Lighting...

[apryl]

I have decided to keep my plants healthy I'm going to get a light this week.I have found a cheap ($6 at The Warehouse)one,it's called an inspection light,and seems to be flourescent.Would it work?or do I need a grow light?
Oh,and my banana plant arrived today,so small I can't tell if it truly is a banana plant,no 'bananas',am guessing it's a baby,therefore needing a light.

 

[rob]

banana plants really need med to high light to grow well, good lighting is a key factor in growing healthy plants. how may gallons is ur tank and how much total wattage of light do u have ?
for low light plants u need 1-1.5wpg of light for them to grow well IE: anubias,java fern/moss, crypts,vals etc grow well under these low light conditions. to work out ur lighting in watts per gallons add ur total wattage of lighting up and divide by the gallons of water in ur tank
my banana plants grew ok with about 1.42wpg but when i added more light u could really see the difference in growth.
theses links might help u out
http://www.plantgeek.net/article_viewer.php?id=17
http://www.plantgeek.net/plantguide.php

i wouldnt waste ur money on a warehouse light.
save and get better lighting, cause u will need it especially for the banana plant.

 

[apryl]

Thanks Rob,that was really interesting,all those cool tanks!I have just been offered a 2 ft tank light so will be getting that early next week,yay!I have an 18gallon tank,would 25watts be right?

 

[rob]

no probs April, ur light and tank will give u 1.38wpg so ok for low light plants, ur banana plant should be ok. if u can get a growlux or powerglo tube for it and it will help too

 

[apryl]

Look how small my banana plant is!

Let it grow,let it grow...famous words of Eric Clapton,for those as old as me who remember,lol

 

[rob]

it is pretty small

but hopefully when u get some light it will grow. looks like it has a healthy root system from what i can c.
Eric clapton is one of my favs, i have about 25 of his albums

and how coincidental lol just dloaded
and was watching Crossroads guitar festival, hosted by the man himself

 

[stipe]

Apryl dont just look at the watt rating, thats not wat the plants really need to grow. In a tropical tank the plants would get a more Yellowish, green with hints of blue spectrum lighting. just because it is a fluesent doesnt mean its good. For a tropical freshwater tank adn kelvin rating of 5500k (at minimun) to 10,000k would be sufficent.