Do i need more light

[Behold]

Ok I have slowly started to get the bug and after buying some valis and it taking up half the tank im loving the heavy plant look.

I have a 5ft tank. and its 2ft high. 500l I have 2 T8 36w and i made a home made twin T5 54w. Question is do i need more light? and if so how much?

I could make another T5 set and either keep or remove the t8s or use the T8's as moonlight. but with the expense of needing 2 new filters and just purchasing CO2 gear im wanting to leave it for a while if not needed.

thanks

Antony

 

[GreenNeedle]

you have enough already for most of the low to medium difficulty plants.

AC

 

[Behold]

Thanks. How is light worked out on large tanks? Im aware the whole WPG is not that accurate once bigger. I knowim at about 1.5wpg now but is there not something about depth and stuff that matters.

 

[GreenNeedle]

Its not a case of working things out. You would need Einstein like powers and several sheets of paper etc.

If you gauge the WPG on the average sized tank of 20-40USG and T8 tubes then 1.5WPG is in the low to medium light range. On a larger tank it is definately in the medium range. In the Nano category it would be very low.

2ft is not that tall. My 125Ltr is 18" tall.

So in essence use the WPG rule as a very very rough starting guide and move on from there once you have tried and tested what grows and doesn't grow. Don't assume that every failure is down to lighting because most failures are actually due to the fert/CO2 distribution not being able to supply the need that the light is determining.

1.5WPG over your tank should be enough for almost anything including carpets but make sure CO2 and dosing and circulation are all up to scratch. You can add further lights in the future once you have got everything else worked out.

Most beginners go straight in with very highlight through some belief that it is necessary but very few are succesful because the rest of their setup (ferts/CO2/flow) plus a lack of knowledge/experience lets them down. A high light tank will go wrong very quickly if everything is not right. There are some successes with high light by beginners but they are few and far between hence why the majority of questions on forums like TFF are 'what am I doing wrong' etc.

Learn to walk (with low to medium light) before you attempt to run with highlight. Many may disagree but with highlight and the problems it can have can often lead to frustration and giving up.

AC

 

[Behold]

Its not a case of working things out. You would need Einstein like powers and several sheets of paper etc.

If you gauge the WPG on the average sized tank of 20-40USG and T8 tubes then 1.5WPG is in the low to medium light range. On a larger tank it is definately in the medium range. In the Nano category it would be very low.

2ft is not that tall. My 125Ltr is 18" tall.

So in essence use the WPG rule as a very very rough starting guide and move on from there once you have tried and tested what grows and doesn't grow. Don't assume that every failure is down to lighting because most failures are actually due to the fert/CO2 distribution not being able to supply the need that the light is determining.

1.5WPG over your tank should be enough for almost anything including carpets but make sure CO2 and dosing and circulation are all up to scratch. You can add further lights in the future once you have got everything else worked out.

Most beginners go straight in with very highlight through some belief that it is necessary but very few are succesful because the rest of their setup (ferts/CO2/flow) plus a lack of knowledge/experience lets them down. A high light tank will go wrong very quickly if everything is not right. There are some successes with high light by beginners but they are few and far between hence why the majority of questions on forums like TFF are 'what am I doing wrong' etc.

Learn to walk (with low to medium light) before you attempt to run with highlight. Many may disagree but with highlight and the problems it can have can often lead to frustration and giving up.

AC

Thanks for that that sounds good for me. Im going to be seting up the CO2 in a week or so once its all arrived and then start looking in to adding ferts to replace root tabs.