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Plant lights for tall tank

HarleyK

HarleyK

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Aug 17, 2005
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Howdy,

I'm running power compacts on my 29'' tall tank, but they are quite dated, as in: fixtures are showing signs of being >10 years old.

What's the new technology, which lights are good for a plant carpet this far under the water surface?

Thanks!
 
Kessil is as good as it gets. The a360we would be best, since your tank is 29" tall. You may also want to look into the remote, as the lights work even better when paired with it.

I have a kessil a160we on my 16g high tech planted. The baby tears, R. Wallichii, S. Repens, and A. reineckii love it. They all grow like weeds.
 
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I purchased a number of inexpensive LED light from Ebay, all made in China, to replace my fluorescent. The submersible LED are great for tall tank because you can tie them on the inside rims to get closest to the plants. I have surround LED light on the front and side rims of my planted tank using these:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Blue-white-...hash=item3d0448fd29:m:m0PEhqW2AUlVBO57A9kglQg

http://www.ebay.com/itm/LED-Sub-22-...hash=item464fa20cb6:m:mvqydDPTjKRkkqGuAa6AEvw

Here is one with high lumen I place on top of the tank,. There are many options like this in Ebay to choose from.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/12-48-LED-L...hash=item3d2fb2b5e1:m:mPHvG4uNw2HEPubEFdu-y6Q

Here is a submersible I don't like because the lumen level is too dim. It's OK for fish, but not plants.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Remote-Cont...hash=item3d1a258a5c:m:mMlEscto-PVbLU25FhDJP0Q
 
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Great input, thank you!
 
Angelphish said:
Kessil is as good as it gets. The a360we would be best, since your tank is 29" tall. You may also want to look into the remote, as the lights work even better when paired with it.

I have a kessil a160we on my 16g high tech planted. The baby tears, R. Wallichii, S. Repens, and A. reineckii love it. They all grow like weeds.
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I've had a but of a different experience with kessils. Their tuna sun lights don't really produce the proper spectrum for a planted tank. At least not for red plants. I've been running an a160we on my high tech 33 and I've noticed all of my plants pearling and growing well, but both of my reineckii species, along with my tiger lotus, lost their red coloration pretty quickly. I would look in to sbreef freshwater lights. They are cheaper than halos or kessils and produce an excellent spectrum for planted tanks.
 
@Angelphish
@Beetlebug515
@Frog111
@fishfanatic80

Kessil and Halo need controllers. Well, the Halo deluxe serves as controller, but it doesn't allow to program a dark period mid day.
So: what controllers are you using with your units?
 
fishfanatic80 said:
I'm using a kessil controller, they retail for around $100. Bulk reef supply has good program settings you can adjust your lights to.
Click to expand...
I also use the kessil controller. I set it to turn on at 8am, ramp up to %50 by 3pm, and turn off by 6.
 
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