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Well, some thumbs up, but they sort of said they had all this data that would support sales, then never did much with it. Next, you have an LEd fixture you CANNOT adjust the height. It's for small tanks only. Other than those issues, it's nice.

URI are excellent bulbs, much different than the coral color bulbs like the Wavepoints. They are really red. No pink. I would not use one unless you have at least 4-6 bulb hoods. It'll be too red for most taste. You might try Amazon also, not sure if they will ship though. Here's is your...

To what end though Troi? Why don't biologist always use PUR? The bulb brand and models will be specific and certainly be changed and marketed differently in a few years. You need the full spectral graph for PUR and this will change also.............as intensity goes up/down(plants will...

Hopefully I can cut through some of the chafe and not add too much to it:angelic: I would never do that, hehe. One of the main questions and unknowns I've long had is can we design a wavelength set that will optimize the growth vs minimizing the energy input? PAR vs PUR. Will all 400 aquatic...

John, I think you might be better served and have a bit more positive spin if you simply try a few different color mixes and see what you like the best. I've held this view for maybe a decade or more. I just keep trying different bulb types and combos till I happen on something that is most...

The E. vesuvius and the Gloss make excellent contrast at that scale.

No and no. Mark Twain said it well: "Advertising is the art of getting people to buy stuff they do not want, with money they do not have for something they do not need. Get your facts first, and then you can distort them as much as you please."

Well, not useless, but rather tough and impractical for aquarist.

I have seen some very nice Gloss with very low old school T8 bulbs from the 1990's. Very low tech stuff with DIY CO2. T5's: This is my more recent Nature style approach using 1.2 W/gal at well over 1 meter away from the plants. I do have the option of using 2x as much light, 2.4 w/gal, but it...

HC and UG are CO2 demanding plants. Cooler temps reduces the rate of growth also, increases O2, so many do better with cooler tanks also.

Harry, you could add 3-4 of those and be well within high lighting levels. I've found poor spread on larger tanks and poor red colors from LED's, they work good on Reefs, but I've not seen the same for planted tanks. At least not yet. I think AFA has some of the ADA lights, I'll go see.

I have some that are about 3 years old now, they are close to those graphs, loss is roughly 8-10%, but perhaps I should wipe and clean the bulbs and the reflector a bit more before I compare the nice clean new ones vs the oldies? :thumbup:

Seems most important to get plenty of growth when the first 1-2 hours of the day cycle IME via good CO2. After this, it seems things are more forgiving. Other things like less light intensity, lots of algae eaters, eg Amano shrimps etc............decent flow on and on.

TMG, at least their macro nutrient version came out from a conversation Claus and myself had in 1998. I think it is a business reason perhaps, later, I'd assume they will use LED's for some applications. I'm waiting for a decent reasonable priced unit in the USA, plenty of very nice DIY...

I've seen some at MBS(Plasma), they got good results but still in the R&D stages. Be a few years, LED's etc will progress farther I think unless something really radical is done elsewhere. I can get a meter for about 250-300$ US, then ship as a gift. Cost to ship is not much. If you are going...

The cost of such an Apogee meter amongst a group.................is really reasonsable, how much do you pay for a NO3 test kit? 10 pounds? 20-30 folks using a PAR meter, same cost........... You are not going to use it that much, maybe a few days, and they are really easy to use. Then you...

T12 & T8 where all 99% of aquarist used before the mid to late 1990's. So yes...... Regards, Tom Barr

No, it was the higher end, 450 micromols, or about 5.5w/gal in that case. Still, no need to go that high, which is why you can reduce EI without ill effects on many tanks with less light, which I also suggest if done slow and methodically. Regards, Tom Barr

EI worked at 5.5 watts per gal over a 20 Gal 45cm deep tank, or about 450 micromols. Most weeds are around 400-600micromols of light saturation. You get higher light use efficacy at lower ranges though. My rational was if the light and CO2 are both non limiting, what nutrient demand would this...

