# [DISCUSS] Will any plant grow under 2 x T8?



## George Farmer (28 Aug 2010)

Providing you have good CO2, nutrient-rich water column and substrate, good circulation; is it feasible that it's possible to grow the vast majority of plants with 2 x T8 fluorescent tubes with reflectors in a 'regular' sized tank?

Discuss.


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## nry (28 Aug 2010)

That's what I have, 2x15w T8's over a 15UKG tank (60cmx30x30).

Can't say I've struggled, HC does fine, glosso, stems, no issues.  In all honesty, T5's gave me more hassle when I had the 36w compact, worse light spread than the 2 T8 tubes.


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## Dolly Sprint 16v (28 Aug 2010)

Gang@UKaps

When I first bought my tank it had stock lighting unit - 3 x T8 tubes - 2 x30 watts & 1 x 25 watts with no reflectors - no issues at all - planting was a bit hap hazard - proof in the pudding.






Then decided to climb the ladder to the next rung - gave me no end of problems but after plenty of patience and lots of tweeks here and there i got it right (I think so).





Regards
Paul.


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## ceg4048 (28 Aug 2010)

Like Paul demonstrates, T8 grows everything.They just can't grown plants as quickly as T5 or MH, that's all. You also have much greater margin of error.

Cheers,


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## Tom (28 Aug 2010)

Is it the light that affects some plant's form, shape or growth pattern, or is that to do with other nutrients? So say for example, would an HC or moss carpet grow as tight and compact under T8 as they would under higher intensities?


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## Dolly Sprint 16v (28 Aug 2010)

Lots of lights(High lighting) = lots of growth but there are other issues to consider:
A. Lots of Co2 
B. Lots of fertz
C. Lots of water circulation

All depends on what you want, as per the above is like walking on a tightrope, get the balance right and your laughing, get it wrong and you will be asking yourself "What have I done". T8 lighting is ok - greater room for error and as Clive say the plants wont grow as quick - but who wants rapid growth - I would rather have a lush looking tank.

Regards
paul.


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## ceg4048 (28 Aug 2010)

Yep, it all that other stuff, item A, B and C above that grows plants and which are responsible for patterns and so forth. Nothing to do with intensity. It just _seems_  to us that intensity is a prerequisite because when we do apply more CO2 and fertz and circulation then the prize that we are looking for happens sooner rather than later. This is an illusion due to our lack of patience. 

The worst victims of this illusion are carpet plants like HC, which require lots of CO2, nutrients and flow. But everybody thinks they need more light, so they pump gigawatts of energy into the tank when then requires more CO2+Flow. You can get into a never ending cycle of more light then more CO2. This is why you'll see where some will say this plant only grew well when they added tons of light plus CO2. But this is a self-inflicted syndrome, first because the hobbyist expects that more light is needed, and secondly because HC is slow to adapt to submersion and is a generally slow grower anyway. Once it adapts and gets going, under high light and high CO2 it will pearl like crazy and huge mats of it will actually lift off the substrate just from the buoyancy of all those O2 bubbles. 

Under a lower lighting regime, but still with good flow +CO2 + nutrients, HC will fill in later than most would like, but the problem here is that HC is so expensive and is sold in such small portions. Since most can only afford, or can justify spending the money for only a few measly pots it becomes imperative to have accelerated expansion, otherwise the carpet looks threadbare for a long time. This only serves to reinforce the myth that it "needs" high light.

Cheers,


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## GreenNeedle (29 Aug 2010)

I agree with all of the above except for that T8 is 'much less' light than T5.  A teeny bit in reality.  A lot les than T5HO BUT the advantage is that you don't get high intensity 'hotspots' due to the lower light per inch and therefore to match the T5HO you get more tubes and spread the light better.

T5 - yes most efficient lights out.
T5HO - Limits your lighting options due to the intensity 

AC


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## plantbrain (29 Aug 2010)

T12 & T8 where all 99% of aquarist used before the mid to late 1990's.

So yes......

Regards, 
Tom Barr


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## Tom (29 Aug 2010)

Very interesting, cheers    So how about those plants that supposedly turn red under high lighting? At Sparsholt (fish college) we were taught that red plants generally come from areas with high levels of direct sunlight, and that the pigments change to red to block excess light - is this true? 

Tom


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## Anonymous (29 Aug 2010)

Light it's a tricky business, how much, what kind, I think depends on what you want to accomplish & your experience, how you want your plants to grow, how fast, what kind of leaves shape & coloring,  compact or leggy etc. I do prefer "Klingon" light levels to get things growing quickly but for a long term, head ache free setup you can go for standard lighting given decent nutrients and flow levels, regardless of using CO2 or not.

Cheers,
Mike


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## GreenNeedle (29 Aug 2010)

Tom said:
			
		

> Very interesting, cheers    So how about those plants that supposedly turn red under high lighting? At Sparsholt (fish college) we were taught that red plants generally come from areas with high levels of direct sunlight, and that the pigments change to red to block excess light - is this true?
> 
> Tom



This regularly comes up on barrreport.  Tom then shows Alternanthera and a few others growing bright red under low light and in shaded areas 

AC


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## ceg4048 (29 Aug 2010)

That's right. There are a lot of variables, such as CO2 and nutrition that have an impact on the pigmentation. Genetics as well as spectrum might also play a part. It's not an automatic that bright lights causes coloration. It may be a factor but not the be-all and end-all of pigmentation.

Cheers,


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## zig (30 Aug 2010)

Cant beat the T5s for nice compact growth on certain foreground plants. But yes 2xT8s will grow almost anything IME I guess it just depends on your aims for any given tank.


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