CFL lighting help

[Ginkgo]

Hi all,

I've been viewing ukaps content for awhile now and really enjoy its content. The reason I made this account and post today is because I had recently set up a 54 litre shrimp only 60 x 30 x 30 cm planted aquarium and the plant situation has been disappointing at best. Because i'm cheap I bought the cheapest LED unit possible and it would seem it's only capable of growing copious amounts of hair algae, while the plants struggle to stay alive. Someone on amazon where I bought the fixture provided a plot of the fixtures light spectrum. I don't know how helpful this graph is but I though i'd include it.

Anyway, after some searching around on the internet for cheap lighting solutions, I came across this forum post and it inspired me to change up my lighting. I've bought two clamp on 22cm x 19cm dome lamps that accept E27 CFL bulbs. I got really excited and bought them without even thinking about Co2 or what wattage bulbs I would need.

So my questions are, what wattage E27 CFL bulbs should I use, and is it necessary to add a Co2 system. I really would rather keep it low tech without the use of Co2, as my funds are limited at the moment.

Plants: cryptocoryne wendtii, cryptocoryne undulata, Anubias nana, Java fern, hygrophila siamensis 53b, Rotala rotundifolia, Limnophila sessiliflora.

Substrate: The aquatic compost recommended here topped with black gravel.

If anyone could give me any advise I would really appreciate it, thanks for reading.

 

[Kezzab]

Hi,
The hair algae is good sign of too much light/too low co2. Your new lights may be even more powerful. Wattage is not that helpful when assessing brightness of LEDs.

To stay low tech and avoid the cost, hassle and risk of co2 I would set up your new lights and get a load of floating plants like salvinia or frogbit to diffuse the light. You can reduce floating plant cover if light is too low, increase if too high. You are less likely to suffer algae problems this way.

K

 

[foxfish]

You don’t mention how long you have the lights on for?

 

[Ginkgo]

You don’t mention how long you have the lights on for?

I've had the LED light fixture for around 4 months now and it just doesn't seem to be very good for plant growth. I've had planted tanks in the past lit by T5HO and it's always provided me with decent plant growth. The 54 litre aquarium that I have now was too small for my usual T5HO setup so I decided i'd try out CFL lights. I haven't yet set up the dome lights as i'm still not sure which E27 CFL bulbs to use.

Edit: I managed to misread your question somehow. I have the lights on for 8 hours a day on a timer.

 

[Ginkgo]

Hi,
The hair algae is good sign of too much light/too low co2. Your new lights may be even more powerful. Wattage is not that helpful when assessing brightness of LEDs.

To stay low tech and avoid the cost, hassle and risk of co2 I would set up your new lights and get a load of floating plants like salvinia or frogbit to diffuse the light. You can reduce floating plant cover if light is too low, increase if too high. You are less likely to suffer algae problems this way.

K

Thanks for the suggestion! I'll be sure to add some floating plants. Any recommendations on what wattage/colour temperature bulbs I should use?

 

[Kezzab]

Hi, i can't honestly advise on wattage, ive no idea how it would translate into PAR. Others may hazard a guess.

In terms of color temp, 6500-7000k is usually recommended because it's nice to look at.

k