# 55gallon: is T8 enough



## sindy777 (Apr 9, 2015)

I just bought a 55 gallon tank and it came with the standard t8 tube bulbs. I want to do a medium-low tech planted tank. My tank height is 20 inches.... I want to know what do you guys advise me to do. I was thinking about either staying the the t8's, getting an adapter for t5s for my hood, or getting this
http://www.aquatraders.com/LED-Aquarium-Lighting-Beamswork-Tropical-Fish-p/56377p.htm 
and doing away with the hood altogether. Please help me. I really want to have a successful tank but I'm also trying to do it on a budget. Thanks in advanced!!!


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## Raymond S. (Dec 29, 2012)

http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/showthread.php?t=184368
Look at the T8 chart on that. It shows that if you have no reflector or a poor one it won't be enough. But if you had that floorplate type fixture it would be too much without injected CO2.
So what is in your hood for reflectors ?


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## sindy777 (Apr 9, 2015)

I don't think my hood has reflectors. I think its just got the white background on it so it's most likely not enough


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## BBradbury (Nov 8, 2010)

*Lighting Your 55 G*

Hello sindy...

I keep several 55 G low to medium light tanks and use a 48 inch, two light fixture and either 32 watt, T8s or 40 watt T12s from the local hardware store. The fixture and 2 bulbs is about $20.00. Use the 6500K GE aquarium plant bulbs. They'll last well over a year and work fine for plants that require only subdued lighting. No need to "break the bank" for lighting.

B


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## sindy777 (Apr 9, 2015)

BBradbury said:


> Hello sindy...
> 
> I keep several 55 G low to medium light tanks and use a 48 inch, two light fixture and either 32 watt, T8s or 40 watt T12s from the local hardware store. The fixture and 2 bulbs is about $20.00. Use the 6500K GE aquarium plant bulbs. They'll last well over a year and work fine for plants that require only subdued lighting. No need to "break the bank" for lighting.
> 
> B



Thanks BBradbury
my tank's hood is divided where each piece will only hold one18" t8 bulb... is there a way to modify this?


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## sindy777 (Apr 9, 2015)

My bad... I'm guessing you meant that I would need to buy a fixture for the 48"...... haha... slow moment.


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## mattinmd (Aug 16, 2014)

Agreed, looking at Hoppy's T8 chart, a 20" high 55 gallon tank is going to get around 24 PAR out of a single T8 bulb in white reflectors.

24 par *IS* enough to grow low light plants in. Now, you won't be able to grow every low-tech plant out there, as some require light much closer to the medium light range, but 24 is certainly a usable level for low-light...

edit:


> Thanks BBradbury
> my tank's hood is divided where each piece will only hold one18" t8 bulb... is there a way to modify this?


That changes things slightly.. the 24 par was assuming you had a single 48" long tube running the length of the tank. Doing 18's will introduce some lower-light zones at the edges and middle, but directly under each light should still be around 24 PAR.


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## sindy777 (Apr 9, 2015)

I'm afraid of losing my plants under this light... I don't want to take chances but j do appreciate your feedback.... however, what would you suggest the next best thing would be.... I've seen where people dyi their lights for led or t5 tubes.


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## mattinmd (Aug 16, 2014)

What plants are you looking to grow? That's really going to dictate a lot about the lighting level you need... 

Are you intending to dose excel, inject CO2 or neither? Are you intending to plant heavily or just a bit? The answer to those will dictate how much light you can handle without causing algae..


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## Freemananana (Jan 2, 2015)

Couldn't you use the HD diamond plate dual T8 fixture ($30 on HD's website) and suspend it ~5" above the tank to get about 40 par? How wide of a spread would that light actually give? (I'm interested). I know the 55 is only 12" wide. You could have some serious spill over if it spreads, for instance, 18"~20".

I suppose that is a different suggestion all together, but it would be similar and give you the lighting you were looking for.


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## BBradbury (Nov 8, 2010)

*Lighting a 55 G Tank*



sindy777 said:


> Thanks BBradbury
> my tank's hood is divided where each piece will only hold one18" t8 bulb... is there a way to modify this?


Hello again sindy...

