# Lighting for emergent and emersed plants



## Zante (15 Jan 2017)

I'm planning a tank that will be set up as riparium, so plenty of emersed plants.

The aquarium itself will be 60cm deep with a surface of about 2 square meters. I don't know the precise shape yet as I still have to order it but I know the depth and capacity I'm looking for.

The aquarium part will be illuminated by four LED spotlights 36w each 60 degree angle lenses IIRC approximately 35 to 40 cm from the water. Light temperature around 6500k.

What I'm thinking of, though, is the illumination for the emersed plants that will be lining the back of the tank. I am planning to have creepers such as philodendron climb up a trellis behind the tank and considering a hibiscus (among other plants), so the lights for the aquarium will be inadequate to also illuminate these.

Since I'm having the flat renovated and the electrics ripped out and put in anew (the current wiring is probably 40 years old  ) I was thinking of having more LED spotlights installed in the ceiling for the emersed plants, buy I don't want the lights to be directly above the aquarium, rather more to the center of the room, pointing towards the top of the aquarium so that the leaves will turn slightly towards the room to catch the light better and give more an impression of being dense foliage, and have a better coverage of the plants bottom to top.

This is as far as I know how to go. How much power (talking LED), how many units for, say, 2 linear meters of aquarium, how far from the aquarium into the room?

If you need any more details please ask, I'll do what I can.


----------



## Costa (15 Jan 2017)

I think 4x36W LEDs is an overkill on the basis that the tank won't be filled with water, and as such there isn't going to be any resistance on the photons reaching the bottom of the tank. Or am I missing something?


----------



## sciencefiction (15 Jan 2017)

I think its not overkill. I had 145W worth of LEDs over my 5f tank 50cm deep tank ( above the large emersed tropicals) ...eventually as the tropical grew huge... very little light reached the underwater plants and some stopped doing so well.
There will still be light spillage in the room from the LEDs... Creepers normally don't require much light so they may do fine without direct light. But if you have a chance to put controlled leds in the ceiling...why not....You can keep them off if its too much.

For technical questions I'd suggest pm a member here to help out with the thread..His user name is ian_m. He's very good at stuff like that.


----------



## Zante (15 Jan 2017)

Costa said:


> I think 4x36W LEDs is an overkill on the basis that the tank won't be filled with water, and as such there isn't going to be any resistance on the photons reaching the bottom of the tank. Or am I missing something?



The tank _will_ be filled with water, and the emersed plants will be growing from there upwards.


----------



## Zante (15 Jan 2017)

sciencefiction said:


> I think its not overkill. I had 145W worth of LEDs over my 5f tank 50cm deep tank ( above the large emersed tropicals) ...eventually as the tropical grew huge... very little light reached the underwater plants and some stopped doing so well.
> There will still be light spillage in the room from the LEDs...



In the end the aquarium lights will replace the normal room lights, and since that's going o be my office the photoperiod would be just right for work hours 



sciencefiction said:


> Creepers normally don't require much light so they may do fine without direct light. But if you have a chance to put controlled leds in the ceiling...why not....You can keep them off if its too much.



I'm planning to have a "control panel" in which I can keep the temperature controller for the water heaters, timers for the various plugs and so on. The ceiling lights I'm mentioning I'm planning to have wired to this control panel.



sciencefiction said:


> For technical questions I'd suggest pm a member here to help out with the thread..His user name is ian_m. He's very good at stuff like that.



I'll give him a shout, thanks for the tip.


----------



## zozo (15 Jan 2017)

Lately i came accross this gorgious beauty.. Do not know how it will compaire to your planned dimensions.. This one has 92 gallon tank and above it hangs total 450 watt metal halide (halogene) 3 x 150 watt.. 

https://www.aquariacentral.com/foru...tank-thats-possibly-an-industry-first.178509/


----------

