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Low tech tanks seem to be even more vulnerable to over lighting than C02 tanks, I would follow Michaels advice and add lots of floating plants but, with that amount of algae it will take a while to sort out!

I would say that 130w is pretty good for a massive tank like yours! One popular method for big tanks seems to be LED flood lights, cheap to buy but I think you would still need at least three 30w units and probably four would be better.

Hi Phil, as Pat points out your filter might not have enough flow to power a full on C02 injected tank but might be Ok for a low tech set up?

I dont know of a chart but I can tell you that during the hay days of T5 lighting, about 10-15 years ago, one tube the length of the tank was low tech, two bulbs the length of the tank was standard high tech and four tubes was for algae farming or dedicated experts !

Hi @eminor, no most of the plants we keep under water do not need lots of bright light to thrive in our aquariums but if you want to get the most out them they do need a good supply of C02. We have established that we can safely keep fish at around 30ppm of C02 so we can then try and work how...

High light (to much light) is a classic bread and butter post on the forum. If you want to blast your plants with high light then you need perfect C02 perfect flow and distribution and a lot of spare time monitoring and maintaing those conditions. Your priority must be high light, not fish or...

You only need to go back 7-8 years and the majority of planted tanks used T5s. Interestingly, as I remember it, there seemed to be far more pictures of beautiful tanks on this forum and far less post about lighting issues ? The T5 guide lines were simple and accurate as the tubes were long...

I guess most of us simply don’t know! We do know that colour spectrum is not critical and low tech tanks don’t need much light, so your light at 50w setting might well be ideal?

Four tubes is a lot, I would switch to two for 7 hours a day and when the plants have grown and increased the mass then consider using all four. Ultimately it should be possible to use all four with reflectors but you need a spot on set up!

Well if you ever start getting algae or poor plant growth then you can revert to a timer method :)

So i assume you are using a PH controller? If so...most people feel you will get much better and constant results by using a timer.

You should be able to grow virtually any plant with two tubes, if you can get the C02 and flow just right you might only need one tube on for 10 hours and two tubes for 5-6 hours.

What size is the evolution aqua freshwater aquarium? what do you want to grow? will you be using C02?

I used to use them as well, you can fry an egg on the outer case! i used a 6500k bulbs but that was 10-15 years ago.

There is nothing wrong with T8s or T5s they both work very well and grow plants perfectly fine! Nothing wrong with using LEDs but you will see loads more issues with LEDs recorded on this forum than you will with florissant tubes . It is an undisputed fact that T5s have lit some of the most...

The actual colour spectrum wont make much (If any) difference to plant growth but anything around 6500k will look much better in freshwater. I used MH lights at one time but that was many years ago, the heat and high wattage would really put me off nowadays .

Google will be your friend for searching this forum, just add UKAPS to your search

Unfortunately I don’t have any up to date input to give you but at one time, maybe five years back, this forum was very keen on discussing PAR. £300 sounds a lot cheaper than the meters were at that time.

No not true, all plants need CO2, in the air we have around 400 ppm of C02 in our tanks all we can manage is around 30ppm. In a low tech tank there are only tiny amounts of C02 available so you don’t need much light. Even in low light conditions C02 will be beneficial for the plants, I don’t...

Hi and welcome, aquatic plants are quite tolerant of low light, it is hight light that more often causes problems. What really makes plants flourish in an aquarium is C02 and it is the levels of C02 that really defines the amount of light we use to get a good balance. It might be best to read as...

Such a tricky question as it can depend on many factors like ... how many hours the light is on for, how much ambient light the tank receives, how close the light is the the tank, how many plants you have. Try a 4w led for 8 hours a day and see how that goes.... luckily they are pretty cheap to buy!

Hi Darrel, that is a very interesting video (although I have never watched it all the way through) it seems they shade and humidify certain plants more than others. Some are above trays of water, some in trays of water and some on sticks way above water. I doubt if the humidity is very hight in...

Hi George, you have probably not read exactly what you wanted to read but the problem as I see it, is if you try to keep plants in less than ideal conditions they will deteriorate quite quickly. So on that basis a holding tank needs to be set up in the same way as a display tank ie ... good...

Hmmm it is pretty differcult to grow plants with full c02, flow ferts etc so good luck Keeping plants emersed is really easy though and might do for you.

Yes a bit more detail would help... what size is the tank for a start and what is your budget? On the low budget scale LED flood lights are the go at the moment, you might not need a dimmer if you have several lights as they can be switched independently. On the hight budget there are still...

Daylight is number one but LED flood lights are a strong source of cheap light.

Twinstar are popular https://www.aquariumgardens.co.uk/twinstar-led-aquarium-light-600e-2117-p.asp LEDs can be a bit unpredictable as very few offer parr ratings, T5s are good though, if a little old school for some folk. I have been useing LED flood lights over my set ups, very cheap, very...

