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Hello, Lamp manufactures, with the exception of the very high priced marine brands, rarely produce PAR data for the consumer. There really is no direct conversion of lumens to PAR, simply because lumens is a parameter based on human vision, which has nothing to do with the way plants use...

Hello, In all tanks, but especially non-CO2 tanks, lighting should be very low to begin with, probably 20% power. When you dump plants under water they have the priority of avoiding being drowned. Their physiology has to change in order to deal with the water. After a few weeks they can...

Advanced plants really do not care about exotic and expensive bulbs. The reason advanced plants are advanced is because they require better implementation of CO2. Cheers,

As explained many times previously, the difficulty with plants have nothing to do with how much light you have, but how effectively you can deliver CO2 to the plants. Each plant has a different ability to uptake CO2. This difference in ability is what distinguishes the difficulty. A useful...

Well, I think the first thing you need to do for your tests is to establish a control tank using basic, ordinary bulbs. That's what we here have done and that's why we, after using different bulbs, after more than a decade, can report that there has not been any meaningful differences in growth...

Any high intensity light will damage aquatic plants if CO2 and nutrients are lacking. On the contrary, I've grown plants using Actinic lighting with no problems at all. You can't have your cake and eat it too. On the one hand you seem convinced blue light is bad for plants yet you also recognize...

Exactly. This is the long and the short of aquarium lighting. What folks fail to understand is that LCP for plants is very low, somewhere between 10-20 micromoles. It's very unlikely that any bulb we use in the typical tank scenario produces energy below LCP at any location in the tank. As...

Hello, This is not really true. You do not need full spectrum at all. This is the misconception that allows vendors to charge outrageous prices for their so called "full spectrum" bulbs. Plants have the ability to change the color of the incident light into other colors to fit their...

As oreo57 mentions, it is really only valuable as regards photography. It is not really something that we need to worry about. I never consider CRI or any other parameter of light bulbs other than turning them on over the tank and determining for myself whether I like the effects or not. As I...

Well that's a very difficult question because each fixture is built a little differently and the angle that the reflector is positioned differs. So the light can be made to cast slightly more adrift of vertical. I've not experienced the condition you describe. If I have a blue light in the front...

Yes. Yes. Its really important to realize the truth about light bulbs. Only use bulbs that make the plants and fish look pretty. If you insist on using bulbs based on some urban myth about Kelvin temperatures you may wind up using bulbs that make the tank look ugly - and that's just not...

Correct. Plants do not have eyes, they have mechanisms that operate using quantum electrodynamics and cannot be fooled. These mechanisms respond to the rate and quantity of photon bombardment per unit area. This is called "Photon Flux Density". Each chlorophyll molecule is exposed to this...

The best way to interpret a spectrum curve is to imagine turning it upside down and that the outline of the curve is the outline of a bucket. The bucket holds colored water. The color of the water is based on the wavelengths. To the far left is violet. From about 300 to 400 is blue. From 400...

When CO2 is exhausted and when it cannot be replenished immediately then simply turn the lights off and keep them off until CO2 becomes available again. That part is easy. It's when your lights are on that the problem is at it's most severe. Well, yes, this is simply the result of a geometric...

It would be ideal if you could temporarily re-house the shrimp if there are uncertainties. Glutaraldehyde has various toxicity depending on the species involved. Some plants don't like it either, while others do really well. The problem with using it properly in this scenario is that you cannot...

If the unit is inoperative with a single bulb then it may be necessary to find some other way to obfuscate the light so that less energy penetrates the water. This can be accomplished by using a darkened Perspex strip or other obstacle. The problem with BBA is that it is probably the most...

Yes, this is excessive, at least until the plants are stronger and/or are receiving the appropriate amount of CO2. BBA is caused by poor CO2 relative to the amount of light. It would serve better to remove one bulb for now. Yes, deformation and any other structural fault in plants is caused...

This is another misconception that traps hobbyists into a never ending struggle. Difficult plants are difficult NOT because they require high light. They are difficult because they require high CO2. If you use high light without paying careful attention to CO2/flow/distribution you will face a...

Hi, Yes, that sounds like a good plan assuming the fixture still functions with a bulb disabled. Cheers,

Yes, but forget about lumens. Plants do not see lumens. They sense the world only in terms of PAR. In any case, 48 watts of T5 over a 10 gallon tank is completely over the top. Just disable one bulb and you'll give yourself more margin of error. Cheers,

Always suspect poor CO2. You'll have a better than 90% chance of being right. As X3nith mentions, adjust the flow. As the plants gain more mass they require more CO2 and at the same time they are blocking each other by their growth. You may require a more robust flow technique to ameliorate...

