briscoe Posted January 26, 2018 Report Share Posted January 26, 2018 I'm wondering if yous guys can give me some recommendations on a 48" light. I got back into the hobby a few months back, and purchased a used 75 gallon set-up. It came with a 48" Aquaneat LED light. I've noticed that some of my plants are definitely not getting enough light, especially the smaller carpeting plants (micro swords, etc.) The tank looks fine overall, but it's clear that this light isn't getting to the bottom of the tank. I'd like to upgrade the lighting, but money's tight. And I'd rather go with LED than one that needs replacement bulbs. Anyone have any suggestions for a light that is known to work in deeper tanks? Thanks in advance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mishiri Posted January 26, 2018 Report Share Posted January 26, 2018 Check out Mic Mol Aqua Air. Whats your budget looking like? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
briscoe Posted January 26, 2018 Author Report Share Posted January 26, 2018 13 minutes ago, Mishiri said: Check out Mic Mol Aqua Air. Whats your budget looking like? Looking to keep it under $100 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chappy6107 Posted January 26, 2018 Report Share Posted January 26, 2018 how deep is the tank? a typical 75 gallon? if so, you will be hard pressed to get a good led light for under $100. a decent option might be a Beamsworks unit off of ebay or amazon. make sure you are getting the version for planted tanks vs. cichlid tanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Revaria Posted January 26, 2018 Report Share Posted January 26, 2018 Well before you decide on the light are you using a form of CO2 or CO2 itself, cause from what I read its sort of hard to keep carpeting plants alive without CO2. On top of that most of them are also a high light plant as well. I wouldn't recommend a beamswork with them; although it is cheap and efficient source of lighting mine wasn't able to grow anything, but christmas moss and subwassatang. Even my java fern windelov was dying underneath mine. Other plants it failed to grow was pogestemon helferi downoi, potamogeton gayi and star grass as well, but it may have been due to my substrate (A mix of caribsea crystal river and tahitian moon), lack of nutrients or lack of CO2 of any sort. The 2 lights I can stand by so far is the Finnex planted 24/7 (not the new version) as I have used it and everything survived using it in a dirted aquarium alongside with CO2 injections and the fluval 2.0 which I have heard wondrous things about and may get in the far future. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mishiri Posted January 27, 2018 Report Share Posted January 27, 2018 1 hour ago, Revaria said: Well before you decide on the light are you using a form of CO2 or CO2 itself, cause from what I read its sort of hard to keep carpeting plants alive without CO2. On top of that most of them are also a high light plant as well. I wouldn't recommend a beamswork with them; although it is cheap and efficient source of lighting mine wasn't able to grow anything, but christmas moss and subwassatang. Even my java fern windelov was dying underneath mine. Other plants it failed to grow was pogestemon helferi downoi, potamogeton gayi and star grass as well, but it may have been due to my substrate (A mix of caribsea crystal river and tahitian moon), lack of nutrients or lack of CO2 of any sort. The 2 lights I can stand by so far is the Finnex planted 24/7 (not the new version) as I have used it and everything survived using it in a dirted aquarium alongside with CO2 injections and the fluval 2.0 which I have heard wondrous things about and may get in the far future. Revaria is correct. Depending on the type of plants you get, it will determine which type of lighting you'll want.... then you might or might not need co2. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
briscoe Posted January 27, 2018 Author Report Share Posted January 27, 2018 Not adding any type of CO2. Substrate is Black Diamond blasting grit with Seachem root tabs. Plants are basic undemanding types, with various rotala and ludwigia in there. Foreground is microswords. I previously had a similar 75 gallon setup going a few years back with a Hagen T5 double bulb light fixture. Every plant I put in there thrived. Thanks all for the answers. I'm thinking I should just save up and get a nice proper light. chappy6107 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Revaria Posted January 29, 2018 Report Share Posted January 29, 2018 Yeah from what I hear T5s can grow a ton of stuff, but they generate a lot of heat and use too many watts for my tastes. And if your plants are undemanding then you might be able to get away with a cheaper light like the finnex stingray. Cory from aquarium coop on youtube made a bunch of light reviews one of them was on the stingray as well, so I would take a look at them if I were you. He even has a par meter reading in some of them to give you an idea of how bright they get. Heres the link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vD7QaRzf1Qw Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.