Well you said you wanted mantainance free as possible and we all know that too much light is the main cause of algae. However if you went for the second picture, you would have more scope to play around with Led spotlights as the come in many wattages. From my own experience ( I have used GU10...

Steam punk! Great I love industrial.. You could fit a Led flood light inside that shade, they are so cheap nowadays! Probably only need a single 20w about £10 in B&Q or £30 for a better one.

We have at least one other jersey guy on the forum (many years ago) I seem to remember he had a good supply of out dated fire extinguishers from your local service agent ...

Hi Dan, your question is a common theme on the forum (I find a good way to search this forum is by useing google but adding ukaps to the question) However as Tim points out LEDs are largely unknown or very well documented for our use. Are you adding ferts or C02? PS do you buy your plants and...

2 x T8s should work well, you might not need two lights for the whole lighting period but two tubs give a bit more scope for sun rise - sunset, overall effect & colour.

So you have good growth & a little algae but, you want more :) I would describe your post as quite unusual because the majority of folk are desperate to achieve what you already have! Anyway, it may be better to increase your light duration than the intensity, although you don't state how long...

I would go for the four bulb if they are independently switchable (2x2). If not then the two bulb would be better. You wont need 4 bulbs but its is nice to have them for photo opportunities or to use different colour bulbs for sunrise sunsets (if they are switchable)

I have a vivarium that houses many of the same plants as I keep my planted aquarium. Inside my viv, the plants that you call low light plants like Anubias and moss, seem to thrive on double the amount of watts and twice the photo period. You can very often see the quote... low light plants...

Hi and welcome to the forum. Some folk do indeed use longer lighting periods, 6-8 hours a day is recommend to get beginners on the right track without causing too much algae. However if you are confident that your tank is under control then you can increase the lighting period a little at a...

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

You still did not say if you are using all 4 bulbs? I ran a 180l tank with two 39w T5s for a few years. I found the light sufficient to grow any plants I tried & they all became beautiful algae free specimens....

When T5s were really in vogue & virtually everyone was using them, there was plenty of discussion on this forum about the longevity of the bulbs. As I recall, based on freshwater use, they would last for many years without significantly loosening light output. However they do need to be wiped &...

LEDs have only been popular for the last few years, before that, 2 x T8s the length of the tank for low tech & 2 x T5s the length of the tank was the recommended for high tech. Before T5s.... 2 x T8 for low tech & four x T8 for high tech. During the early days of this forum, T5s were really...

Welcome to the forum old bean! Hopefully you can find the time to read through the forum post & start to get the basic principles of how a planted tank works in these modern times! You will soon notice that the light the plants receive is possibly the most likely aspect to cause nuisance algae...

Hi Fred, I can see you are worried abut not having enough light but what we are trying to tell you is that having too much light will cause you far more problems than having to little light. Without doubt, getting enough C02 enriched water amongst all the plants & keeping everything clean is...

Hi Fred, it seems like you are waiting for someone to come along and recommend the four bulbs? There are most definitely some folk who use mega watts very successfully, four or even six bulbs are possible! However these people tend to be very experienced & have total understanding about how to...

Hi Fred, Yes of course you can use lots of light, there are no planted tank police around here. However you have been advised not to, both myself and Ceg, have told you that you will not need 4 bulbs to get obtain good strong growth... you 'do' need very good C02 distribution. Yes you can...

You could buy the 4 bulb unit but make sure you can switch to 2 bulbs because that is probably all you will need. I normally start with 6 hours a day but the lighting is the easy bit... just keep it low... concentrate of getting enough C02 to the plants. My own method is to use a dry start with...

No, that would decrease the flow, think like a bypass on a motorway. You need divert a short line away from the main course, reduce the line to 16-22mm & reconnect back to the 25mm main line. It has been done many times but I am at work & don't have the time to post a diagram.

There are ways to use 22mm or even 16mm atomisers on you 25mm pipe. There are quite a few documented threads on this forum but basically you need to form a bypass in the main pipe line using reducers.... you don't get any loss of flow that way.

If you are an electrician then you will be familiar with GU10 light fittings, you can easily make up a board using bathroom fittings & dimmable 11w bulbs. You can mix n match colours & wattage, add timers & generally have great fun doing what you are good at.

I used to use one over my planted tank, it is a 250w model with a 6500k bulb, it now lives over my workbench in my shed. It produces huge amounts of heat as well as light and make a horrible noise when it starts up but must be 25years old now.

Well I have no idea how GU10s compare to leds units designed for aquariums but they do work for me at least.

You might only need 8 w just more of them...... what size is your tank?

