Always good technical info on plant lighting

Bentley I'm 71 when I was starting up in fish tanks too grow plants it was a sixty watt bulb, but it was inn the water, well the first inch at least and it did work butt I used to blow a few bulbs. Just don't switch on soon after you've switch it off. The good old day's. Tugger Edinburgh Scotland

@Bently you're the man!! Keep up the awesome work loving the content lately. Congrats on 5k that's huge! Glad to be part of the first 5k

Thank for the time and info. You are appreciated.

Incredible explanation. Really informative. Thanks.

I always love going thru your back catalogue of videos Bentley. Thank you for sharing! - Little Bobby

What a good episode.. thanx for the light knowledge 💡

Great video! Thank you Bentley

Great explanation Bentley, really appreciate the thought that has gone into this video. It can be quite confusing trying to work out what it all means and you have nailed it, well done. More subscribers are on their way I am sure with great content like this. Merry Christmas and thanks from Australia🇭🇲

Fascinating video, it’s all very complex but your helping thanks. 👍🏼👍🏼

I new most of this but glad you share all the info for sure The science is also my favorite part Thanks and keep the videos coming

Thanks for the simple breakdown 👍

Great video Bentley, thanks for the breakdown .

Very good video, one of your best so far. Would love to see something similar on heaters such as different types, construction materials, and so forth.

You have a great way of explaining things, I really enjoy watching your videos.

Very in formative learnt a lot thanks.

Great video! Thank you very much!

I learned something thank you sir👍👍

Very helpful to me! Thank you for the explanation. 👍😀🕯️💡☀️

Great video. Thanks

Great video thanks Bentley

Thanks for covering the subject, surely a lot more info than the average person can absorb, but you explained it for those who are interested. Thanks.

So good 👌🏿 learned alot man.

I learnt so much in this video, and your presentation allowed my newbie brain to the science of lighting absorb it incredibly easily. Im in the process of the big decision of what lighting do I want to exchange my hard earned cash for. Todays lesson for myself watching this has greatly aided me to identify what my lighting needs are and apply them to research lighting units out there and find the match for those requirements. You truly are a Guru.

great look into the scientific aspect of picking a light. gives me a better understanding of what all those specs mean and higher numbers not necessary better

Great stuff once again. Your Fluval 3.0 settings video is what I direct people to when they ask about configuring those lights. And now I've got a video to direct people to for general lighting info.

Still working on the right balance to control algae but this was helpful to move me forward.

great informatal video to explain lighting i know most of this but alot of newbes ill find this great to learn so good job love ur tanks look great

Thank you for another great video!

Such great information. Like anything else in this hobby, there really is no one absolute answer. So many variables regarding tank size, plants, personal preference, features in the lights such as app/separate channel controls/timers. Almost impossible to tell someone THIS is the best. Thanks for all the great info to guide someone in the right direction for their needs.

I have a beamswork DA on a 20 high. It took some time and but I got my plants growing great. To keep algae from growing so fast I blocked the blue LEDs with electrical tape. I also put my hob on a timer to keep the water surface movement on the top to a minimum during the day. I'm sure of I add 2 more inches of substrate I can get even better growth with that added height. Great video as always. You're awesome.

I accidentally found your video at the perfect time! You are an awesome teacher! Thank you! I have been trying to decide what light I needed to purchase for a new tank. My 75 gallon existing tank has a Finnex and it does not light the entire tank. I've looked at lighting and wondered how to figure it out. You made it so easy to understand! Thanks again!

I am fairly new to your channel and I just want you know how informative and easy to understand your presentations are. Outstanding ❤

Lightning is one if things I struggle to understand. The scientific/technical side of things anyways. I feel like I got a much better understanding thanks to your video.

You deserve more subscribers

Good job it answered lots of questions for me on lighting. Tks a ton. Be very helpful as I set my fish room you.

Damn dude well done👍

I could listen all the way and understand what you r saying/ explaining. Especially the part where you said : ignore all that. But it was understandable for sure. I say if you buy a light get a " high light" which is dimmable. You can go all different ways like that. Finding that balance in your tank with your water and your selection of plants that's the tricky part what everyone need to figure out themselves. No science needed, start with 50% of your light and look at your plants,add nutrients to balance the tank. Now you can adjust ( higher) your light and balance it again with more nutrients. This is simple if you keep all plants with the same care fore. Next level is buying all the plants you like with all different needs,that's where the scaping begins,to create shadow areas for lowlight plants. Ramble ramble ramble, it's a great hobby. Thanks Bentley ,have a wonderfull Christmas All.

