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Hey everyone, I have an 18" Life Glo in my 35g hex. I've got 2 amazon swords that have grown about 2 inches in 2 months or so now. I've also got 2 java ferns that are doing very well and another (not sure what it is) its long and straight, dark green low light plant that grows pretty well. All my plants are doing well, but according to other people I need over 1 watt per gallon to grow plants. I don't really understand that, seeing how I have a 15 watt light with over 5 plants that are doing great in a tank that is 24" deep. Then there is something about light spectrum? Can someone explain to me what this is and why my plants are doing well even though I have less than 1 watt per gallon. Am I in for it with my plants?

If your water is really good for plants then they may grow well enough under a small amount of light. Some will anyway. Leaving the lights on longer does help a little but it's not noticable beyond a certain point. Some of my plants are growing just great under less than 1wpg but then some of them have just stopped growing. More light means healthier, greener plants except for low light specific. It also means more algae so if you are happy with how your tank is and none of your plants have just stopped growing altogether like my lilly then you have no reason to increase the lighting.

How about the light spectrum on the bulbs? The high end of the 15 watts has a high light spectrum. What does that mean? And what will it do for my plants? Another thing I have to ask is what would happen if I added more plants? Would they be getting the same light as my others? That might sound like a dumb question but I thought I'd ask.

Light temp has a lot to do with it. 40 watts in a 55g is plenty of light to grow decent plants if the bulb is 10,000k or higher...if it's 6700 or something, they won't grow too well.

Okay my mistake, I have a aqua glo 15 watt light that says it has a light spectrum of 18000k. Is this good enough to reach the bottom of a 24" tank and grow my plants successfully? I can't add more lights, theres only one drop. The only way I could do that is to get a custom made canopy right? Or is there other light sources that can increase plant growth?

The higher the temp the further down it will go, so you should be just fine there.

To add more wattage you can get a glass top with the little rubber hinges (it's hard to explain what it is...go to your LFS and check it out, or you can go look it up online somehwhere), and then you have more space for more lights. Compact flourescent bulbs work great because you can put 6X as many lights in the same space

I've done a little research on extra lights without spending a buttload of money, the only thing I saw were those stupid lazer lights. I'm not trying to have my fish do the disco dance while I feed them. Question about the light spectrum in regards to temp. Is this temp that the light emits or something else? My next tank I'll be getting in Oct. Its a Via Aqua complet 80g curved glass tank. I should have bought that in the first place, but was about $400 short. I agree with the compacts, I've got a 15 watt in my 5g hex and its awsome. The only thing is that I don't think I can put compacts in my 35g. Doesn't it have a different light connection?

You could use an incandescent light fixture with screw-in compact fluorescent bulbs. I use two 23 watt screw-in cfs over my 20 gal, plants love it. You'd prob need to get a glass cover to sit them on though.