Would this be up for the job

[Stephen swan]

Hi guys
I am getting back into aquascaping and am wondering if this light will be up to the job of growing Monte Carlo and other medium difficulty plants.
I have a 34 litres tank and am running co2 30 bubbles per minute .

Arcadia 30W LED White Spotlight 6500K [844046007056] - £199.95 : Elmpets.co.uk

Elmpets.co.uk Arcadia 30W LED White Spotlight 6500K [844046007056] - The Arcadia 30W LED Spotlight is a high performance LED light with a range of interchangeable lenses. The spotlight eliminates the need for cooling fans and can be clamped to the side of the aquarium, or suspended over the tank...

www.elmpets.co.uk

 

[plantnoobdude]

should be fine but for a light with only white leds. 200 pounds is absolutely ridiculous.

 

[Stephen swan]

I know, to be honest I bought mine back in 2013 but can’t remember how well I did with it as I’ve been out of the hobby since back then .
I can give it a go and then maybe save and get something with a wider spectrum.

 

[plantnoobdude]

if you already have itm then it should be fine. more than powerful enough for monte carlo.

 

[Stephen swan]

What plants would struggle under it ?

 

[plantnoobdude]

most plants tolerate, low-medium light even 'high tech' plants. unless you get into specialty rare plants. this light should suffice.

 

[erwin123]

since its a 34 litre 'desktop' fish tank, if you feel you need more light you could just point a desk lamp at the tank for additional lighting. Nowadays there are modestly priced high powered LED lightbulbs that fit the standard E27 socket. (remove the frosted cover to convert it into an LED spotlight)

 

[Stephen swan]

This lamp states it has 6500k
It was expensive back in the day so was hoping it would see me good untill I can afford a Ada light.
not sure my plants will need anymore than this but that’s why I came on here and put the link in the description because lights are my weak point in this hobby

 

[Nick potts]

What are the tank dimensions?

The linked light is plenty powerful enough for 99% of the plants you can buy, maybe even too much for some. As it's a spotlight, the only issue I can see could be light spread on a longer tank.

 

[Stephen swan]

45x27x30cm

 

[oreo57]

45x27x30cm

Yea that light is more fitting to a cube.
Depending on the doide efficiency should be enough par.
Uses cree xpg's which crees were expensive back in the day . so should have no problems w efficiency.
Little short on reds and way short on cyan for better color but def. useable.
You'd be better off raising it a bit somehow.
That bracket, even w/ the 120 degree lens is pretty low if you want fair coverage l to right.

Odd unexplainable wider blue spread than expected.

 

[ceg4048]

I am getting back into aquascaping and am wondering if this light will be up to the job of growing Monte Carlo and other medium difficulty plants.
I have a 34 litres tank and am running co2 30 bubbles per minute .

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,

 

[Stephen swan]

Thanks for the input everyone, I will save for something better long term, what would you guys suggest? Is ADA worth the money? Or would you go for something not so expensive .
I have a co2 system running guys.

 

[ceg4048]

Is ADA worth the money?

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 of frequent uprooting or re-scaping. By extension it is also kind to fish who spend time rummaging in the substrate. None of their other products are as valuable as they are easily reproduced at drastically lower cost via EI dry powders.

Cheers,