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I just wanted to know what is better for plants normal light or neon lights?

and if it is a normal light does it really make a difference?

I have the plant java moss does it need noen light or regular light bulb?

Thanks

Plants mostly need light in the red and blue spectrum but that usually isn't appealing to human vision. Alot of plant specific lights both aquatic and non are purple or pink. Most people use lights rated around 6500-6700 kelvin as that mimics sunlight and shows colors most naturally. My lights are 10,000-18,000k which is alot bluer. It still has the spectrums plants need but I like the blue look while some people think it washes out the colors too much. It's partially preferences but make sure your plants are getting light from various color ranges especially red and blue.

Hi,

Not sure what you mean by Neon lights, those colored ones you can put in ?

Anyway, for plants what you want is flourescent lighting. Either the normal flourescent tubes, or the new compact bulbs. They shoud be "daylight" avoid anything marked warm white. A color spectrum of between 6000k to 7000k is ideal, "daylight bulbs fall into this range. Normal incansdescent bulbs are not reccomended they produce too much heat and are too yellow in color.

Aim to have 1.5 to 2 watts of light for every gallon of water, ie for a 30 gal tank you want about 45 to 60 watts of lighting.

If you are just planning on the Java Moss 1 watt per gallon should do. Almost all other plants will need more light.

Last edited by bensaf at 09-Jun-2005 21:40

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Some days you're the pigeon and some days you're the statue.

Remember that age and treachery will always triumph over youth and ability.

By neon lights I did mean fluorescent lights.

Thx a lot for the help.

Last edited by nickthe1 at 09-Jun-2005 21:51

java moss is a flexible plant....it will tolerate any light condition.

but, if u have other kind of plants in ur tank..u may consider lighting requirement as well

low light = less than 2 wpg
med light = 2-3
bright = 3- onwards

u must also consider that if u have a bright light...ur plant will require nutrients (may suffiecently come for ur occupants) and co2 to thrive.

Last edited by tankie at 10-Jun-2005 10:41

how can i get CO2?

CO2 can be made inexpesively with a yeast/sugar mix with water in a 2 liter bottle. A more expensive way to get CO2 is with pressurized CO2, which you can get at a brewery supply store. I use the yeast method and it works just fine with a reactor to effectively mix the CO2 with the water.

[link=Pressurized CO2]http://www.csd.net/~cgadd/aqua/diy_co2rig.htm" style="COLOR: #FFFF00[/link]

[link=Yeast Method]http://www.thekrib.com/Plants/CO2/co2-narten.html " style="COLOR: #FFFF00[/link]

[link=Reactor]http://www.csd.net/~cgadd/aqua/diy_reactor.htm " style="COLOR: #FFFF00[/link]

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Critical Fertilator: The Micromanager of Macronutrients

thx a lot!