Who Gives A Fish Forums

Lighting and nutrients go hand in hand in a planted tank. Let's tackle both issues.

Actinic light isn't ideal for planted tanks, as it promotes algae growth. Although having a daylight tube helps balance it out, I'd still recommend replacing the actinic tube. I assume your daylight tube has a ...

boomer said:

The T5 or T8 issue is very important...have a look at the tubers, at one end there will be some data and it should say which.

I stopped by Home Depot after work and picked up a 5000k T8 bulb. I also checked the bulb I have, and it's a 6500k T8. I'll admit, my fish don't look as ...

I've confirmed the algae in the first picture you sent is exactly what I'm dealing with - it's a match. I'll check the tubes when I get home in about an hour to confirm whether they're T5 or T8. Also, the plant in the first picture is the grass-like plant I mentioned earlier, the one that's actually ...

I believe they are T5's - I got it at Home Depot and I'm pretty sure they don't have T8's. I recently changed to the blue light, about 1-2 weeks ago. I had two 6500K daylight tubes before, and I can switch back if needed. The blue light helps the colors of my sunfish pop, but I'm open to changing it ...

I've got a 55-gallon tank with a dual strip 4ft light - one's daylight, the other's actinic (meant for corals, so it's pretty intense). No nutrient or CO2 dosing for me, and I've got the lights on a 10-hour timer.

Someone told me my lighting was fine, but my schedule was off, so I got the timer ...