Hello, This is only OK if you do not plan to dose the water column. If your low tech tank has lots of fish relative to it's size then the fish waste and uneaten food will break down to provide nutrients in the water column. Regardless of the sediment adding small amounts of nutrients to...

Hello, I am in complete agreement with Kevin Eades. By far, too many people get sucked in to the giant Hoover of the bright light syndrome and then pay dearly for it. You should be happy with your Fluval Aquasky and it's measly 12 watts (which may still be excessive) because that may...

It's exactly as Darrel mentions. LCP is a very low energy level and more PAR does not mean "better" growth. It simply causes "faster" growth. There are plenty of tanks using too much PAR where the rate of growth is fast, but the health of the plants is poor. Conversely, there are plenty of tanks...

That is true and plants also use green light because they have the same light gathering proteins as algae and cyanobacteria. In fact, green light is used in conjunction with the other wavelengths to deliver those photons deeper which allows these proteins that are below the surface to obtain...

Few have any idea, without an objective measuring device, which unit has higher intensity, whether labeled as aquarium specific or otherwise. Without a PAR meter much of what you see, or much of what you think you see...can easily be an illusion. More importantly, the advantage of an LED, as...

I agree with paraguay. There is no color you can use that will avoid algae. Algae is cause by too much light intensity of any and all colors. If the intensity is low enough then the lights can be on for a long time. Having said that you can give yourself more room for error with bulbs that do...

Their Aquasoil, although hideously expensive, is a fairly good investment as it is strongly enriched with nutrients and will allow you to slack off the water column dosing every now and again without penalty. Also it is velvety to the touch and is very kind to you hands if you are in the habit...

I completely agree with Nick potts here. The difficulty associated with plants has nothing to do with how much light you have and has everything to do with the execution of CO2, flow and distribution. Getting strong lights before you master CO2 only makes the situation more dire. Cheers,

Very difficult to draw parallels with corals because other than the basic processes the mechanisms are different. Whereas direct chloroplast interaction occurs in freshwater plants the corals are interacting via symbiosis with zooplankton intermediaries. Plants have direct interactions via their...

Hi Nick, This is not technically correct. Damage to plant tissues is primarily done by excessive intensity when the level of CO2 is inadequate. This results in a toxic buildup of electrons which then forms radicals such as Hydrogen Peroxide within the plant tissues which damages the...

Hello, There really are no such thing as medium or high light plants. This is a myth perpetuated by people who sell high lights. What grows plants and what keeps them healthy are CO2 and nutrients. So we should be concerned about how to get CO2 to the lower leaves, otherwise they are...

No, no one uses this as it does not help to grow healthier plants. As oreo57 mentions, a more useful tool is a PAR meter, which will help prevent you from dumping too much energy into the tank. So this does help to grow healthier plants. Cheers,

Your friend is absolutely correct. There is no point spending a lot of money before you even know how to grow plants. Most people kill their plants exactly because they spend money on lights instead of on CO2, flow and distribution. Cheers,

Wise decision grasshopper....:cool:

There is no difference and no "better." Plants adapt to whatever lighting you have and simply carry on. What you want to avoid is to use lighting that is too strong, especially if the tank is non-CO2 injected because then you might spend $300 in Aus trying to solve the problems. I would stick...

Hello, It is strongly suggested that you limit the lighting to no more than about 25% of max capacity. Only with a PAR meter can anyone truly know the lighting levels. Plants do not really use lumens. They use PAR, which is only vaguely related to lumens. The plants will require weeks...

Any lighting can be used to grow plants. It only matters what you like to look at. Tungsten is the least favored due to inefficiency and as oreo57 pointed out, there are plenty to choose from. The term "aquarium lighting" is just a marketing term but then. having said that, it also implies the...

Well, there are no such things as high light plants. Also that has always been a misleading metric and that's why we spend most of our time sorting out algae problems. A more achievable rule of thumb is as follows: Do not exceed 30-40 umoles as measured at the substrate - assuming...

These numbers are completely irrelevant. Lumens are a measurement of how human beings perceive the world because the human visual cortex is relatively insensitive to blue and red. This measurement has absolutely nothing to do with how plants perceive the world because plants and algae...

Yeah, as Zeus mentions you may want to supplement the flow, especially since you are moving the water on the long axis of the tank. Try adding a Koralia or similar to boost the energy heading to the opposite side of the tank. If you are at the limit of how much gas the fish can take but still...

Hi mate, As marcel mentions, it is not duration that damages plants, but it is intensity that does the damage. Under unrreasonable intensity duration has the effect of exacerbating the damage. So it's entirely possible to have 12 hours of light if the intensity is moderated such...

The recommendation for ANY kind of lighting is to avoid excessive intensity by limiting the intensity to a PAR value of approximately 30-40 micromoles as measured at the substrate. You should use any color combination that you consider aesthetically pleasing and it should have nothing to do with...

Yes. Algae on hardscape is the first indication of excessive lighting. Cheers,

Hi, That's fine, however, running a CO2 tank is fraught with problems that low tech hobbyists never have to consider. Again, if this is your first foray into high tech then we suggest that you forget about buying a new tank light and simply use the light that you have. High tech has not much...

Yeah, I agree with FishKeeper55. I would first concentrate on learning how to keep the plants alive. There is a LOT to learn about CO2. You would be well advised to start with low wattage lights, otherwise there is a strong likelihood that people will stop, look at the tank and shake their heads...

Hiya oreo, Yeah, some years ago I did try the Osram 965 in T5 Compact Fluorescent. I'm assuming it was the same formula. Osram must have increased the budget for their Marketing department; "Lumilux Deluxe Biolux", I mean, really? Is that necessary? How many "luxes" can one...

Hi, Really, it's best not to bust a gut looking for light bulbs. Any bulb that fits the lamp will be fine, however, as oreo57 mentions, you'll want to think about how your bulbs will render the colors of the fish and plants. If you want ultra cheap prices check this website lampspecs...

As Darrel alluded to, and as mentioned in oreo57's post, the problem in interpreting and applying this data is one of magnitude. It's all very easy to get wrapped tightly around the axel about this nanometer, or that response curve. How much does all of that translate to what is in our tank in...

Hi alto, I drained my tank while I was very ill for quite a while, and no way I could do my water changes (and you know how fanatical I am about that) but it's the same 200 gallon that I just let run wild as a dry start - or maybe a dry end? It's just sitting there with the...

Thank you. This has been our position for over a decade. In our particular tank environment BGA is neither triggered by the availability of orange/red light and will not be suppressed by the substitution of monochrome blue light. Clearly, the study did not demonstrate that the growth rate using...

I agree with foxfish. There will not be any measurable difference in plant growth/health due to color temperature. What's more important is to use a color or a mix of colors that you find attractive. Cheers,

Hi Jay, Well, the reason I'm harping on the Chlorophyll-a is because that is the main pigment that photosynthesizing organisms use. Auxiliary pigments must process the light and then pass their energy on to the chlorophyll. All the other pigments do exactly the same based on their...

Hi jay, Yes but so what? Cyanobacteria also have Chlorophyll-a (reportedly they do not have Chlorophyll-b). They also contain a variety of other auxiliary pigments such as various carotenoids, phycobilin, and in some species, the red pigment phycoerythrin. So should we also analyze...

Hi, A dedicated reefer can better explain this, but the basic answer is typically that corals (and marine zooplankton) require specific wavelengths to thrive, or to produce their best health and colors. Supposedly, the bulb in question does not illuminate in those wavelengths at a sufficient...

Hello, Further to Ians explanation, it's important to note that Lumens have nothing to do with the way plants use light energy. Lumens is a measure of the apparent brightness of light sources detected by the human optic nerve. Furthermore, Lumens per "volume unit" is an even less...

I agree with Darrel. Lighting is so overrated and folks get into a lot of trouble with their tanks because of it. LEDs will not grow your plants any better than fluorescent bulbs. Have a look at the sticky thread at the top of this forum section for the various colors you can get from standard...

Hello, As long as you have a way to control and therefore, REDUCE the light intensity, any luminary will work. Lighting technology is essentially driven by Reefkeepers, who worship massive PAR levels for their corals. Freshwater plant growers suffer tremendous problems when such high...

All bulbs are good for plant growth. This is the last thing you should ever worry about. Get whatever bulb is compatible with your ballast and which color the tank the most pleasing to you. Please review the sticky at the top of this Lighting section for the various colors and their visual...

Hello, You are strongly advised to ignore the advice from "another company". It appears from their response that they are either clueless or unethical. I don't blame you for being confused. This type of advice is specifically why there are so many problems in the hobby and why there are...