Dude I love you, thank you, thank you, thank you, I love how you explain stuff and give examples, I have been in this hobby for years but this light stuff has always been confusing, I have a 56 gal, with co2, 24 inches tall and I can not grow carpet plants, I am currently using 2 finnex 24/7 and it’s still not enough light I have been search all over on what to try and this video really helped, my plan is to get 2 of the fluval 24/7, that should be good to do a carpet once I add in the new substrate. Thank you again, 4ever fan

I have a FluvalSmart LED light and the plants are growing a ton

נהדר..מאוד נהנתי מאופן ההסבר , תודה עבור-ההסבר הנהדר :) = (: Great..I really enjoyed the explanation , thank-you for the Great explanation

Excellent video, exactly what I needed - an in-depth, data-driven explanation. Thank you! If I may, one thing that might make your videos (such as this one, i.e. more lecture-like) even more informative, is if you perhaps inserted some graphical representations of the things you're currently talking about? It helps to take in more info at the same time and corelate the information you're passing on with actual things/terms/properties etc. Anywho. With or without it, really appreciate your videos and hopefully will be able to set up my very own tank thanks to them (fingers and toes crossed). Hah. Cheers mate!

I learnt all u said

Thanks Bentley. You have an incredible nack of taking a huge complicated topic, identifying the relevant information and then making it seem simple. Good work sir!

Hi Bradley. I’m returning to fishkeeping after a lapse of 25 years and whilst many of the basic principles haven’t changed, my goodness, the technology has really moved on. I’ve found your lighting guides in particular to be most informative and really appreciate the advice you’ve provided.

Thank you for another informative video. I am planning to buy a light for 36 gallon bow front planted tank. I want medium light. Decisions! Decisions!

A lot of my fish live in dark caves........ which is a big reason why I have so many plants so their homes are pleasant to look at even if I don’t see them so much. Lol

Thanks Bentley explain the lights I for one on a low budget ,an for my 55 gallon planted tank I am using 48 inches shop light from Amazon it 65k For only 25 dollars free shipping and my plants and fine and growing

It is always pretty obvious to me what the best light(s) probably are but for many of us it is what we can afford. I would love to have the best of the best but alas I am a mere mortal 😁 shhh don't tell my wife. I was going to buy a tester to read my light output at the bottom of my aquarium, but holy crap!!! I love your explanations Bentley, they bring order to chaos. So people need to keep in mind is water turbidity and colour like Blackwater? Again Bentley you are really good at this.

Well your explanation is great but I still am not smart enough to figure it out 😃. I actually was doing fine with floating lettuce and Amazon swords but I added Java Moss to several tanks and boom Green Hair Algae and a couple of tanks Black Beard Algae. Struggling to get rid of it all. I appreciate your knowledge and sharing. Thank you.

Hello. Im new to the hobby. Just purchased my very first aquarium light. Hoping to grow more plants than algae. I have a little 5.5 gallon top fin. A Hygger 9 watt (12-18 inches ). If I am getting what your putting out correctly I shouldn’t even be running this light on the 100% setting. I have some slow growers. Crypt, Anubis, Amazon Sword, Rotala Rotundifolia and Bacopa. Also got a sweet deal on some Ludwigia red which I now know want grow with the little set up I have. At least not bright red anyways. But I’m exited to see if I can be successful and not have everything die off. Thanks for the knowledge Bentley👍🏽

fala sobre as cores das luzes, e aquarios plantados mais sofisticadosss muito legais as informações que vc traz

This is the best explanation I've heard of the difference between PAR and PUR, and the effect CO2 has on PUR was new to me. I do wish PAR meters were less expensive, though.

Can you do a video specifically on LED angle, tank height, and how some things like that play a role?

hi sir, i just watched this video, and it is very informative and helpful, i just wanna ask if i can achieve a vibrant red coloration of rotala plants using a led floodlight? thank you.

I use CRI color rendering index as luminous are geared to the human eye and a green light will have higher lumin

Extremely useful video, your a god sent. It's hard to have a planted tank when you don't know all the science behind your things work. You really make learning about planted tanks less intimidating I have a Hygger light on my 90 gallon, I believe it's 2ft tall. I thought it looked pretty dull but now that I've researched the par I now know that it's probably medium light. And my algea isn't caused from low light, but probably high light and not enough plants

