Wpg

[JinxXx0085]

Watts Per Gallon... How do you guys know how many watts would be needed per gallon and why would it matter? Umm.. How does it work?
I have 3 live plants in my tank and am not injecting CO2. Don't want to go there. That tank has 17 watts fluroscent (sp?) I don't know if its sufficent. Most blubs I see out there are 20 watts for 24 inch long fluroscsent.
any 2cent would help! :thm:

[Kasakato]

Its important because it tells you if your tank is low or med or high light. Every plant goes into one or more of these categories. If a high light plant, goes into a low light tank it may die.

The conversion is (wattage) / (tank_size) =WPG. But this "rule" only works on tanks between 20g and about 90g. Anything under a 20g, needs more light, and anything above a 90g needs less light. But this rule again only works on normal rectangle tanks. Other shapes may need more light because the tanks are deeper.

[Bmeasure]

Generally speaking you want a set number of watts for each gallon of tank size because it's an easy way to gauge having about the right intensity of light for any given tank size. For a low light, low growth tank (with slow growing plants) you want anywhere from 1 to 2 watts for each gallon of tank size (often 1 1/2 is a better place to start, though). For a Medium/Moderate light tank, you want between 2 and 3 watts and this is a nice area to be in for the simple fact that you can have pretty much any plant you want (with a few exceptions)and not be forced into using CO2 or expensive lighting, although many start needing at least a DIY CO2 system as they get towards 3 wpg. Then 3 to 4 wpg is necessary for a high light tank. This type of tank, almost certainly needs to be using supplemental CO2 and added fertilizers to keep up with growth demands. If you don't get the balance just right, algae is going to take over the tank and cause serious problems. Finally some have even used 4 watts or more for extreme bright lighting for very needy plants or very deep tanks. The reason is that water tends to break down the light wavelengths over distance, and filter out much of the necessary light. Many low growing high light requirement plants (like glosso) are grown as low foreground plants and will need intense lighting all the way to the bottom. This type of tank will be needing high or bright light tanks. That's the gists of it anyways.

As for your setup, I can't really comment on how much light you have because you didn't list the size tank you are using. