[HungrySpleen]

i moved my lights up off the tank about 5"s lots darker in there now maybe cause they are off huh

seriously though high enough?

 

[Hoppy]

I don't remember the tank dimensions, the number of bulbs in the fixture, CO2 or not, etc. Sorry, combination of the busy season and senior moments.

 

[HungrySpleen]

I don't remember the tank dimensions, the number of bulbs in the fixture, CO2 or not, etc. Sorry, combination of the busy season and senior moments.

its a 40 gal breeder i believe
36" hagen 78watt GLO t5HO 2 bulb 6700k
lights up 5" now

only excel , nitrogen, potassium, and comprehensive until all of them are gone, until early febuary roughly, thats when ill get co2 from greenleaf aquariums ultimate co2 package, unless other is recommended

when these ferts are gone i got dry ferts (complete package from greenleaf) to EI dose 2wice a week sunday and thursday until i get co2 in early feb

 

[Hoppy]

A 40 gallon breeder tank is 16 inches high, so raising the fixture 5 inches raises the bulbs to about 21 inches from the substrate. Each bulb should give around 60 micromols of PAR at the substrate, and the two together about 120 micromols, which is high light intensity. Before raising the fixture you should have had about 160 micromols, which is very high light intensity, more than is needed. The light is now more uniform in the tank too, both front to back and top to bottom. That was a good move. Incidentally, the above numbers are only approximations, and are contingent on the light being turned on.:icon_smil

 

[HungrySpleen]

well my tank is 20" high by
36" wide by
12" front to back how does that change equation?

my next question, if you care to answer another is,

will this be okay enough to continue to use excel for a couple months until pressurized co2 or should i raise higher for now?

also could you help figure out how to find the PAR of lights i can try that myself?


id like to have high growth
with the lights on!!!

 

[Hoppy]

A 12 inch front to back depth makes it a lot easier to get uniform lighting over the substrate. And, a 20 inch high tank isn't going to be nearly as brightly lit as a 16 inch tank. I think you now have about 80 micromols of PAR, right at the top of moderate light level. Excel might be enough to avoid algae problems at that level.

I guess at the amount of PAR a light will produce using this:
http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/lighting/97622-par-data-selecting-t5ho-light.html
It seems to work better than trying to make "watts per gallon" mean something.

 

[HungrySpleen]

thanks alot its great info

thanks again
HunngrySpleen