Planted tank

[lurcher]

hi please advise,have planted tank,67gallons measuring 39” Lx 26”Hx 16”W with two 39” T5s for lighting on six hours a day.is this lighting. adequate for this setup and would it be classed as low or medium light?many thanks for advice

 

[Konsa]

Hi
It all depends on what goals U have.
It will be low light at substrate as tank is quite high.
Regards Konsa

 

[lurcher]

Many thanks Konsa.

 

[Edvet]

1 T5 at 26 inches would be low, 2 would be double just about between medium and high

 

[lurcher]

Thank you Edvet

 

[akwarium]

View attachment 121360
1 T5 at 26 inches would be low, 2 would be double just about between medium and high

I think this is a bit optimistic, (not necessarily wrong)

1. A standard T5HO would give PAR-readings around 82 at 10" and 11 at 26". So only with reflectors that narrow the beam angle down to 120 degrees or less, you get the results as mentioned above.
2. In an aquarium some light will be reflected on the water surface and absorbed in the water column.

An educated guess, but still a guess, would be to expect light levels around 40 PAR at the bottom of the tank, if indeed decent reflectors are used.
That would be rated as low or medium light, but is not lower then measured light levels in many great high tech, high end aquascapes. I think it is sufficient for most plants.

 

[lurcher]

Many thanks akwarium.