Debating on lighting for a 40 breeder - thoughts? advice?

chibikaie · 10-14-2012, 11:59 PM

My goldfish tank is too low on light, I think. I started fertilizing with more than just potassium and iron, and suddenly I've got green algae everywhere that resurges mightily 36 hours after scraping it off the tank walls. I've stuck in some faster-growing plants and am going back to lighter dosing until I get things under control, but I think that the root of the problem is Utterly Lousy Light. I've been using a 12W LED grow light (twelve 1W blue and red LEDs, screws into a regular clamp fixture) which did very nicely for the Java ferns and Java moss, but doesn't seem to provide enough for the hornwort, elodea, or the crypts (which probably also need to be repotted with root tabs, but that's another story).

I'd prefer to go LED or at the very least, lower wattage on the fixture. I'm ping-ponging between getting a Finnex Fugeray, or a Ray II, or getting the 12" Fugeray with refugium, or getting more clamp fixtures and pointing two 23W spiral compact fluorescents at the tank. I don't want the light to be so high that I need to go high tech to keep up with it, but I do want to be able to grow floaters faster than my fish will eat them. She has a tendency to lull me into complacency, letting me believe that she will leave the plants alone, and then I turn around and find a whole bunch of denuded stems. She's kind of a brat that way.

The tank is 36" x 18" x 18". Any thoughts on what would work?

starquestMM · 10-16-2012, 02:42 AM

I really wanted to go led, but ended up with a dual T5HO fixture from [Ebay Link Removed] It might not be the best, but $50 shipped is hard to argue with.

I might add a second fixture of some type for off peak lighting.

10-14-2012, 11:59 PM	#1
chibikaie Planted Tank Enthusiast (View User Tanks) PTrader: (6/100%) Join Date: Aug 2012 Location: Connecticut Posts: 509	Debating on lighting for a 40 breeder - thoughts? advice? My goldfish tank is too low on light, I think. I started fertilizing with more than just potassium and iron, and suddenly I've got green algae everywhere that resurges mightily 36 hours after scraping it off the tank walls. I've stuck in some faster-growing plants and am going back to lighter dosing until I get things under control, but I think that the root of the problem is Utterly Lousy Light. I've been using a 12W LED grow light (twelve 1W blue and red LEDs, screws into a regular clamp fixture) which did very nicely for the Java ferns and Java moss, but doesn't seem to provide enough for the hornwort, elodea, or the crypts (which probably also need to be repotted with root tabs, but that's another story). I'd prefer to go LED or at the very least, lower wattage on the fixture. I'm ping-ponging between getting a Finnex Fugeray, or a Ray II, or getting the 12" Fugeray with refugium, or getting more clamp fixtures and pointing two 23W spiral compact fluorescents at the tank. I don't want the light to be so high that I need to go high tech to keep up with it, but I do want to be able to grow floaters faster than my fish will eat them. She has a tendency to lull me into complacency, letting me believe that she will leave the plants alone, and then I turn around and find a whole bunch of denuded stems. She's kind of a brat that way. The tank is 36" x 18" x 18". Any thoughts on what would work?

Thread Tools
Show Printable Version Email this Page
Display Modes
Linear Mode Switch to Hybrid Mode Switch to Threaded Mode

10-16-2012, 02:42 AM	#2
starquestMM Algae Grower (View User Tanks) PTrader: (0/0%) Join Date: Aug 2012 Location: Missouri Posts: 80	I really wanted to go led, but ended up with a dual T5HO fixture from [Ebay Link Removed] It might not be the best, but $50 shipped is hard to argue with. I might add a second fixture of some type for off peak lighting.