2x 48" Ray 2 DS...too much?

[l8nite]

Question: Will running 2x 48" Ray 2 DS on top of my tank be too much light?

My tank is 60"x18"x24" (24" deep, 18" front to back)
Height from the top of the tank to the substrate is 20.5"

I inject CO2 (well over 30ppm), and I do daily EI dosing KNO3, KH2PO4, and CSM+B.

The PAR chart for the Ray 2 (through air) is here:



(I would be switching from a 24" Finnex Ray2 DS on one side of the tank, and a 48" T5HO 2-bulb fixture across the center).

[dtang21]

Looks like you'll be in the high light camp. With 2 lights, you'll have areas where there will be overlap. That's good because the spread of a single fixture probably wouldn't cut it and hanging the light might not give you enough par at the lowest level of substrate. My friend has the ray 2 and it looks good but almost all of his plants grow in the same shade of green. If you are looking for contrasting colors, the ray 2 might not be the best choice.

[l8nite]

Interesting @ the shade of green thing. I had the Ray2DS 24" fixture on my 29G tank and hadn't really noticed that effect, though I'm still at the stage where if anything is growing, I'm pretty happy

[TexasCichlid]

Originally Posted by dtang21

My friend has the ray 2 and it looks good but almost all of his plants grow in the same shade of green. If you are looking for contrasting colors, the ray 2 might not be the best choice.

Huh?

If he wanted color contrast, perhaps he should have purchased plants that can be different colors under different conditions? My Ray 2 grows my two different green plants <gasp> TWO different shades of green. And, I know this is mind boggling, but I even have a RED plant in there?!

[seandelevan]

Well I have two 75's one has a 3 bulb Catalina fixture with 3 different color temps. And a Ray 2 on the other. Here are the pics and you can see the difference big time.

Ray2


T5


Maybe this is what he's talking about?

[TexasCichlid]

Visible color spectrum. Has nothing to do with what colors the plants actually grow. You can see two distinct greens in my tank.

[l8nite]

Nice tanks So no one thinks it'll be excessive light then?

I think I settled on what I want for my next tank... will be a 31st birthday + graduating from college present to myself in June

http://www.neptuneaquatics.com/suppl...ss-no-overflow

[dtang21]

Originally Posted by TexasCichlid

Huh?

If he wanted color contrast, perhaps he should have purchased plants that can be different colors under different conditions? My Ray 2 grows my two different green plants <gasp> TWO different shades of green. And, I know this is mind boggling, but I even have a RED plant in there?!

My buddy is growing blyxa, hc, l aromatica, and 3 varieties of rotalas (singapore, macandra green, and green). Believe it or not, they are all the same color. Inside the tank and out. He's got MTS as a substrate and doses EI + iron and the tank just grows in a "similar" shade of green. We share many of the same plants and the major difference between our tanks is the light. Inside and outside my tank, all of the plants have distinct contrasting colors. Looks like your mileage varies.

[l8nite]

I've had the lights on my tank for a few days now, so far plants are doing good - some BBA tried to stage a comeback, but I took the photo-period down.