Hello, There is no point performing haphazard measuring and planning changes based on the results. You'll need to dedicate time and patience to optimizing your methods. In-line devices are generally more effective than in-tank devices. The only reason I could think of where the reverse...

That means you are using too much light and that your CO2 and flow or distribution techniques are inadequate. Saying that you use pressurized CO2 means nothing as an estimated 95% of all problems incurred in pressurized CO2 tanks are actually due to poorly implemented CO2. There is an entire set...

Yes, that is about right. Well this is the problem that arose as a direct result of the emergence of T5 bulbs in the 1990's. If you look at the T8 curve it was very forgiving and multiple bulbs could be used without any worry. If you have a single bulb T5, and if you are not using CO2 via gas...

YES. This is the most important feature of any light, especially if you are not enriching with carbon. Cheers,

That's because watts per liter or lumens per meter are irrelevant measurements. A decade or so it was the only guide we could use because PAR meters were (and to some extent still are) beyond the reach of most hobbyists and PAR was generally misunderstood. Any number used on a per volume basis...

Hello, The information is not particularly useful. It is expected that fixtures having individual colored diodes should have peaks in those fundamental frequencies. The peaks in a spectral curve are not actually what you need to know. It's the width of the section that tells you what...

Hi, Yes, really. I do not know what "...averaged spec'd LED..." means in comparison to the PAR output of a T8 because I have never measured the PAR of an "...averaged spec'd LED...". Perhaps you have these numbers or perhaps you have the Lumen/PAR conversion coefficient of this unit, or...

Hello, Modern LED lights typically produce more PAR than the T8 they replace. One cannot tell from Lumen rating as this measurement is not applicable to plants. Melting plants are symptomatic of poor CO2. You have not specified whether this is a CO2 injected/Liquid Carbon tank or whether...

Hi Danny, Unfortunately we do not have enough data to determine performance. There does not appear to be any dimming ability and if so you are stuck with the lighting level produced by the unit. There is no direct relationship between LUX and PAR because each of these units of...

Hello, There are no plants that "need" high light. There are only high light junkie hobbyists who make excuse for their tank in order to get their fix of brightness. Yes, this is fine, but as I mentioned, the satisfaction is not for the plants sake. They really do not care. The low...

Yes, try and use the spraybars. Have a study of the sticky thread https://www.ukaps.org/forum/threads/water-flow-in-the-planted-aquarium.1167/ in the Filtration forum section. This will show you how to use them. Cheers,

Hello, I think you should just stick with what you have purchased and carry on. You can grow any plant you want with 2 T5 bulbs. You are just wasting time and energy worrying about how much light you have. Your energy would be much better spent worrying about your flow/distribution and...

The OP is strongly advised to stick with a 2 bulb T5 and to hone his plant growing skills using minimal lighting. Any Tropica plant can be grown using even a couple of T8 bulbs. There are no plants that "require" high light. There are only plants that require high CO2. Please review a recent...

Hi Joao, Yes, I realize that these plants grow slowly because the liquid is not as effective as gas and also you have reduced the lighting right? So naturally things will slow down. I advise patience, however, if you feel the need, and if you are sure that the problems are solved...

Hi Joao, I don't really see why it is necessary to have gas in order to have a carpet. Carpet plants absolutely love liquid carbon and they have a high toxicity tolerance, so there is nothing stopping you from planting a carpet. It will just take a little longer for the plants to...

Hi Joao, Glad to hear that things are improving. Excel, EasyCarbo, Neutro CO2 and a few other products are using the same active ingredient called gluteraldehyde, which is a disinfectant often used in hospitals to clean operating room tools such as scalpels, tongs and so forth. You...

Correct, it does not count, because it tells only half the story and it assumes the hobbyists automatically knows the other half. The benefit of high light is that it induces high growth rates in plants. Unfortunately, hobbyists tend to misconstrue "growth rate" as being equivalent to "health"...

Here's a suggestion: Learn to grow plants with the lights you have, lest you unleash Pandora. There are no plants that "require" high light. Learn about the other aspects of plant husbandry which are thousands of times more important than how much light you have. Cheers,

Hi Paul and welcome. I've moved this thread to the Lighting section as it is more appropriate for your question. Regarding your query, I really think that you should abandon your attempt to replace the stock lighting in your tank with something stronger, at least for now. Strong lighting...

Thanks for the link Ian. :) Joao, the guys who have been doing this for a while have a thorough understanding of the equipment and materials they are using. George probably also knows what recipe is in the bottle. George also started with the dry powders described in the article. He has also...