Sorry I can't grab a picture at the moment ( on holiday in New Zealand) but there are some pictures on this forum, I use standard GU10 led bulbs, they are just the standard downligher fitting bulbs available everywhere. You can get dimming ones or even coulour change ones. Cost around £2-12...

I have 8 x 11w GU10 leds over my 200l tank, just standard B&Q fittings and bulbs. The lights are about 500mm above the water, no real issues although the stated 10 year life span seems a bit optimistic as I find some only last 6 mouths but other might be 3 -4 years old now. I replaced one a few...

6 hours is a good start, you can build up to 8 hours if things are going well (no algae) over a few weeks but be prepared to back off if necessary . Some folk build up to 10 or even 12 hours of light but I think that 8 is pretty standard.

I have suffered from over lighting in recent years too, as soon as I switched from 2 x T5 to LED (TMC) I have had algae issues ever since! For many years T5s were really successful & these pages were full of members beautiful tanks, it might just be a coincidence but you don't seem to see so...

I mean to angle the light back toward the back of the tank, I just tried it with my LEDs and it seems to work but throws the shimmer over the back wall... I quite like that!

I wonder if you could bring the light forward a bit & slightly angle the beam across the surface? I don't know if that will work but, I think it might...

This has been discussed many a time, there are a few followers & lots of disbelievers. I think it would be fair to say this is not a popular thing to do but if you want to try then have a go. I think a shorter siesta is normally discussed, a one or two hour break in the lighting but, I wonder if...

Sounds like a nice tank! Have you found a good source of C02 refills? I use a sump on my tank, they work well but as Eduard points out there are some draw backs. I have a DIY LED unit above my tank using household GU10 bulbs but lighting was far more simple when we all used fluorescent tubes...

Hi and welcome. II don't know how many of us know the dimensions of a reefspace 900 or much about v2 ilumenair units, I don't know anything! Perhaps you could link something? Does the tank have a sump, how deep is it, will you be using c02?

The best advice I can give would be relating to 30ppm C02 & perfect flow! Very occasionally you can see members who have large tanks, high lighting & healthy plants but, they are few and far between... most are struggling with algae. A tank of that size is at the top of our game and will need...

BPS don't mean much but PH drop does. BPS are a good guide for yourself but as each unit can produce different size bubbles it is not a very good universal guide. PH pens cost around £14 & will give a good indication of when you are getting close to 30 ppm of C02 in your water. Generally...

Hi Elliot, what lights do you have now? Anyway two x T5s the length of the tank will grow any plant in your size tank but, it is more about the C02 than the light that will lead to success. Two T8s & great C02 will also grow any plant with less chance of algae but with slower growth. Two T5s and...

Well I can easily remember only a few years ago when 5w bulbs were advertised as 50w halogen equivalent but - they were not! However you can now buy 11w GU10 bulbs and I would say they are brighter than a 50w halogen! Over my 200lt I have 5 x 11w GU10s but one is a blue bulb that is only used...

If you are DIY minded then I would suggest a few GU10 fitment LEDs mounted above the tank, that is what I use anyway! Just standard household, flush fit, ceiling fitments from B&Q, some come complete with LED bulb. I would get dimmable bulbs & DIY a simple suspended hood. Of course a nice fancy...

Tropical freshwater plants will happily grow under any colour light, if it pleases you, then use blue or red or pink or white. The most important thing is to match the light intensity to the amount of C02 available to the plants. However, it would be unusual to use blue light as green plants...

Generally speaking planted tanks do not require any specialist lights or bright lights. Fresh water plants are very adaptable & will grow under many varying light conditions. It is normally recommended to use low or dappled light to get the tank off to an algae free start, if your lights can be...

If you reduce the light then the demand for C02 is also reduced but high light required high C02! Anubias do not require high light in fact they seem most happy in subdued light very often in the shade of over hanging plants. You may get other opinions but I can light my whole lounge with three...

I would suspect your plants are suffering from a shortage of C02, 3 x 6w over 40l is very high light in my mind.

Sorry but did I miss the bit where you said how many bulbs you are using?

Hi rebel, you make an interesting point! Of course most plants will have already been exposed to bright light from the glass house or tropical growing environment they came from. Also realise that most plants will shed their terrestrial leaves when submerged, however because the main advantage...

The par rating ( http://www.sunmastergrowlamps.com/PAR_Watts.htm) is important but the colour spectrum far less so however for a dry start you can use quite high light and for quite a long time! In most cases you can double the lighting power and durations while the plants have an unlimited...

I would think 2 or maybe 3 would be sufficient but if you can make them individually switchable 4 would be ok. 2x T5s the lenth of the tank was (not so long ago) the standard recomedatsion for co2 injected tanks up to 55 cm deep.

Hi Vador, in your fist post you say ... " I am thinking on doing the following concerning lights and co2 (co2 starts one hour before lights are on and it ends one hour after lights are off):" I don't know if you meant to say that but it would be better to switch off the c02 one hour before the...

