To be 40 gallon planted- high wattage? :-)

[elementkid65]

so im getting a 40 gallon as some of christmas gift with 2 dual lights both t5 with 39w bulbs so its 4 39w bulbs= 156w over 40 gallon = nearly 4 w/p/g
im guessing this is strong light
i want to do a heavily planted tank.
will every plant grow in here without co2 just heaps good light?
not the rare ones just the ones available at lfs.

like hair grass and stuff like that
but some bigger leaved plants to provide shelter and a piece of drift wood i have.

how deep gravel for hair grass? and the like

is this without co2 ok for hairgrass??

[rich311k]

I think with that kind of light and no CO2 you will be fighting algae every step of the way. I would half the lighting if you do not want to deal with CO2.

[jmhart]

with no CO2, even cutting the lighting in half won't help. With that lighting setup, you're going to have to go with pressurized co2, you'll need 30ppm of co2 or else.

In my opinion, co2 comes first, then lighthing. If you increase the lighthing at all, w/o co2, algae will take over.

[elementkid65]

can i just do diy co2 with half this lighting?

[jmhart]

I would say yes.

[tinkerman]

I have 130 w over a 29 gal tank and use diy co2.

[elementkid65]

I have 130 w over a 29 gal tank and use diy co2.

i am definately doing diy co2
So tinkerman no algae problems?
That wattage is higer in ratio to mine and that tank isnt as high as mine
mine is 3ft by 15 inches by 18 inches.
so sounds like i should still get the two fixtures. any opinions?

[jmhart]

I think you'll be ok with DIY CO2, just don't leave your lights on too long per day. 8 hours should be good.

[elementkid65]

oh and how deep for gravel?

[tinkerman]

I have 2.5-3 in of 50\50 sand flourite. Algae can be an issuse at times as long as you keep up on co2 levels add ferts. Algae is way better now than when I started this tank, seen all algae forms minus blue green. I use 1 gal gas cans for co2, needle valve, bubble counter, and diy drop checker. I use the gas cans with the seperet vent hole which I found are getting hard to find, 3\16 barb glued in with plastic epoxy. needle valve got from wal-mart is clear with 2 black knobs, disasembled and super glued back together and teflon tape on the knob. The lighting should be fine not sure on t5 as I have power compac flourecent. T5 is more intense than pcf, I'm not heavily planted and still have dark spots in the tank. I use dry ferts mixed into small bottles and dosed with a syringe. Be prepared to be pruning at least weekly, maybe 2 times a week depending on plants. With the diyco2 I would recomend a container for a water bath and a trusted heater.