LED Lighting for a 55 Planted Turtle Tank

Is Co2 really going to be necessary? My 35g Hex has lots of plants that aren't thriving or growing out of control but have slowly been growing and doing well for over a year now with just two 6500k Compact bulbs from Lowes.

Preferably I would like to avoid installing a Co2 system because it would keep costs down. I'm still trying to find lighting solutions. I need something sleek and thin that will fit underneath the 20g tank that will be sitting on top of the 55g.

I was looking at the Ecoxotic 48" Panorama Pro which is around $300 but I dont know if that will be good for a planted tank, its 10000k and 445nm when plants need around 5500-6500k.

 

CO2 is only needed where your lighting is too strong and causes algae to grow wild.

 

+1 2in10 Thank you for the advice. I will post pictures once it's put together.

Still trying to come up with some lighting solutions that will be more than sufficient to grow the majority of basic aquatic plants. I have had my eye on the Ecoxotic Panorama Marine LED Lighting System. It's 12k/445nm so I don't have enough experience to know whether plants can do fine under these conditions. I know corals would do well but not plants.

This week I plan to make my own stand since it will cost a fraction of the price of buying one. Plus its hard to find something sturdy and solid that fits my dimensions.

 

You could go with 1 T5HO bulb or 2 T5NO or 2 T8 bulbs for low light. 2 PC bulbs would also work for low to medium light.