# 55 gallon lighting



## Nlewis (Dec 1, 2015)

Jsack12 said:


> So I currently have a 55 that I've had setup for a few years. Bought an aquatic life t5 ho dual fixture for it about two years back that I wanted to use when I did a high tech setup. I've tried growing plants in it with no co2 and it was just a fail. Algae, the weekly 50% water changes..it all got old. I've been focusing on my 10 and 20 gallon planted tanks for the past year and haven't gave the 55 much attention. Right now it's got bba hair algae and spot algae in it and it's becoming a big eye soar. I want to clean it up and turn this into a low tech tank and the bottom line is the dual t5s is just too much light(algae). As most people are today I would like to do led for sure but am on a tight budget as I'm wanting to get a planted plus for my 20. What fixtures do you guys recommend? Is there anything I can do with my current fixture to get a lower set up out of it? At least till i can get an led fixture. My substrate is sand and I would like to not have to dose any ferts but am ok with root tabs, flourish, excel, etc. For plants I for sure will have 1 or 2 Amazon swords and some anubias. Just any help would be great as I'm mainly wanting to clean the tank up and get rid
> Of Algae


I have the Finnex 24/7 on my 55 and it works great. Did you ever try floating plants to help diffuse the light from the t5's? That's what I did before I got the Finnex.


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## Jsack12 (Mar 6, 2014)

Nlewis said:


> Jsack12 said:
> 
> 
> > So I currently have a 55 that I've had setup for a few years. Bought an aquatic life t5 ho dual fixture for it about two years back that I wanted to use when I did a high tech setup. I've tried growing plants in it with no co2 and it was just a fail. Algae, the weekly 50% water changes..it all got old. I've been focusing on my 10 and 20 gallon planted tanks for the past year and haven't gave the 55 much attention. Right now it's got bba hair algae and spot algae in it and it's becoming a big eye soar. I want to clean it up and turn this into a low tech tank and the bottom line is the dual t5s is just too much light(algae). As most people are today I would like to do led for sure but am on a tight budget as I'm wanting to get a planted plus for my 20. What fixtures do you guys recommend? Is there anything I can do with my current fixture to get a lower set up out of it? At least till i can get an led fixture. My substrate is sand and I would like to not have to dose any ferts but am ok with root tabs, flourish, excel, etc. For plants I for sure will have 1 or 2 Amazon swords and some anubias. Just any help would be great as I'm mainly wanting to clean the tank up and get rid
> ...


No I have not tried floating plants, which plants would u recommend I might try that. Does your 24/7 put out low, medium or high light in your 55?


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## Nlewis (Dec 1, 2015)

Jsack12 said:


> No I have not tried floating plants, which plants would u recommend I might try that. Does your 24/7 put out low, medium or high light in your 55?


Well I leave mine on the 24/7 mode so it's only at full blast for about 3 hours a day. With that said I guess that would be considered low light. You may put yourself into the lower end of the medium light range if you set the light to max while on a timer. I am in no way an expert with lighting and there are a lot of others that may chime in and give you some better info. As far as floating plants go I prefer either red root floaters or frog bit. Whatever you do don't get duckweed.


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## Jsack12 (Mar 6, 2014)

From what I've read I can agree that the planted plus would probably be a medium light on a 55 and hopefully someone else will confirm this. I know for a fact the finnex stingray is a low light fixture and it's also a lot cheaper so I'm kinda leaning that route. Just depends. The stingray might be too low just by itself. What's the setup on your 55? Are you using co2 or dosing or anything


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## touch of sky (Nov 1, 2011)

You could diffuse the light on your current fixture by using window screen. Here is a link to a thread on the forum about this issue:
http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/10-lighting/501361-light-diffuser-question.html


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## Jordan5150 (Jan 30, 2015)

I have a two bulb t5 on my 55 with zero co2 and excel every so often. I have some algae but only really on the filter. I do have some duck weed and some hornwort floating though. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Kylesaltandpepper (Aug 30, 2014)

The finnex stingray is useless for a planted tank. The planted plus and the 24/7 are good lights, but a bit pricey for some people. On my 55g low tech, I have a Beamswork light fixture which is much cheaper than finnex (80 bucks for 48 inch LED!). Even though it's cheap, it gave more than enough light. That's why I raised it above four inches from the surface. Unfortunately, I think Beamswork discontinued the model LED I had. But there are plenty of others to choose from for a low tech. Check out the Beamswork club in the lighting section.


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## Nlewis (Dec 1, 2015)

Jsack12 said:


> From what I've read I can agree that the planted plus would probably be a medium light on a 55 and hopefully someone else will confirm this. I know for a fact the finnex stingray is a low light fixture and it's also a lot cheaper so I'm kinda leaning that route. Just depends. The stingray might be too low just by itself. What's the setup on your 55? Are you using co2 or dosing or anything


I have DIY sugar/yeast co2 and I only add potassium after I do a water change.


