything over 10,000k. In fact, I would stick to 6,400K-6,700K. I have found this to be the range that has given me the best growth. I would also replace the 2 blues with something in that range. Hopefully that helps and again, nothing about growing plants is set in stone. Everybody's tank is different, and there are too many factors that differ from tank to tank. It important to find out what your tank likes and dislikes. Cheers! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reytube Posted December 17, 2012 Author Report Share Posted December 17, 2012 Thank you guys. That gives me a lot of ideas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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