Hey Bentley. I LOVED this video... you really fleshed out the complicated info I've been reading about lighting. Question... I am new to aquascaping/aquatic plants, and I am trying to grow complicated, high-tech plants (with CO2 injection) in a 55-gallon, 22" tall aquarium. I have a Fluval Plant 3.0 light... though I think it's an older model since it doesn't have "Pro" options available on the app, and doesn't have any hardware upgrades available (I got it off of Craigslist). Despite this light's uniform high grades from users, some of the plants still seem to be just sitting there, if not melting away. Many that are supposedly red, orange, pink, and/or purple are growing, but staying bright green. Would you recommend getting a second Fluval light? The one I have looks great, but it really doesn't seem to be putting out enough light to make it to the substrate for the weird plants... but that is certainly just an observation. I was thinking of using a second light for a shorter window of time, so the plants could get a solid 6 hours of super-intense light, and then bookend this period with just the original light for an extra hour or two plus the sunrise/sunset period. I fertilize the tank with iron-rich liquid fertilizer and used Seachem black fluorite substrate with a few root tabs... so it doesn't seem like nutrients are an issue. Maybe increase the CO2? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated! Cheers, Bryan

If you follow my reasoning here: The water itself attenuates (absorbs) red light better than blue, while dissolved organic carbon (DOC) absorbs blue light... And corals do better with blue light because there's very little DOC in the open ocean to attenuate blue light, such that the open ocean appears blue... However, due to higher DOC in coastal waters, not only can light not penetrate them as deeply, but they may also appear green, since blue is being attenuated more than green and yellow... And then there is of course often a good deal of DOC in freshwater... So as a result, freshwater aquatic plants may well perform best with greens and yellows than with reds. In fact, there are tests in Walstad's book Ecology of the Planted Aquarium that show, not only that greens and yellows seem to perform better than other spectrum (at least in Elodea, which was the only test plant), blue stimulates photosynthesis better than red light, so yeah, other aquatic plants likely use blue light. Now, I will give you this caveat: This may not be true for all AQUARIUM plants, considering Elodea is fully aquatic and most aquarium plants are amphibious and prefer to grow above the waterline where sunlight is only impeded by trees and such (since, as you know, most are shade plants). However, regardless of the fact that terrestrial plants tend to use more blue and red than any other spectrum and prefer red, the plants that are shading most aquarium plants in the wild are absorbing most of the blues and reds, such that even the emergent plants are likely absorbing a good deal higher ratio of greens and yellows than less shade tolerant plants. That being said, Elodea often grows out in the open in full sun where it can get more blue light, which could account for its slightly better performance in blue light than red in the test, so IDK. Also, blue seems to be attenuated better than red by canopy plants, which will allow more red to make it to the emersed/submersed shaded stem plants. But it's still dubious that red stimulates more photosynthesis, at least underwater. On that note, here's a final thought: Blue is likely more important than red in terms of a more aesthetic development of aquarium plants, especially for stem plants, and especially for carpeting plants. For terrestrial plants in grow rooms where only blue is applied, growth is shortened, hard, and dark in color. On the other hand red-only growth is soft, and internodes are long, causing the plants to be leggy. Also, red lights produce a lot more far-red light than blue lights of course, which is known to stimulate a "I'm in the shade" response, causing even more legginess as the plant tries to reach above the shade. This may be true for submerged plants as well, though they'd have to be close to the surface because far-red will be attenuated more quickly than any other visible spectrum the moment it hits water despite it predominating on forest floors. Also, blue light is helpful for inducing red leaves in some terrestrial plants, and this may be true for aquatic plants as well, as opposed to just high light and iron.

I learned a lot thank you Bentley. Your a great speaker. I’m planning on adding Co2 and have 37g 22in deep. I’m at a loss on a light. Any help would be appreciated.

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Great information as always! How would you suggest modifying your recommended 3.0 settings if you don't have CO2 and are getting some algae? The otos, shrimp, and snails are keeping it semi under control, but it is slowly growing. The 40b isn't too bad, but the 20L is getting it worse.

Hi, for my 10gal using the Nano Fluval, what can be my lighting intensity max/min? Am using mix of low and high tech plants. Dosing DIY CO2...

THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR THIS AWESOME INFO ONE QUESTION PLEASE THE LIGHT THAT I BOUGHT IS A BEAMSWORK AND IS 5418 LUMENS DO THINK IS ENOUGH TO GROW... MY LUDWIKIA ,JUNGLE VAL, COPOMBA AND SOME POGOSTAMUS AND AGAIN THANK YOU SO MUCH✌👍AND NO NOT BORING AT ALL

Hi Bentley! First off, big fan of your channel. As a new planted tank keeper I've learned a lot and come you you for information so thank you! My question is I have 2 Fluval 3.0 planted lights on my 180g planted tank(24 in tall). They are amazing, I set up one of your light schedules and things are growing pretty well(occasional issues being nutrient balance...still learning). I have filigree growing and they seem to grow very thin and sporadic leaves but once they reach the top 6 inches if the tank they start to fill in and look beautiful the way I bought them. Do you think this is an issue of not enough lighting as in, do you think I need to purchase more of these lights? Any info would be much appreciated! Take care

