Too much light for moderately planted 5.5 gal?

eisBear · 11-22-2012, 04:12 AM

I was keeping some stem plants in a 5.5 gallon with a 15w 18" t8 GE 'plant and aquarium' light which was 3500k. The plants did OK without much in the way of fertilization. The substrate has always been eco-complete.

Today, I put some rock and fake wood in there and arranged the plants. I also 'upgraded' to one of those clip-on droplights with a metal round hood. I hung that above the tank with an 18w CFL bulb (spiral type) that's a 5000k (it says it is the equivalent to an '80' watt incandescent).

Is this too much light for this tank? I plan to dose excel but no Co2 and I have all of the ferts from my main tank to use if I need them. I have some stem plants and some cryptosomethings in there. I know there is wisteria, camboba and a couple of other types, rotala maybe. I'll try to post a pic when I get my phone back from the office (which I just realized I left it there).

Should I maybe raise the height of light to reduce the intensity on the plants, if so, could I even go like 2 feet? I may want to try to put some lucky bamboo in the filter box, maybe I could use the light for the bamboo as well? Get a different bulb? which one?

Thanks in advance for any help!

best,

eric

eisBear · 11-22-2012, 05:11 AM

Here's a pic (sorry that its sideways). That might help. Thanks!

best,

eric

vnghost · 11-22-2012, 06:11 PM

That light is fine. I had the same setup and dosed excel. Very fast growth. But when I stopped the excel algae took over. So keep up the excel and you'll see good growth

11-22-2012, 04:12 AM	#1
eisBear Algae Grower (View User Tanks) PTrader: (0/0%) Join Date: Nov 2012 Location: Broomfield, CO, U.S.A. Posts: 11	Too much light for moderately planted 5.5 gal? I was keeping some stem plants in a 5.5 gallon with a 15w 18" t8 GE 'plant and aquarium' light which was 3500k. The plants did OK without much in the way of fertilization. The substrate has always been eco-complete. Today, I put some rock and fake wood in there and arranged the plants. I also 'upgraded' to one of those clip-on droplights with a metal round hood. I hung that above the tank with an 18w CFL bulb (spiral type) that's a 5000k (it says it is the equivalent to an '80' watt incandescent). Is this too much light for this tank? I plan to dose excel but no Co2 and I have all of the ferts from my main tank to use if I need them. I have some stem plants and some cryptosomethings in there. I know there is wisteria, camboba and a couple of other types, rotala maybe. I'll try to post a pic when I get my phone back from the office (which I just realized I left it there). Should I maybe raise the height of light to reduce the intensity on the plants, if so, could I even go like 2 feet? I may want to try to put some lucky bamboo in the filter box, maybe I could use the light for the bamboo as well? Get a different bulb? which one? Thanks in advance for any help! best, eric Last edited by eisBear; 11-22-2012 at 04:23 AM.. Reason: adding extra info about plants

11-22-2012, 05:11 AM	#2
eisBear Algae Grower (View User Tanks) PTrader: (0/0%) Join Date: Nov 2012 Location: Broomfield, CO, U.S.A. Posts: 11	Here's a pic (sorry that its sideways). That might help. Thanks! best, eric Attached Thumbnails

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11-22-2012, 06:11 PM	#3
vnghost Planted Member (View User Tanks) PTrader: (6/100%) Join Date: Sep 2012 Location: Los Angeles Posts: 216	That light is fine. I had the same setup and dosed excel. Very fast growth. But when I stopped the excel algae took over. So keep up the excel and you'll see good growth