There is. Replace the plastic cover with an aquarium bi-fold glass canopy. There are different sizes available. These are cheap and available on line. Make sure to choose the right lighting. The 32 watt, T8s are narrower bulbs and will sit just above the canopy glass. Florescent lighting burns cooler, so you don't need to worry about anything hot touching the glass. Use a 48 inch bulb and then you won't have the space in the middle of the tank that doesn't get any light.

B


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## Raymond S. (Dec 29, 2012)

I had no money when I first set up my 10g tank so I got a bulb socket only from Loew's and used CFL bulb/w it in a cardboard box that I lined/w foil. Worked great/looked like 
I was auditioning for you might be a red neck if...
Try putting some foil on the top behind the bulbs. But that will be a low level of light.
I use one 18" bulb/w a second one on a separate timer only on for 2 hrs per day in one of my 10g tanks which puts it @ 10.5" above the sub.
The main bulb is on for 9 hrs.
So unless you improve the reflector you will have a hard time with plants other than Anubias, Java Fern. Check/w an on line plant dealer for plants listed as low light.
There is a list at the top of the low tech section of low light plants, but many of them would not do well in that low of light that you now have. The foil reflector might change that.
Other than that you might consider that floorplate fixture. It's cheap and very good reflector. You would actually need to raise it some to avoid algae.


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## sindy777 (Apr 9, 2015)

Thank you all for your responses. I really appreciate them. I saw that I could line mine with aluminum foil and I think I'll try that until I van buy something legit. Haha.. what is the floorplate? Someone else suggested that and I couldn't find it. I absolutely want to have a carpet of Java moss which I know will require stronger light... after that I just want background plants and foreground plants all low to medium light requirements. As long as my carpet is thriving I think the rest will follow suit. Again, Thank you all!!


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## mattinmd (Aug 16, 2014)

The floor plate lights are the ones that look like chromed metal floor plating, commonly seen on truck running boards and industrial stairways, etc..


The fixtures look like this:
http://www.homedepot.com/p/Lithonia-Lighting-Diamond-Plate-2-Light-Chrome-Ceiling-Fluorescent-Shop-Light-1241DP-RE/202192989


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## Diana (Jan 14, 2010)

Diamond plate. 

Really good reflectors! Worth it!


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## Blackheart (Jul 5, 2011)

I just picked up a 48 inch T8 shop light for my 55 as well. It's one of those aluminum diamond plated ones or whatever. So is that too much light for a 55 or not enough? 2 32 watt bulbs and the fixture is sitting directly on the tank.


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## mattinmd (Aug 16, 2014)

Are you doing CO2 or not? How high above the tank is the light?

Those diamond plate T8s reflect light very well into a well focused strip.. they put out a lot of light.

http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/showthread.php?t=184368

Around 54 par at 20", 38 PAR at 25" and around 30 PAR at 30" from light-to-substrate..

General rules of thumb for lighting:

If you are no CO2 or liquid carbon you are probably safe out to 30
If you are low tech with liquid carbon (excel), you are probably safe out to 35
35-50 may require CO2 supplementation, may not, depends on the plant growth rates.
over 50 generally requires regulated, pressurized co2

Generally speaking pushing the upper end of that 35-50 range without CO2 requires some attention to plant selections.. fast growing plants help suppress algae. Trying it on a tank of just anubias is a recipie for algae.


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## Blackheart (Jul 5, 2011)

No, no C02. The light is directly on top of the tank. And also how much light intensity would I get with using just one bulb?


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## Freemananana (Jan 2, 2015)

Blackheart said:


> No, no C02. The light is directly on top of the tank. And also how much light intensity would I get with using just one bulb?


Roughly half if the light fixture will run on one bulb. I have heard the diamond plate lights will not function without both bulbs.


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## mattinmd (Aug 16, 2014)

+1 it should be almost exactly half... maybe a tiny bit more (like 51%)... 

PAR scales linearly with the number of bulbs, but that assumes they are all in the exact same place, and don't shadow each other, which isn't possible.

Being in the same fixture is pretty close. Technically there's some space between them, so the light spot widens a tiny bit, spreading out the intensity a tiny bit, but this is a small effect.

That said, as Freemananana pointed out, they may not work with only one bulb.. most 2-bulb and 4-bulb T12 and t8 fixtures need to be populated in pairs.


