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Re: Aquatic Plants Digest V3 #1332
On Sat, 16 Oct 1999, Karen Kyker wrote:
> I have a 55 gal with 2-40 watt Ultra Trilux bulbs sitting in a large
> sunny window, with Eastern exposure in TN. How does the sunlight
> compare to watts, does anyone have any idea??
I figured out a while back that 4 40 watt tubes over a 55 gallon tank gave
about 1/8 the light of full tropical sunlight. The actual value depends
on a lot of details, but all else being equal that would make your 2 tubes
about 1/16 of full tropical sunlight and maybe about 1/8 of what you might
get on a sunny morning.
I use to have two tanks sitting in a south-facing window with 3
watts/gallon of fluorescent light. When the sunlight was on those tanks
you could turn the fluorescent lights off and not notice a difference.
> The Jungle val blades that were 1/2" wide and green in another tank that
> does not get sunlight are now over 1" wide and pinkish/reddish and more
> marbled in this tank. Of course the 55 gal has 35 lbs of flourite
> (mixed with gravel) in it, which may account for some of the growth,
> whereas the other tank may have 5 lbs (so far). What would account for
> the improvement in growth, the additional light, the flourite, or both??
Could be both. Using that much light requires a pretty strong supply of
nutrients.
Roger Miller