Helpful but i think i need to get a par meter to get to the next level. I am also curious about ppfd as this seems to be the measure people are moving toward in my hydro hobby as it describes both intensity and duration of light. Duration used to be the way i would dial in my t5s and it worked really well once you hang the light and chose the bulb mix to set your color temperature (usually 1:1 in daylight and pink bulbs with maybe a purple in there somewhere). LEDs infinite adjustability has me confused to the point that i am considering going back to t5s for growth and low powered leds for effect. On my 40 long high tech EI dosing tank I switched from an ecoexotic e series running for 6 hours 85 white, 50 blue, 100 green, 100 red to a fluval 3.0 and got an outbreak of brush algae and staghorn algae. I dialed down the blue and the staghorn is gone with the brush reduced but still stubbornly present in patches along with more green spot. The red in my plants has faded especially the ludwigia and the aromatica. The light is currently running 25 red, 3 blue, 50 cold white, 60 pure white, 50 warm white. Sunrise is 16:30-16:45, sunset 22:30-22:45 with no night setting. At this point i am not sure what to do to get the color back and keep the algae at bay.

Alright alright

Nice explanation.. although I'm still confused.. sort of... So the higher the PAR, the better it's for TALLER tank??? lol. Just recently picked up a 75Gal from Petco. 48x21x19.. (21''height is what i need for my upgraded planted tank), should I get stingray 2 or fluval 3.0?? currently i have all my planted tank in 20G with 2 aqueon clip on from Petco (forgot all the details), so far they're doing great I would say. wonder if i get one of the fluval/stingray one (?), plus the 2 small ones I already have --would be sufficient? P.S. I don't have very hard to care plants/that requires lots of lighting, mostly just some beginner plants... for now. lol. THNKS :)

Hello Bentley. I have used Current USA Freshwater Plus for awhile now. Would like to try others but am having troubles finding replacement transformers that will last for awhile. Specs are right but is hit or miss with each manufacturer. Some heat up then light will flash before going out even though amperage is correct. If you have any thoughts on that it would be appreciated. Thanks.

hmmm, you seem familiar, i think i saw you at the GSAS annual auction? anyways, i recently got a better light with more than double the PAR of my old light, and i'm starting to get some black beard algae on the substrate and leaf edges, should i just dim the light a bit? Thanks!

i have a 55 gallon planted tank im running 3 led lights on it that produce 450 lumens each and give me 50 par at 12 inches depth i have clear glass tops the lights sit down almost touching the glass does clear glass reduce the par of the lights as much as clear water does? i have a lot of stem plants some reds i have a co2 system on the way do i have enough light? if im running all 3 lights does that mean i have high light 150 par 3 lights rated at 50 par? or am i just hitting med light with 50 par. should i add another light or get one with a higher par rating when i start running co2? this may be a lot of dumb questions i just want to be sure i understand corectly. thanks i enjoy watching your vids i always learn something new.

I just purchased a Hygger- 978 24/7 Aquarium light and put it on a 40 gallon breeder tank . I will try to grow plants . I was trying to stay up with on your video about lighting. ( par and etc. ) .The information that came with the light mentions something about LED Quantity of 158PCS ? Need some help and your suggestions as to where I went wrong >

Hi Bentley, need some tips or a preset on my fluval aquasky 600m I currently have a 54g corner tank lightly planted with some cardinal tetras, do you have any suggestions on my RGBW percentage on my settings? I run my lights from 7am-10pm. At the moment I’m using R 75% G 26% B 72% W 70% during 7am-6pm and R 20% B 10% 6pm-10pm

Can one Fluval Plant 3.0 (the biggest one) cover an aquarium sized 160x60x60? 🤷🏼‍♂️

white and reds and yellows! Yellows are white/red in lights.

I made me a 14 ft light bar & have 9-40 watt led lights for 3 55 gal tanks I wonder if that will work for plants (easy plants)

So I'm like wondering.Can I turn down the warm white on my fluval 3.0 and still grow plants

I need pictures. LOL

What lighting would you recommend for a 125 gallon tank? I would like a dwarf hairgrass carpet, and then mostly medium to low tech plants.

So if I don't have any live plants it doesn't really make much sense to have a full spectrum light? Just the white and blue led light will be fine?

The one bit you didn't mention is the height of the light from the water surface - does that make a difference or is that irrelevant? It seems intuitive that the closer the light is to the water surface the more light will penetrate the water but maybe that's not the case?

