Suggestions for lighting my daughter’s 60 gallon FW planted

[Driftdiver]

I recently upgraded my daughter’s tank from a 15 gallon to a 60 gallon due to her favorite fish having outgrown its original tank. I managed to find a used system for a reasonable price, which allegedly included lights, filtration, etc., and picked it up. While I planned on replacing certain pieces overtime, I was led to believe that everything was operational. The amount I paid was low enough that I wasn’t that concerned about the equipment working, but I soon discovered that essentially the equipment was worthless and would need to be replaced immediately.

I haven’t kept FW systems since the late 80s and the lighting was simple fluorescents. I am used to buying high end equipment for my reefs and I have no idea about the quality of the “off brands” that I am seeing at the lower end of the spectrum. (Hyper, Finnex, and similar).

I would appreciate any recommendations or actual experience (good or bad) that anyone can offer.

Thanks.

 

[DED65]

The Fluval plant 3.0 are very good lights.

 

[ackshee]

It looks like part of your post got cut off.

 

[Driftdiver]

It looks like part of your post got cut off.

Yes…I had a case of premature post-in-ation. (Sorry, that was bad.).
It posted the beginning as I was typing the rest.

Regardless, thank you for letting me know and it is fixed.

 

[ackshee]

In my opinion, most people don't need high-end equipment for planted tanks. A lot of equipment that is marketed towards aquarium enthusiasts is marked up like crazy. LED aquarium fixtures are like 5x the price of normal LEDs. You could just buy an LED flood-light fixture like this and mount it to light your tank, honestly.

The two main options are LED or fluorescent. Typically, LEDs are more expensive up-front, but they are far more energy efficient. Fluorescent is cheaper but consumes more energy. If you go with fluorescent, I would just go to a hardware store and buy some shop fixtures for T8 fluorescent bulbs, the kind with the reflective hoods are the best of course. T8 bulbs are easy to find and not that expensive, but they should be replaced every ~6 months I believe.

I'm not super familiar with the various LED models, but NICREW and Hygger both receive pretty good recommendations. Finnex and Fluval also make quality products.

There's always discussion around the wavelengths of light that are necessary and optimal for plant growth. There are differing opinions. Personally, I think plants are pretty forgiving, and they don't care too much. Just make sure the light is strong enough, and within the range of normal daylight. I aim for anything between 5000k-6500k degrees Kelvin. I've always used 5000k fluorescent bulbs and had great success with plants, but your mileage may vary. My girlfriend also uses a 5000k LED bulb for her Walstad-style planted tank and her plants grow like crazy.

 

[DCR]

I have used the Beamswork DA 6500 K LED successfully with lower light level FW plants. The higher Kelvin EA models might be preferable for some. All available on Ebay. I generally prefer a T5 grow light for high-light freshwater planted tanks but the inexpensive Chinese LED's work well - other than the power supplies. I eventually purchased after-market power supplies when I got tired of replacing the Beamswork's. The 6500K flood lights also look good if you like more of a point source and you don't mind the bulky appearance or hiding them in a canopy.

 

[Reign1]

I have an Hiros WRGB that works really good and was pretty reasonable and grows lots of plants. I also have a AI prime .. Prime is much cooler because of app but they both do a bang up job.