# Another lighting question



## ksb (Feb 14, 2006)

So, my plant assortment arrived (see below!) now I have a nice mix of plants, now i'm worried about my bulbs.. I have a 48" Satellite Compact Fluorescent system w/ 2 22" SmartPaq (10000°K daylight and 460 nanometer actinic) bulbs, should I switch these to SunPaq Daylight 6700°K or SunPaq Dual Daylight 6700°K/10000°K bulbs?


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## Damon (Jan 18, 2005)

Tank size?
If it is a 55 gallon tank, you dont have to change anything (the actinic wont help but it wont hurt either). If it is a 75 you will want to switch the actinig for 6500-9325K bulbs. Its a matter of personal preference of color but any spectrum from 6500K-10000K is fine for plant growth. Be sure not to put too many watts above your tank. Over 2wpg and you are entering the Co2 area.


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## ksb (Feb 14, 2006)

Okay that's all I needed to know, I was looking at dual compact systems too which would of made the wpg 4 or so, so you saved me from making a mistake. Thank you.


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## Damon (Jan 18, 2005)

T5 systems are a nice alternative to Power Compact fixtures. They are ususally a bit less expensive and provide a better light spread.
2 of these are still less than $100.00 and work perfectly on 55 gallon tanks that are not going for high light. No Co2 would be needed.


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## ksb (Feb 14, 2006)

Well, I already have the power compact, that provides 2wpg (is that right even though there are actinic bulbs? Oh yeah the tank is 55g, sorry I didn't clarify before...


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## Ownager2004 (Apr 4, 2005)

actinic bulbs count as 0 wpg. They are not beneficial to plant growth at all


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## dmarcus (Apr 13, 2006)

simpte could you tell me a little bit more about the T5 system, i am about to transfer my 10 gallon setup into a 29 gallons setup and i wanna make sure i get hte lighting right. I havnt bought anything yet but i was thinking about a VHO tube, im not sure though so any advice you could give me about lighting for a heavily planted tank would be really helpfull. thanks,
(see sig for the animals that will live in that tank.)


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## Damon (Jan 18, 2005)

T5 lighting is basically a pc fixture that is not bent. They are slim allowing for more tubes in less area. YOu can also use individual reflectors for better efficiency. A lot of reefers are using them for these reasons. VHO is not really an option on smaller tanks. The ballasts are more expensive and while the bulbs are cheap enough, pc fixtures are more cost effective since fw tanks rarely need over 4wpg. I use PC on my planted tanks and VHO on my reef tank. VHO is a nice alternative to MH for many reasons. THey don't give off as much heat, and usually easier to install. You also dont need reflectors with URI VHO bulbs. For fw tanks T5 and pc will get the job done and sometimes even N.O. flourescent.


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