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## Hoppy (Dec 24, 2005)

Jordan5150 said:


> I have a two bulb t5 on my 55 with zero co2 and excel every so often. I have some algae but only really on the filter. I do have some duck weed and some hornwort floating though.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Not all two bulb T5 lights are the same. Some are T5NO, some are T5HO, some are T5HO with good reflectors, etc. The Aquatic Life light is T5HO and has good reflectors, so it would give you about 110 PAR. A Coralife T5HO light would give about 30 PAR, a very big difference. 110 PAR is very hard to use without being overrun with algae. 30 PAR would be good low light.


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## Jsack12 (Mar 6, 2014)

Hoppy said:


> Jordan5150 said:
> 
> 
> > I have a two bulb t5 on my 55 with zero co2 and excel every so often. I have some algae but only really on the filter. I do have some duck weed and some hornwort floating though.
> ...


Yes I totally agree with you. I think I'm gonna try blocking the light out first with some window screen or I actually have some of that plastic screen that goes on a fluorescent ceiling tile fixture. I think that would do the same thing as window screen.


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## Jsack12 (Mar 6, 2014)

Just put some of that plastic screen on and it didn't seem to help much still seems like I have solid medium light


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## goodbytes (Aug 18, 2014)

Kylesaltandpepper said:


> The finnex stingray is useless for a planted tank.


This statement is categorically incorrect and reflects a complete lack of experience with this fixture. All 3 of my tanks run Stingrays only and you can't argue with these results.


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## Jsack12 (Mar 6, 2014)

goodbytes said:


> Kylesaltandpepper said:
> 
> 
> > The finnex stingray is useless for a planted tank.
> ...


Is that a single stingray fixture on your 55? And is it a low tech tank?


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## Bill K (Jan 28, 2016)

Kylesaltandpepper said:


> The finnex stingray is useless for a planted tank. The planted plus and the 24/7 are good lights, but a bit pricey for some people. On my 55g low tech, I have a Beamswork light fixture which is much cheaper than finnex (80 bucks for 48 inch LED!). Even though it's cheap, it gave more than enough light. That's why I raised it above four inches from the surface. Unfortunately, I think Beamswork discontinued the model LED I had. But there are plenty of others to choose from for a low tech. Check out the Beamswork club in the lighting section.


I'm running this one on my 55G 




with daily Flourish Excel. So far so good plants are growing and no algae problems.


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## Kylesaltandpepper (Aug 30, 2014)

goodbytes said:


> This statement is categorically incorrect and reflects a complete lack of experience with this fixture. All 3 of my tanks run Stingrays only and you can't argue with these results.


My bad. It's just I was once going to get one for my 55g. Everyone said not to get one. I guess it can grow easy plants like water wisteria which is in your tank.


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## jeffkrol (Jun 5, 2013)

Jsack12 said:


> Just put some of that plastic screen on and it didn't seem to help much still seems like I have solid medium light


Those are made to focus and diffuse light down and a bit out. not cut it..
One thing you could do is sputter black paint on it... 
Or use it to hold up black window screen..or shade cloth..

Bump:


Kylesaltandpepper said:


> My bad. It's just I was once going to get one for my 55g. Everyone said not to get one. I guess it can grow easy plants like water wisteria which is in your tank.


RayII PAR:









T5 PAR:









W/ medium reflectors one RayII is equiv to 2 t5ho bulbs..2 t5's w/ quality reflectors are better.. t5's w/ poor reflectors are worse..

Catalina t5HO 2 bulb is about the cutoff point..roughly 68PAR at 18"


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## Jsack12 (Mar 6, 2014)

How long has your tank been set up? Says that light is 5500 lumen. That sounds like quite a bit for low light but maybe someone can confirm that. I'm not really caring on brand, I mean of course I don't want a pos but I am just wanting a low light led fixture. That beams work and the stingray are about the same price. So that puts me in more of a bind to pick one over the other. I do like that the beams work has 6500 k instead of 7000 like the stingray. Don't really like that bluish look


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## Hoppy (Dec 24, 2005)

Gray window screen drops the light intensity to 60%, based on my testing. Two layers would drop the intensity to 36%. Three layers would drop it to 22%. You may need 3 layers, but 2 layers might be enough. That plastic panel is something I have not tested.


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## Jsack12 (Mar 6, 2014)

What about a current sattelite fixture like this one? Current USA Satellite Freshwater LED Plus Light for Aquarium, 36 to 48-Inch https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00C7OTEVS/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_awd_BuQXwb37629BT

Will this be too bright? Will it be bright enough? It does have a dimmer built in which is nice. I also like that it's full spectrum. And that I can get a 36" one to fit my 48" length. I like the look it gives in the water leaving the top corners kinda dark


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## Santose2008 (Dec 11, 2015)

Jsack12 said:


> What about a current sattelite fixture like this one? Current USA Satellite Freshwater LED Plus Light for Aquarium, 36 to 48-Inch https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00C7OTEVS/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_awd_BuQXwb37629BT
> 
> Will this be too bright? Will it be bright enough? It does have a dimmer built in which is nice. I also like that it's full spectrum. And that I can get a 36" one to fit my 48" length. I like the look it gives in the water leaving the top corners kinda dark



I have a Current USA Satellite LED + and it does good for my low tech tank 55g. Go with the 48-60 inch. It fits like a glove on my tank. I heard the 36-48 inch is going to leave dead light space in the tank for 55g. That's why I didn't get it. I like the settings on Current USA Satellite LED +. I wish I could afford the pro with the 24/7 option. Maybe when that price drops. Now if you want that 24/7 option, you can go with Finnex Planted+ 24/7. But it could be too much for the planets in your tank or maybe not.