Hi Joao, Well, you don't really have to be careful with the fertilizer. You can just double it straight away unless you are dosing the Urea and Ammonium Nitrate brands. If you are just using KNO3 for the Nitrogen source then there is no penalty . I clicked on your link for the brand...

Hi tech, Well, I mean, it's less about cheating than about problem solving. As you well know, Anubias is notoriously difficult to grow algae free when the light is strong, even if CO2 is excellent and even if the tank is otherwise healthy and clear of algae. The same with algae on...

Hi Joao, Well, it's a LOT easier to trigger algal blooms than it is to solve them. You'll need to be mentally strong and not get discouraged. The leaves that are attacked will never recover and in a way, they add to the problem, so you should remove them. The anubias leaves are very...

Hi Joao, OK, thanks for the photos. Studying them from left to right, I can see in #2 and #3 that there is a leaf showing paleness in . between the "veins". This is nutrient related and can be a shortage of a few different micronutrients. The hydrocotle leaves are suffering from both...

Hi Joao, OK, I did not realize that you had, or were, getting algae. This is a really important piece of information because all of the symptoms that occur in the tank are usually related, perhaps not necessarily to a single cause, but they can be, and knowing the symptoms helps...

Hello Joao, You would be much better off if your dimming scheduled looked more like this: 8am - 12pm @ 30% 12pm - 3pm @ 50% 3pm - 6pm @ 30% 6pm - 7pm dimming gradually until 5% moon light until 8am following day where the loop restarts. Ordinarily, melting is always a sign of...

Yes, this is by far, the wisest option. Any brand of light can be used as long as we have total control of intensity and can reduce it. Too many folks in this hobby assume that blasting their tank with more light is an "upgrade". Don't forget that liquid carbon should be used daily. Cheers,

Hello, It's very doubtful that your strip from Amazon will have "not enough light". Inexperienced plant hobbyists are always concerned about not having enough light, when in fact, they should be petrified about not having enough CO2 or nutrition, not having enough flow and having poor...

Well the problem is one of supply and demand. The only folks that buy the meters are mostly universities and researchers, which is a very small number. There are lots of Klingons, so photon torpedoes and other megaton devices fly off the shelves, and this drives lower prices. Cheers,

Am I the only one who owns a PAR meter? T. Barr suggested that people pool their pennies and as a group, purchase a low budget one. Then pass it around so that people can get a better idea of what's happening in their tanks and to hopefully produce similar charts for various brands/models of...

Well, OK, fair enough, but it also isn't turning into mush and I don't see any black spots or other type of rotting. Well, I mean, if it is a lighting issue then it would only be because there is too much light. When plants receive light, they then need CO2 and nutrients to turn the energy of...

Wow, that does indeed appear to be major crappiness, sorry to say mate.:thumbdown: Although, that red lily seems to be doing quite OK. I'm not familiar with Lush Max, and I guess you are buying it because it's cheap, which is great, but I wish you would buy your ferts from any one of our...

Hi Allan, Yes, unfortunately, these are legends leftover from the 1990's. Whenever someone would find a plant in the wild it was automatically assumed that whatever conditions the plant was found in was, by default, the preferred conditions. It was never considered that the same plant...

Hello, This is only half the story. Crypts do not really care where the nutrient source is. Since they have a substantial root structure they can pull nutrients from the sediment if nutrients are available in the sediment. If the sediment is empty but if the water column has nutrients then...

Hi, There really are no lights "designed" for plants and that's because plants don't really care what lights you use as long you don't use too much. The lights that are so-called "designed for plants" are actually "designed" to separate unsuspecting hobbyist from their hard earned cash. As...

Cheers mate. A really long road...

Yes definitely, I agree that they produce the most beautiful light. Mark Evans used to run his tanks exclusively using Halide. His tanks were some of the prettiest Ive seen. Cheers,

Hello, It doesn't really "work" per se. Obviously, the fact that you have used this method and have not had any problems might seem to be a contradiction but it is more likely that the results were due to other factors. In fact there are plenty of people who use that method and still...

Hi, I can vouch for the Radion. You might be able to use a single XR30 for the 36 inch long tank if you use a cable suspension kit and mount it high enough, but then you'll get light spillage into the room. Otherwise using two XR15s might give a more balanced illumination at the edges with...

Which, per Standard Operating Procedures in the Matrix, is a complete load of rubbish. Cheers,