The water movement within the tank is very important as it supplies nutrients to the plants, this becomes even more important when you inject co2. It is not just the amount of pump power but the way the flow is directed to ensure an even distribution. Keep reading and it will all come together.

I run a 200lt tank with 2 x 39w T5s for 7 hours of light a day, my bubble count is pretty fast, to fast to count anyway. If you run 4 T5s expect to use a lot of C02.

Well yes but more to the point is that ... using modern lighting coupled to EI dosing & optimum CO2 only requires 7 hours of photosynthesis to obtain healthy plants without nuisance algae. Not to say some folk don't use different methods to obtain the same results but this is a good guide line...

Hi Mike, opinions have changed over the years but it does not necessarily mean ....."recommend 10-12 hours light (they recommended a lot of nonsense it seems such as cable heaters, mid day siestas etc" ..... did not work for us! I used all those methods and my tanks looked great, the main...

Hi justal, you said you have been having success with your T8 lighting for ten years & you also said the "slightly less efficient T8's" well I can tell you that from a planted tank perspective (as Ian says) T5s are quite a big jump up! Beware the dreaded algae - the good thing about many LED...

Hi Julian, I believe the theory was based on what happens in nature, dappled light from moving trees, moving clouds, heavy rain, cloudy water etc. The belief was very few underwater plants receive constant sun...

Hi, I would give it a go if I were you as that is probably the best way to fine out for yourself. The method was very popular in the 80s and to the best of my knowledge nobody caused anny real harm but applying a siesta to the lighting time. I was one who tried it and to be honest I can't say it...

You have not said anything about the tpye of tank you wish to maintain, will you be injecting CO2? Regardless I would recommend keeping the T8s. If you are able to manage good flow and successfully add CO2 without any algea issues, then perhaps change to T5S or add one more T8.

I would think that 4 x T8s would work well, I ran a 2' deep tank for many years with the same lights.

In that case you must believe what you will... we are not the plant police! The vast majority use between 5500 - 10000k with the middle range possibly being the most popular....use what spectrum you want just don't use to much!

I cant explain why plants don't mind about colour spectrum because I don't really know the scientific reasons but, I do know that there are multiple post on this forum explain why.... However I am confident enough to assure you that growth is effected by the intensity of light but not the...

The light spectrum is fine (it won't make much difference what colour they are) but you don't say anything about your tanks set up? 3 bulbs might be ok if you have lots of available c02 but might be to much if you are not injecting any.

Well if you are really interested in growing plants then I would suggest you have a good look at the main forum headings :) You don't necessarily need to add Co2 but it will speed up growth tenfold! You may well discover that you light is to bright for the present circumstances your plants are...

Do you use any form of C02?

Hi Gareth, it is best to look at at lighting a planted tank from a slightly differant perspective, we try to match the light to the amount of available CO2. It is very easy to use too much light & quite difficult to get enough CO2 to the plants. With a tank of size of yours, you will have your...

Will you be fitting the lights under a hood or suspended above the tank?

That must be a very dark photo! It looks like 5w with a dimmer in use! Nice sword though...

Your lighting sounds just about right :)

From my own personal experience, I would recommend two independently switched lights. A safer bet than a double unit that only works both lights! Some folk that use decomposing soil substrates that produce a limited amount of C02 & have a previous knowledge & experience with low tech set ups -...

It has been said many a time that there are no 'high light' plants just 'high co2' demanding plants!

I have not read anything about the eheim lights so I can't really comment! As a rule of thumb 2 x T8 full lenth tubes would be good for a low tech and 2 x T5s for bight tech but even then it would be best to have them independently switched. lEDs are best when they have a dimming device. The...

Hi and welcome to the forum. The limiting factor (as Ross touched on) will be the amount of Co2 available to the plants. I know that might not seem like the answer you were looking for but light really is not critical in many respects... bright light is hardly ever required to grow aquatic...

You don't need to necessarily diffuse your light, although Garys suggestion is sound to start with at least.. You need to supply the right amount of C02 to match your lighting.... that is the challenge..... It is not just about pumping it in, it is about getting it to stay in the tank long...

No, your plants do not need stronger lighting to grow healthy, more light means more C02 & that is far more difficult to sort out. You need to dedicate all your planning into how much C02 you can make available to your plants. Feeding them with enough C02 should be your main concern as it will...

It is repeatedly said that there are no high light demanding plants just high C02 demanding plants! I use 2 x T5 39w over my 200lt tank but they are 60cm from the surface.

Yes two t5s will be high lighting, you would be best starting off with just one for 6 hours a day then gradually add in the other over a few months. Bright light is really not a key to sucsess, high levels of co2 with good flow is......