light specs

You do realize that that's less than 1 watt per gallon, right? That is quite weak. Then again, all those plants would live (not necessarily grow) under that little light. Oh, and the red Ludwigia will not stay red if it lives. You'd do better with at least two of those bulbs, or, even better, a 36 watt CF instead. That would still be low light, but at least it would be enough to have some growth in a low tech/non-CO2 tank.

Good luck,
Jared

am i wrong in thinking that generally up to 10-12 hours worth of daylight means that that should be the upper bound on total light anyhow?

perhaps less if you have really strong lighting or heat issues, but in nature, at least where most fish in aquaria grow, there's a lot of light.

DarrylR said:

Also about the "Oh, and the red Ludwigia will not stay red if it lives" so I should let it die to become red? I am confused.

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What he meant was, if it even lives, it will only be greenish. It will not produce the red colors in such a low light tank. But that it may die without higher lighting.

DarrylR said:

Would a Flora-glow 15 watt be to strong for a 20 gallon tank with cories,guppies and female guppies?

The plants are java moss, wisteria, java fern, anubias, and red ludwiga.

Also, would the bulb be to strong to leave it on for hours, such as 6-8 hours straight?

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I think you should do more reading on this site about Watts per gallon and lighting requirements. 15 watts on a 20 gallon isn't near enough for most plants; however, if you pick the plants that can stand really low light they may be able to live in your tank, though they probably won't grow much.

In most tanks people want to have around 2 watts per gallon, so they can grow most average plants. If you want to grow plants that are red or just generally need high light, you are going to need something in the 3-4 watts per gallon range. Most of the time we have to buy retrofitted hoods, because the hoods that come originally with the tanks don't allow for such high wattage bulbs. As you said your tank could only take one 15 watt bulb, and that amount of light isn't going to do much for your plants. The light that comes with the tank wasn't meant for planted tank use, it was meant for looking at fish.

As for the amount of time you leave the light on, most people usually aim for a photoperiod of 10-12 hours. This will cause no problems with your tank, especially when your lighting is so weak. Some people with really intense lighting might leave the lights on for 6-8 hours though. (Just remember that the extra length of the photoperiod doesn't make up for you not having a light that is intense enough to grow plants)

Did any of that make sense? :nilly:

It seems you need to do a lot more reading, so that you can get the basic ideas of a planted tank down. You could also try using the search feature on this forum to pin point any specific questions you have.

DarrylR said:

Not to get off the original subject but my bettas just mated, female was removed but the male is still with the eggs. If I remove the male would the eggs drown by the egg nest popping? Or it is okay to leave him in there until the eggs hatch than remove?

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If I remember right, he should be fine for the first day or three after hatching, since he'll replace fry that fall out of the nest. Once they're free-swimming, however, you should remove him.