While I agree T5HO is an efficient and affordable way to go, a quad fixture is unecessary. With a 4 bulb fixture, he'll have to run incredibly high levels of Co2 with a tank that's 11" deep. A dual T5HO on that tank will require heavy Co2 alone. My T5HO (dual fixture) is 18" above the substrate and puts out around 80-100 PAR. A quad fixture would be absolutely insane.While lumens is a bit helpful when selecting the right lighting, however aquarium lighting is mainly based on PAR now... Because planted tank lighting when going by lumens it doesn't specify how good the "bulbs" are at growing plants, Photosynthetically active radiation, often abbreviated PAR, designates the spectral range (wave band) of solar radiation from 400 to 700 nanometers that photosynthetic organisms are able to use in the process of photosynthesis.
Also understanding chlorophyll peaks in plants will help you in selecting the best lighting for your planted aquarium, there's 2 stages of chlorophyll; Chlorophyll A and Chlorophyll B, each one peaks at different wavelengths. This chart will help to understand...
By selecting the best "bulbs" to correlate with the peaks in chlorophyll you'll find success!
This is the reason I prefer T5HO quad fixtures for planted tanks, it allows you to use multiple bulbs that target the peaks in the chlorophyll. Here's my all time favorite bulb for T5HO...
As you can see the WavePoint Ultra Growth Wave bulb specifically targets the peaks in chlorophyll a & b, which gives you the best growth in plants.
Selecting light to optimize coverage of photosynthetic wave lengths may be exaggerated out of reality by hobbyists and manufacturers. According to Diana Walstad in her classic book on Ecology of the Planted Aquarium, she cited an experiment comparing different florescent light bulbs revealed that, to her surprise, cool white bulbs perform equal to or better than full spectrum bulbs that provide more blue and red coverage. Her explanation is copied below:By selecting the best "bulbs" to correlate with the peaks in chlorophyll you'll find success!
This is the reason I prefer T5HO quad fixtures for planted tanks, it allows you to use multiple bulbs that target the peaks in the chlorophyll. Here's my all time favorite bulb for T5HO...
As you can see the WavePoint Ultra Growth Wave bulb specifically targets the peaks in chlorophyll a & b, which gives you the best growth in plants.