Confused about lighting?

[vitara1]

Reading all this stuff about uv lights, uv for filters, t5 t8 etc etc has just confused me no end.

I have just setup a 6x2x2 and have a couple of plants on driftwood in it. I'm not sure of their name and neither were the pet shop I got them from. I have never kept live plants before. I currently have a 6 foot light with 2x 30 watt powerglo globes in it (t8).

My question is, is this enough to keep plants alive and healthy? Do I need to go t5 for 1 globe and keep the other as is or 2 t5's. I'm assuming a t5 is a uv light and they are made for optimum plant growth? Or is the t5 needed in a discus tank for fish health as well?

Any advice is always appreciated.

[Robdog]

Chances are if it is a plant on driftwood then it will be an Anubias species of some sort. Do a google image search on Anubias and see if your plant comes up.
If it is Anubias then it is a fairly low light, slow growing plant anyway so your current light will probably do fine.
T5 lights are basically a more powerful light in a more compact tube. If you want more light in your tank then T5's or metal halide lighting is the way to go considering that you have a 2ft deep tank.
UV on the other hand is a section of the light spectrum that is used to damage the DNA structure of organisms and preventing them from reproducing, hence "UV sterilisation". Good for disease prevention, "green water" algae blooms etc.

Hope this helps a little

Rob

[vitara1]

Thanks for your speedy response.

So is a T5 a UV light?

If so, If I were to have t5's would that help keep plants healthy and kill organisms at same time?

[ILLUSN]

no T5 is not uv if you put a UV light over your tank xchances are you'll bind your fish or worse kill everything in the tank

[Robdog]

Yep what he said.

UV lights are encased in quartz sleeves and housed inside (normally) a plastic unit so UV light is only applied to a stream of water running through the unit.
Some filters will have a UV built in but T5's are T5's and T5's alone.

Also note that you can't run T5 light tubes in a T8 light unit.

[Robdog]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fluorescent_lamp#High_output.2Fvery_high_output_la mps

[vitara1]

Thanks for the advice.

Just to make things perfectly clear. I have a 6x2x2. I am a running a trickle filter and an eheim 2217. I have a 6ft light with 2 t8's to keep some anubias plants alive.

I have never kept discus before. Is there anything else that a discus enthusiast would consider beneficial to keep a healthy display tank?

Do most people on here use uv? Is the t5 only for more sensitive plants? Is Co2 for more demanding plants?

Sorry for the numerous questions :oops:

[ILLUSN]

a 54W T5 tube emmits about 50-60%% more light than a 40W T8. the othe advantage is that because each tube is only 5mm wide you can fit more on top of your tank, ie where you could fit 4 t8's (160 -320w total) over a standard tank you could fit 8-12 (400-600w) t5's over the same tank.

Discus dont like bright light and dont do well in heavly planted "Dutch" style tanks. your lighting is fine for discus.

All i'd recoment to a discus enthuiast is super clean water. Keep your water good and your nitrates low and you'll find keeping discus much easier.

if you want to run a UV hook up a 36w pond master or similar inline to your 2217. just remember to change the bulb every 6 months.

[vitara1]

I think its all starting to sink in :lol:

I might just look at adding one t5 just for some extra light for the plants.

Is there aywhere I can look up how to set up an inline uv system for the 2217?

I went to sydney discus world last saturday and under the hood of one of his display tanks he said he said he had 7 uv lights. Thats why I got a bit confused with uv and t5's etc.

[ILLUSN]

Hooking up the Uv is easy just cut the output (12mm) hose where you want to install the sterilizer and attach the ends to the hosetails of the unit. plug in and your away.

[vitara1]

Sounds easy enough. Is there a picture of one of these units anywhere on this site. If I see one will understand exactly what you mean. None of the aquarium shops in my area have any.

Also is there a model or size that you would recommend for my size tank?

Thanks in advance.

[ILLUSN]

for a 2217 that flows at ~600l/h use at least a 36w unit

this isn't a great brand but they all look and work the same my sugestion would be a pondmaster 36w unit

http://www.aquariumproducts.com.au/catalogue_products.php?prodID=3615&catID=51

[vitara1]

Looks easy enough. I was wondering whether the trickle filter will hinder its effectiveness as it turns over a lot more of the water than the eheim?

[Robdog]

The slower the water is pushed through the UV unit, the more effective the UV will be so the Eheim would be fine.

[vitara1]

One last question. How can you avoid spooking fish when turning the tank light off?

I have tried turning the room light on before switching tank light off but it really doesn't help much. Does anyone know if you can purchase a timer with a dimmer perhaps?

[ILLUSN]

not really the fish just have to get use it.