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## sindy777 (Apr 9, 2015)

Oh wow!!! I feel so dumb now! Hahaha. I knew that. Hehe. Anyways. I actually was thinking about getting something like this. I also want to sit my light right on top of the tank, using this fixture. Do you think it would be too much light if I add this to the surrounding edges of my tank? 

SUPERNIGHT® 16.4ft 5M Waterproof Flexible strip 300leds Color Changing RGB SMD5050 LED Light Strip Kit RGB 5M +44Key Remote+12V 5A Power Supply https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00ASHQQKI/ref=cm_sw_r_awd_3wJovb1P1HC7S

These can be dimmed and they are waterproof so I want to line the inside of the upper edges of my tank... mostly to give my tank some cool low lighting at night and maybe some added hues in the day. What do you guys think?


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## philipraposo1982 (Mar 6, 2014)

You mention a carpet of java moss. First thing I thought of is my java moss in a small Tupperware container that has room temp water with no ferts and grows just great. No light above it or anything. Just what ever natural light comes in from outside.

You don't need very much light for java moss. It grows super slow, mosses prefer cooler side of things and struggles in higher tropical temps.

Too much light will cause an algae fest


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## sindy777 (Apr 9, 2015)

So if I want to do the led lights around the edges I would probably only need a fixture for one 48" bulb To avoid too much light and algae?


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## Raymond S. (Dec 29, 2012)

Blackheart said:


> I just picked up a 48 inch T8 shop light for my 55 as well. It's one of those aluminum diamond plated ones or whatever. So is that too much light for a 55 or not enough? 2 32 watt bulbs and the fixture is sitting directly on the tank.


Too much without injected CO2 if it's sitting on the top.
Sould work @ 5-6" up from the tank if you have a few fast growing plants.
But @ 5-6" you will need to shade Anubias by putting them under other plants or the GSA will be on their leaves eventually. May happen to Crypts.


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## Blackheart (Jul 5, 2011)

I'm not a DIY kinda guy, so that's not gonna work. Also I think the fixture is defective because for the life of me 2 bulbs will actually not fit in place. It works with just one though. The first one went right in place but the second one will not budge and fit in there tightly.

I wouldn't mind running it possibly with just one T8 bulb but I don't know what light intensity that would be at. I want medium lighting for my tank.


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## Freemananana (Jan 2, 2015)

sindy777 said:


> Oh wow!!! I feel so dumb now! Hahaha. I knew that. Hehe. Anyways. I actually was thinking about getting something like this. I also want to sit my light right on top of the tank, using this fixture. Do you think it would be too much light if I add this to the surrounding edges of my tank?
> 
> SUPERNIGHT® 16.4ft 5M Waterproof Flexible strip 300leds Color Changing RGB SMD5050 LED Light Strip Kit RGB 5M +44Key Remote+12V 5A Power Supply https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00ASHQQKI/ref=cm_sw_r_awd_3wJovb1P1HC7S
> 
> These can be dimmed and they are waterproof so I want to line the inside of the upper edges of my tank... mostly to give my tank some cool low lighting at night and maybe some added hues in the day. What do you guys think?


 
That's actually pretty slick. I may pick it up for 'viewing light' and do add a more uniform lighting to my current set up. Definitely cool. And $25 for a remote and power supply for 15' of 5050 LEDs is good! I think I paid $15 for 15' awhile back in just plain 6500k white.

EDIT: I would not put these under the rim if you plan on filling the tank up to the rim. These are not submersible LEDs. They are more like water resistant from the reviews. They cannot be under water for more than 30 minutes (or something like that) before they begin to fail.


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## SeaCur (Jan 13, 2015)

Freemananana said:


> Roughly half if the light fixture will run on one bulb. I have heard the diamond plate lights will not function without both bulbs.


False, I run 1 lightbulb on mine. 2 is entirely too much for my setup.

Edit: It sits right on top of the frame.


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## mattinmd (Aug 16, 2014)

Freemananana said:


> EDIT: I would not put these under the rim if you plan on filling the tank up to the rim. These are not submersible LEDs. They are more like water resistant from the reviews. They cannot be under water for more than 30 minutes (or something like that) before they begin to fail.


