what watt lightbulbs do you need for a 55 gallon with java moss and java fern fishtank?

Answer 1

The minimum amount I would suggest would be about 160-170 watts, or 3 watts per gallon. A 55 is a bit deep and needs a bit of strong light even for low light plants.

MM

Answer 2

if you have incandescent lighting on your aquarium then you would need about 110 watts -- about 2 watts per gallon is the rule for low/medium light. jack that up to 3 watts per gallon and you can grow a forest.

if you have fluorescents don't worry about the wattage so much -- worry about the kelvins. i would assume you have a 40 watt fluorescent fixture so just keep that -- you can't change out wattage on a fluorescent. flluorescents do have a "color heat" number measured in kelvins. without getting too technical standard wattage is based on white light -- it admits a broad spectrum of colors. you can tweek and maximize your fluorescents by going with ones that emit a lot of blues and some reds. most of the higher kelvins (about 7500k - 1000k) will be labeled for growing plants. the one that came with your hood is probably about 4500 so be ready to be impressed when you change it out.

Answer 3

Both are low light plants, i'd do two 2' plantglo lights,

Answer 4

go for the coralife t-5 lights best bang for your buck!