Quick question!

[curefan]

Im getting a new 5ftx2x2 tank (approx 560L, i think).
Would 4 T5's (54W each) be sufficient to have carpet plants such as Cuba (will be using co2)?
....or would 6 be more realistic.....how many watts per liter would you need?

Cheers, Dave.

 

[mintsauce]

Like the user name... They were great in the Albert Hall a couple of weeks back

 

[curefan]

yeah, i flew in from Dublin to see them....great show......but now back to my qusetion

 

[foxfish]

Four will be more than enough.

 

[curefan]

4 T5's would be .38W/L

From another site.....

.3 to .5 is low light
.5 to .8 is medium light
and ove .8 is high light

...So that suggests that 4 T5's might not be enough for me?

 

[danmil3s]

Once you get over a certain volume the wot role doesn't work I had 4 full lengths over my 7 foot was more than enough light.

 

[gmartins]

IME hc needs lots of CO2, not light.

I reckon you have plenty of light to grow it. Your concern should be to make sure to get your CO2 down to the substrate.

Cheers,

GM

 

[Skatersav]

Yeah, everyone always goes on about having tonnes of light but I'm learning that co2, nutrients and really good flow are way more important. I have 4 t5s in a 300 litre tank and I have ended up only having one set (ie 2 bulbs) on most of the day. The plants just don't need it. I've also read that you want light to be the limiting factor in plant growth as that will prevent algae from creeping in.

 

[foxfish]

4 T5's would be .38W/L

From another site.....

.3 to .5 is low light
.5 to .8 is medium light
and ove .8 is high light

...So that suggests that 4 T5's might not be enough for me?

You could discuss this with Tom - he uses .4wl & at a good height above the tank to achieve pretty good results!!!
Have a look here viewtopic.php?f=35&t=17797

 

[curefan]

Thanks for the help everybody