Good water movement/flow. Do we stop caring for our fish in the quest for plants? Rubbish. I've long promoted doing good feeding/foods for fish, as well as frequent good sized water changes and good current, over filtered. I can fix algae, plant issues, they are nearly immortal, fish? They die...

30-40 is fine at the sediment, make sure it's fairly even all over the tank's sediment, +/- 10 or so PAR is fine. 12 is not much/enough for most situations. So you do need more light. This is rare me saying that :mrgreen: But, this is why we have light meters to answer such questions...

Hey, I know Dr Lui, he's in the other lab here at Davis. He does some cool research. http://www.plantphysiol.org/cgi/content/full/136/4/3945 Uses GFP a lot for neat videos of movement inside live cells. I just kill weeds, nothing this cool :oops: Regards, Tom Barr

Well, less light means it is easier to manage CO2 and less stress to fish, more stability to the entire balance/system. But CO2 is the typical strongest suspect for most issues. Plants will use leaves as storage organs, much like Darrel is suggesting. They will sacrifice an old leaf to make a...

I have no issues with either using water column or sediment ferts, so I really do not think that has much dependence here. I've grown these both going on some 10 + years without any issues of any sort, regardless of location of the ferts. This is true for most all aquatic plants and can be...

40 micromols is good starting point. Even for the most veteran skilled aquascaper. the plants could go lower certainly............but few folks have too little light unless they just missed the boat entirely like a few Soccer refs recently....... :roll: and are newbies that have not looked...

Problem is you have to buy their entire light system, you cannot buy just the fixture. ADA had the lowest of any HQI MH e ballast set ups I've ever measured, about 2x less than what you might expect using a light meter. I guess folks think they are getting high light, when in fact, they are...

The fixture does look nice, good design, the ballast? Well, let's just say they did not go all out there. A high grade electronic ballast replacement should yield 40-50% increase in PAR FYI. Since this ballast is not seen, the aesthetics does not matter. They do not sell just the fixture...

If you go to garden centers and nurseries, you'll note they use shade cloth, so does Tropica and all aquatic plant growers. This adjust the sunlight intensity, I use about 10% shade cloth for outdoor culture, this is about 150-200micromols at the top for where I live typically. Likely more...

I'd just do all T5's and have several on separate plugs to adjust light intensity and spread. Maybe 12-14 total bulbs 120cm 54 w each spaced evenly, about 15-20cm above the water. Regards, Tom barr

Here's a tank with 1/2 the light you have on a 70 Gal tank: Use less, not more light. Regards, Tom Barr

Nice sized tank has a lot of potential. Nice background too. Some nice full groups of plants, some good wood pieces and lights, you'll be set. I would suggest you use 6 total T5's, make a nice wood frame over the aquarium to house the lights. So 6x 54 W, and place each light with a reflector...

ADA's lights are mostly in a green band also. Reflectance also plays an aesthetic role to our eyes. Hard to tease those apart for our goals. I do not think the algae cares much as long as there's some 400-700nm range available. Same for plants. Regards, Tom Barr

4x 54 watts is what I have on a tank that is 120cm x 60cm x60cm at 80 Depth(lights are about 20cm above the tank). They are spaced out almost 35cm apart in pairs, so there is some good sized light angles going on that make the tank look fullers and grows dense than a point source might or a...

Yes, I have 1.8W gal at 80cm from the bulb to the lower plants without any issues. You have more than enough light, maybe more than you bargain for. Regards, Tom Barr

James, get a PAR light meter and do a plot at different depths/distance from the bulbs. That combined with aesthetics will give you the most useful information for T5 and aquarist. We did that here in the USA for some bulbs. Mostly the Gieseman powerchrome and aquaflora. I use a mix of 1;3...

I think with good PAR meters, we are finding that T5's really kick the snot out of PC lights. Why is somewhat still being debated, but the meter readings are pretty convincing. Regards, Tom barr

I've used 50/50 Atins and daylights, they look ugly as Hades....... They do not really affect any algae or plant growth compared to other lighting. That's the practical test. For the theory to be correct, I'd have to see some evidence that they do encourage algae in and of themselves, not due...