Re:Leggy Plants and Light

[Bill Wichers <billw at waveform_net>]

>>I wonder about this too.  How important is it to have
>>light directly over the entire area of the tank?    For
>>example: My 27 gallon flatback tank is only about 10{quot} - 11{quot}
>>wide (depending on whether you measure from underneath the lip around the
>>tank or not).  Through the good advice of the people on this list I
>>am strongly considering getting 1 - 96 watt retrofit strip (ahsupply)
>>because it will give me more than adequate lighting at 3.55 watts per
>>gallon.  However, the width of the reflector on this is only 4{quot}
>>wide, so if I install the reflector directly over the middle of the tank,
>>that would leave some 3{quot} to the front and back not having light
>>directly over it.  Am I looking at problems here?  Thanks for
>>any help.
>>Mike G.

The AH Supply reflectors have enough spread to do a pretty good job 
lighting typical tank widths (10-14" or so) with a single fixture. There is 
a bit less light in the top of the tank at the edge, but after you go a few 
inches down into the water the light levels start to even out. I have a 
pair of 20H tanks that are about 12" deep and maybe 22" or so wide, and the 
55w PCF lights over each do a very good job of evenly lighting the entire 
area of the tank.

If you did need a bit more spread, you could mount the light higher or 
lower in the reflector, or bend the reflector out a bit to increase the 
spread of the light. You probably won't need to do either though.

         -Bill
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Waveform Technology
UNIX Systems Administrator