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## Jsack12 (Mar 6, 2014)

I don't care so much for the 24/7 version on the 55. I have the planted 24/7 on my 20 long so don't feel the need for another. Rather get a cheaper light. What all do you do in your 55? Co2? Ferts?


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## Jsack12 (Mar 6, 2014)

I'm thinking the stingray would be a better fixture. It's $40 cheaper then the current sattelite pro


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## Jsack12 (Mar 6, 2014)

Hoppy said:


> Gray window screen drops the light intensity to 60%, based on my testing. Two layers would drop the intensity to 36%. Three layers would drop it to 22%. You may need 3 layers, but 2 layers might be enough. That plastic panel is something I have not tested.


Hoppy I think I'm going to get some window screen and do two layers with that plastic screen. I don't think the plastic screen cuts much light. Maybe 3%. So I'm gonna use it more to hold the window screen to the fixture. Do you have another link or something to how to on the screen?


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## goodbytes (Aug 18, 2014)

Jsack12 said:


> I'm thinking the stingray would be a better fixture. It's $40 cheaper then the current sattelite pro


If you choose to go this route just keep in mind that growth toward the bottom of the tank will be slow. It will increase as plants reach up midway but not dramatically. My tanks are very stable with this level of light and I never have any algae problems as I always include some fast growers in each tank. No scraping, once a month trims--that's it.


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## Jsack12 (Mar 6, 2014)

goodbytes said:


> Jsack12 said:
> 
> 
> > I'm thinking the stingray would be a better fixture. It's $40 cheaper then the current sattelite pro
> ...


Are you running a single stingray on your tanks or two string rays? From your pics it looks pretty bright?


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## Jsack12 (Mar 6, 2014)

Well I added some window screen to the AL T5 ho fixture. Used my already cut piece of plastic screen and used some spray adhesive to glue the window screen to. It seems I have cut down the lighting. Not as much as I thought it would but I think it will be enough to keep my 55 from being an algae farm. Just hard to tell exactly without a par meter


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## goodbytes (Aug 18, 2014)

Jsack12 said:


> Are you running a single stingray on your tanks or two string rays? From your pics it looks pretty bright?


Single, but I'm making the most of the light I get from it. I have a lot of light green plants, light substrate, and the wall behind it is painted white, all of which increases the perceived brightness.


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## Jsack12 (Mar 6, 2014)

goodbytes said:


> Jsack12 said:
> 
> 
> > Are you running a single stingray on your tanks or two string rays? From your pics it looks pretty bright?
> ...


Gotcha. What are you dosing? Co2? Do you think it would be a good low tech for my 55 set up?


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## goodbytes (Aug 18, 2014)

All I use are Osmocote root tabs every 3-4 months. No CO2, no excel. I can't say if it would work for you. This type of setup could almost be called very low tech and it definitely takes some patience and tweaking of plant selection for a 55. I went through a handful of other plants in the pursuit of an overgrown look before I settled on Wisteria, Giant Val, and Rotala. I can't say this setup would be right for you. You'll have to evaluate what you consider to be the priorities and review the list of plants you want to use. If any of them are more demanding and require medium light then perhaps you should go with another fixture like the Current Freshwater Plus or the Finnex 24/7 with the intention of dimming it. But if you want the bare minimum of maintenance and algae growth compromised against the slower growth you may prefer this setup.


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## Jsack12 (Mar 6, 2014)

goodbytes said:


> All I use are Osmocote root tabs every 3-4 months. No CO2, no excel. I can't say if it would work for you. This type of setup could almost be called very low tech and it definitely takes some patience and tweaking of plant selection for a 55. I went through a handful of other plants in the pursuit of an overgrown look before I settled on Wisteria, Giant Val, and Rotala. I can't say this setup would be right for you. You'll have to evaluate what you consider to be the priorities and review the list of plants you want to use. If any of them are more demanding and require medium light then perhaps you should go with another fixture like the Current Freshwater Plus or the Finnex 24/7 with the intention of dimming it. But if you want the bare minimum of maintenance and algae growth compromised against the slower growth you may prefer this setup.


No I'm not gonna be picky on this tank.
Low tech and simple. I don't really care what plants go in there. I see you have a sword in yours as so do I. As far as other plants I have nothing and will consider wisteria and rotala. If I got half the growth that you have I would be happy. My main thing is I wanna cut out the the algae. I think a planted 24/7 on a 55 would be medium light and would probably create algae. Not sure. I could always spend the money on a 24/7 and dim it down that way if I want to step it up I can. Your tank looks awesome


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