# Best Light for Freshwater Planted Tanks



## Viki (Aug 1, 2011)

Please advise me the best light for Freshwater Planted Tanks.

If you can give some opinions regarding Price, Durability (in terms or Fixture & Bulbs life), availibility, Performance & Looks that would you awesome.

Plus buying online is the better or buying in the stores?

I have heard that if you buy online from US they don't charge you tax....

Looking forward to have some wisdom from Aquatic Guru's....


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## Talmon Firestone (Jan 28, 2010)

I use the Fluval A3935 for my 10 Gallon planted tank even though that light is rated for ~5-8g tanks and my plants grow like CRAZY! I leave the light on 14-16 hours a day. My Cabomba caroliniana grow 4-5 inches ever two weeks or so. 

Here are two pictures 15 days apart. One from Dec 19th and the other from today. I'm curious how much MORE growth I'd have to deal with if I had a stronger light.

That Fluval brand light I used wasn't very expensive at all either.


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## Kooka (Feb 8, 2011)

Talmon, I think the plant your refering to as Cabomba is actually Ambulia (Asian Water Weed). Grows extremely fast with bright lighting and isn't very demanding in terms of water parameters. And the growth you have in your tank looks very leggy, I would trip off tops, throw out the leggy stems, and replant the top cuttings. 

As for Viki's question on the best planted tank light:

It really depends on what kind of plants you want to grow, and how much your willing to spend  IMO, I really like the quality of the Aquatic Life fixtures. I have a 26" 2 bulb T5HO AL light on my 20 gallon and I really like it. It's well built, the ballasts are quiet, and produces very little heat. For my 75 gallon planted tank, I recently bought a 48" Odyssea 4 bulb t5HO fixture for $145 shipped. This fixture came with a built in timer, led moonlights, and 4 6500k bulbs. So far the light is performing very well; however the build quality is significantly worse than that of the AquaticLife fixture. The only problem was that the retailer I bought the light from declared the lights value as being $399, even though I paid $109 for it. As a consequence, customs charged me a whopping $49 in tax and duties on it, so be careful when buying online from the US.


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## Talmon Firestone (Jan 28, 2010)

Kooka said:


> Talmon, I think the plant your refering to as Cabomba is actually Ambulia (Asian Water Weed). Grows extremely fast with bright lighting and isn't very demanding in terms of water parameters. And the growth you have in your tank looks very leggy, I would trip off tops, throw out the leggy stems, and replant the top cuttings.
> 
> And
> 
> The only problem was that the retailer I bought the light from declared the lights value as being $399, even though I paid $109 for it. As a consequence, customs charged me a whopping $49 in tax and duties on it, so be careful when buying online from the US.


Hey Kooka, I think you're right about me getting species wrong and those are Ambulias. Thanks!  Do you know why they are now growing so "leggy"? I used to have them in 1.5g pico tanks and they didn't grow leggy at all. Also, my Glossostigma elatinoides keeps growing vertically rather than horizontally but I think that's because I'm using a lower light than I should be for a 10g. That's probably why my Ambulias are growing leggy as well, but just wanted to see what you think?

Also, regarding ordering from the US! It's specifically UPS that shafts people across the border! It probably wasn't taxes you paid, it was probably UPS' handling fee! Fedex is a lot better but the cheapest way to order from the US is to make sure you ship with USPS who passes off your stuff to Canada Post at the border! They take longer but they don't add any handling fees at all, they only charge the real and minimum border taxes.


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## Kooka (Feb 8, 2011)

Yes you're right, your light isn't really powerful enough to make your ambulia and glosso grow more compact. I believe the fluval light you have is a PC, and while its fine for less light-demanding plants like crypts, ferns, etc..., you'll continue to see leggy growth in carpeting plants like glosso and high-light stem plants like the ambulia. I recommend getting a T5HO unit if you want to see more compact growth.

As for the Odyssea light, it was entirely the retailers fault for declaring the lights full value ($399!) However, I do agree that UPS does charge extremely high brokerage fees. Also I have to mention that the retailer I bought the light from did agree to compensate me for the extra tax by giving a $30 discount on my next purchase from them


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## Talmon Firestone (Jan 28, 2010)

Hey Kooka,

Which T5HO light would I use for my 10g tank? OR... What would think of my idea of getting a second Fluval and using both?


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## Kooka (Feb 8, 2011)

I'd get a T5HO. I've been keeping freshwater planted tanks now for 15 years, started out with incandescents, then PCs, T8s and now T5s and in all honesty, I've had the best results with the T5s. If your aiming to grow high-light plants, red plants, or even carpeting plants, go with the T5 light. If you can, buy a quad-bulb fixture, as you can usually still run 2 bulbs on it, or stagger the lighting so that you get a mid-day 4 bulb boost (which is what I do on my 75gal) and if you decide later on to go high-light/ferts/co2 you can run all 4. But if you go with the quad t5ho, you will need co2 and regular fertilization for sure.


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