I agree.. Those are IP65 "waterproof" for 3 minutes of mild water jets. They also have an IP67 version on the same page, which is submersible for 30 minutes..

For aquariums you'd want the IP68 version that's indefinitely submersible...

Unfortunately Amazon only has the white or warm white in stock:
Amazon.com : SUPERNIGHT New Arrival Warm White IP68 Waterproof Nanometer Waterproof LED Strip Flexible 5050 Underwater LED Strip Light : Patio, Lawn & Garden

The RGB IP68 is not around:
Amazon.com - SUPERNIGHT 5M 5050 SMD Flexible RGB IP68 Waterproof LED Strip Light Nanometer Waterproof LED Strip Color Changing Underwater LED Strip Light Cabin LED Light -


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## Freemananana (Jan 2, 2015)

I've found them elsewhere online from china for $25 or USA sellers for $35. Definitely harder to find the IP68 in stock in the USA.

Would you have to worry about heat with them in contact with water?


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## mattinmd (Aug 16, 2014)

Freemananana said:


> I've found them elsewhere online from china for $25 or USA sellers for $35. Definitely harder to find the IP68 in stock in the USA.
> 
> Would you have to worry about heat with them in contact with water?


If you had lots of them, yes... If you put 5 meters (16.4ft) of the white ones in water, much of the 72 watts they consume goes into the tank as heat.

OTOH, 1.2 meters (about 4 feet) is only 17 watts...

This also goes for the white versions at max on, not sure about the RGB ones.


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## sindy777 (Apr 9, 2015)

I was mostly definitely not going to submerge them.. I don't like to fill my tank all the way to the rim.. I usually leave at least 1 1/2" clearance because I have a very hyper dog and I don't want to have to clean up a mess... haha...


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## mattinmd (Aug 16, 2014)

True, that said, being under the rim of an aquarium may not be submerged, but it is constantly wet due to condensing humidity...IP65 doesn't have to withstand being wet all the time.

I'd at least get the IP67 version, if you can't get the IP68.


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## sindy777 (Apr 9, 2015)

Yea... the more I think about it though I think I'm going to just add foil to make mine reflect more for now and save up for a really nice light... I really like the finnex planted+ 24/7.... HAVE YOU READ UP ON THAT THING?!?!?!? It's....... WOW! LOL.


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## mattinmd (Aug 16, 2014)

Yeah, I've read up on it, and answered a lot of questions on it over in the Finnex forum... 

I spent a lot of time digging up info on it, so at some point I just started answering a lot of the questions I'd already looked up. A lot of folks had the same questions I did.. 

I'm definitely planning on getting one to add to my collection of toys...


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## Freemananana (Jan 2, 2015)

It is cool, but a lot of people are over estimating it haha. I was tempted to buy one myself!


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## jeffkrol (Jun 5, 2013)

Freemananana said:


> It is cool, but a lot of people are over estimating it haha. I was tempted to buy one myself!


not sure how they are going to differentiate from the Current planted plus though..

Maybe wait for the "Elite".. (sorry sarcastic humor)



> Hi Finnex, I'm about to pull the trigger on pre-order of this, and love the idea of the 24/7 function, but the one thing holding me back is the fact that apparently its not possible to change the max (noon) lighting level when running the 24/7 mode. I've read sparse info. on the Finnex Elite, which apparently would have a lot more user programmable timer based control. Should I be waiting for the Elite? Any estimate as to when that would be available?


http://www.reddit.com/r/PlantedTank...ddit_heres_a_quick_preview_of_the_finnex_247/


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## Freemananana (Jan 2, 2015)

I'm confused by what you said.


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## mattinmd (Aug 16, 2014)

Sarcasm...

It is no secret Jeff isn't a non-fan of many Finnex products, although he does see some value in some of their product lines (ie: the stingray fills the niche of small low-tech tanks nobody else is really serving very well).

That said, I do see some of his point in "Why are you waiting for Finnex product X to come out? After it comes out you'll be tempted to wait for Finnex product Y".

This will likely cascade from 24/7 to panted+ II to planted+ elite...

However, I don't really get the differentiation bit... but perhaps there's more sarcasm there than even I can decipher (which seems unlikely..)...


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