# "high" Lighting



## yannis2307 (Apr 23, 2012)

hey so i was wandering what kind of light bulbs or generally lights for my hood should I get in order to have some lights which provide the characterised "high" lighting? I'm talking about an 8gal...It's not a long, nor a tall, a normal tank...


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## ZebraDanio12 (Jun 17, 2011)

1-2 watts = low light
2-3 watts = med light
4-and beyond watts= highlight

do the math.


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## yannis2307 (Apr 23, 2012)

you mean per gallon right?
And I've read that Watts/Gallon are not enough to measure if they're suitable for plants... I mean what specs should a light have in order to comfort high demanding plants?


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## ZebraDanio12 (Jun 17, 2011)

What I posted is pretty legit. I have 48 watts on my 20 gal, making my light medium. I have been able to support pretty high demanding plants, but then again I use ferts and co2


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## lohachata (Jan 27, 2006)

you will want lights that are rated at about 6700K......K=Kelvin units...which is the heat rage for the light...6700K is usually referred to as "daylight"
for your 8 gallon you would want about 24-32 watts for high light.....maybe some CFLs will work..


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## grogan (Jan 23, 2011)

Ummm check out the thread I made about parr. With an 8 gallon achieving high light will relatively easy. Just keep in mind that with a high light tank you are going to need fertilizers and CO2. Well that is unless you are trying to make an algae farm.


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## yannis2307 (Apr 23, 2012)

Yeah loha thanks I agree, I read about the K's and figured it out a little...grogan I have already experimented with DIY CO2 and I have some very good water column ferts and some also very good substrate ferts... I just wanted to see what kind of light is what articles for plants describe as "high" so I could compare...so you say if I put very much light without ferts and CO2 algae will boom? that way I could make green water and provide food for fry if I ever need to...and what's "parr"?


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## grogan (Jan 23, 2011)

http://www.fishforums.com/forum/aquatic-plants/36460-light-chart-low-medium-high-your-answer.html


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## Fuzz (Jan 27, 2012)

you need a high PAR to be considered high light....the watts per gallon "rule of thumb" doesn't really apply anymore. technology allows us to measure light. a 10 watt T5 puts out a different light amount than a 10 watt CFL...


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