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4 Responses to “What is the proper lighting for a freshwater fish tank with plants?”
According to my husband that light is bad for your tank (we have a very large tank here and is his) You need to get a light that is for freshwater plants and fish. That blue one will not work. He suggest taking it back and instead of the shop keeper helping you ( sounds like he didnt know what he was saying) read the back of the package, they normally outline what type of tank it is for.
sounds like what you got was an actinic lightbulb, or something in that category made for a saltwater reef tank. All you need is a simple flourescent bulb that fits inside the hood of your tank, and you need to keep it on pretty much 8 to 14 hours a day for the plants to be able to use photosynthesis and grow. For your smaller tank, you have a bulb made for a reptile, which will get really warm. It has vitamins in it, that reptiles need from the UV rays, but i’m not sure that it does anything for the plants. You simply need healthy water, a good CO2 supply (which comes naturally if you have enough fish), and 8-14 hours of lighting a day.
Sound like you have an eclipse system 3. You should get 2 auqua glo 20 watts each for you plants.
If your plants requires more wattage. then you should retrofit it. Check out
March 28th, 2009 at 8:03 am
Klos
2 flourecent lights
March 29th, 2009 at 5:40 am
Doris Hamner
According to my husband that light is bad for your tank (we have a very large tank here and is his) You need to get a light that is for freshwater plants and fish. That blue one will not work. He suggest taking it back and instead of the shop keeper helping you ( sounds like he didnt know what he was saying) read the back of the package, they normally outline what type of tank it is for.
March 30th, 2009 at 12:39 am
Samuel Schulman
sounds like what you got was an actinic lightbulb, or something in that category made for a saltwater reef tank. All you need is a simple flourescent bulb that fits inside the hood of your tank, and you need to keep it on pretty much 8 to 14 hours a day for the plants to be able to use photosynthesis and grow. For your smaller tank, you have a bulb made for a reptile, which will get really warm. It has vitamins in it, that reptiles need from the UV rays, but i’m not sure that it does anything for the plants. You simply need healthy water, a good CO2 supply (which comes naturally if you have enough fish), and 8-14 hours of lighting a day.
April 2nd, 2009 at 3:54 am
Cora Oshea
Sound like you have an eclipse system 3. You should get 2 auqua glo 20 watts each for you plants.
If your plants requires more wattage. then you should retrofit it. Check out