I've got a nicrew classic plus, finnex 24/7 se, beamswork ds fspec, and just ordered a chihiros aplus and wrgb to get to the bottom of this whole lighting situation on my 20 long. 10 inches to substrate, and growing dwarf hairgrass, rotala Vietnam, and alternanthera reineckii mini, which came in a tropica 1 2 grow and has pretty much completely melted. Also running co2. I never imagined that lighting is what will get me. Between brightness, color spectrum, and trying to balance growth vs algae, it's been a real disaster. So far the da fspec is best at producing growth, especially with the dimmer, but I'm not in love with the color at all. I'm hoping the chihiros will solve that, otherwise, I'll have to get a fluval 3.0, although i hate that they're not sized to American tanks, producing shadows in the corners, where my rotala is. Thank you for all your videos, they're very helpful. What state are you in? I wouldn't mind handing them to someone to test and compare them.

If i want a light to make blue fish look better what light should i get something more blue ? Definitely not warm or is natural light better ?

All the keepers of Astyanax mexicanus and Gnathonemus petersii are wondering why we spend so much money on lighting... Very nice to have it all in one place. I use Fluval 3.0 on 40B and bigger regardless of plants, and Finnex Stingray on smaller tanks.

II am one of the many that have to go with what I can afford. Partly because I have too many tanks to go with things like the Fluval 3.0. Because of these reasons I have several of the cheaper Aquaneat lights you can get on ebay. They seem to do ok. They are listed at 10,000K full spectrum. While the ones I use do have the red and green LED, they have far more blue and white. Do you think you could do a video on lights such as these that are at the lower end of the cost scale? I would love to have an idea of the possibility range of plants while using these lights.

But what if I want to continuously light my tank with the fireplace because it's going to work well as a heater as well?

Hi mate, not sure I'll get a reply here, I'm having bit of a nightmare, I've planted my tank twice in 7 months 38 plants of which 32 are dead, I have a helialux led 1000 light 3200 lum ,I run co2, I get brown algae a lot, some have said I need to upgrade my light and some said I need to turn my light down, for the average planted tank with co2 what % would you say I would need for my main 6/8 hours,white and blue, would appreciate your guidance:)

One easier method to choosing a good light, is to simply look at a tank you really like, and just copy. 🤣

Would a 100 watt equv. 1550 lumen 6500 K LED regular light bulb work in the long run (not kill low-tech plants)? I have several Bettas in divided tanks with plants. These look good to the eye, and sound good according to your explanations, but I don't want to miss anything!

I wish Fluval would make the Plant 3.0 in shorter lengths. Also the Nano is 7500. What's up with that?

What cheap lights would be a good, solid option for a 60g (24" tall) tank? Looking for low to medium tech, so maybe something like an led shop light or hygger? Would putting a 3000k flourescent shop light, and a 6500ish Kelvin led shop light on it get me into high light? Or will I NEED to get a fish designated light?

I’ll just buy the best light I can afford

forget your fluval 3,0s there good but not worth the price there dear and only put out 1000 lumens per foot an 27 par per 2 foot deep try the asta f120 its a knockoff kessel style light 100 pound each there dimmable 60 watts 6000lumens per foot with the 90 degree lens cover puts out 230 par at 2 foot deep i got one and its on my fluval roma 125 thats a 32inch long tank its lighting the full tank up no dimm spots at all comes with goose neck and hanging kit cable ties to conect powercable to gooseneck vert tiny well made light with mofan fan to keep leds from burning out you can hear the fan running at full power but its not that bad if you run the light lower the fans slower n you dont hear it its that powerfull you wont need to run on full power thankfully i have a slow moving undergravel plenem in my tank so no matter how much lights hitting tank i never get algae the plants pearl and grow very nicely the colors great looks like natural sunlight with a tiny hint of blue 48leds 3 blue in new model you can find on amazon but the infos not right it says 80wats and 65k but its 60watts 72k the older models 65k it also says 4325lumens ats right with the flat lens but comes with round one taking to 6000lumens and wider spread im loving the light gonna get one more note best using co2 aswell or no need for all that power this light ill put a fluval to shame at less price dont get me wrong the fluvals great but only for medium lighted tanks and the apps good the asta has no app to change the ammount of tbg white ect but looks perfact way it is the shimmering effects great aswell its like a cheap mans kessel probely stronger n 5 times cheaper,you can also get an asta f20 its 46pound 16watts 985lumens 65k dimmable gooaseneck and you can get a wifi thing to just an app look good but only good for nanos,but best geting one asta 120 than 2 asta 20s n dimming it then once get larger tank using on that,sorry on a rant now but check it out great light