Plants and Clowns and Lighting

[ensign_lee]

Hey y'all,

Two questions:

1) How do I balance the tendency for clowns to want less light with the light requirements of having live plants.
2) I have a 125 gallon aquarium. With the two lighting fixtures that came with my tank (each one holds on fluorescent bulb), am I doomed as far as plants go since lighting is supposed to be 2 watts/gallon or what not? Right now, 20W bulbs go in each, so 40/125 < 1/3 watt/gallon. Even if I triple the lighting by buying fixtures that can have three bulbs in them, I only get to 1 watt per gallon (and that's before factoring in the fact that those would cost like $160 for two to cover my tank). What should I do here?

Thanks!

[Diana]

There are other sources for lighting besides the original lights and minor variations from the manufacturer.

Larger tanks seem to use the light more efficiently so that 2 watts per gallon is likely to be into the low-med range, not strictly low light.

Plenty of driftwood or caves will help until the plants fill in, then the plants will provide shaded areas.

[ensign_lee]

There are other sources for lighting besides the original lights and minor variations from the manufacturer.

Larger tanks seem to use the light more efficiently so that 2 watts per gallon is likely to be into the low-med range, not strictly low light.

Plenty of driftwood or caves will help until the plants fill in, then the plants will provide shaded areas.

Oh, really? Do tell.

[plaalye]

I grow quite a few plants(and algae) with a little over a watt per gallon. My best planted tank is a 20 gal. with 2 - typical 13 watt fluorescent bulbs used in place of the incandescents that came with the fixture. I have seen many DIY fixtures made for this type of bulb. I have crypts, anubias, java fern and moss, giant hygrophilia, and watersprite.
I like plants but they are only to complement my fish, so the fish come first.

[chefkeith]

I've had success growing plants with under 1 watt per gallon on large tanks.

With large tanks, what matters most is the intensity of each bulb, not the total wattage of all the bulbs combined. So if you put a 95 watt compact florescent bulb on a 125 gallon tank, it would grow plants nicely, but 5 - 20 watt compact florescent bulbs wouldn't.

Then again, the clowns won't like the intense lighting anyway. This is why I grow all my plants in a separate tank than what my clowns are in.