[Slashrim]

G'day guys.

I have an 80 gal tall tank, and the plants die when they are planted at the bottom, but when they float nearer to the surface they grow really easily. This makes me think that my lighting is lacking. It is running these:

2 X 1400k 39 watt 220 volt 50 hz T5
1 X RED 39 watt 220 volt 50 hz T5

I am cosidering upgrading my lighting, and have searched for more information on lighting, but can't seem to get much understandable information than the "2 to 3 WPG" rule. Based on this, I am running at 1.465 W/G. Am I right in thinking this is a little under-powered? How can I go about improving my lighting?

Thanks Guys.

 

[Slashrim]

C'mon, does no-one have any suggestions?

 

[Solid]

I'm pretty new but imo this may be a little underpowered. How deep is your tank? You might just want to try switching your bulbs, I've never heard of 1400k or RED bulbs it seems to me those would be more for saltwater corals and stuff. I would try buying 2x6700k and 1x10000k bulbs and see if that helps.

 

[Hoppy]

What is the height of that 80 tall tank? The intensity of light depends entirely on the distance from the bulb/reflector to the point where you are measuring the light. Obviously the substrate level in the tank gets the lowest intensity, so the height of the tank is the critical dimension for lighting.

I agree with Solid about the light color temperatures. Is the 1400k light really 14,000K? If so, that is above the color temperature that is idea for planted tanks.

 

[topfrog007]

I agree with what solid has said.

Need more info as well: Do you have reflectors on your lights? How far are the lights off the water? Are you dosing? Are you using c02? What kind of plants did you try and grow?

The more we know the easier it is to help diagnose the problem.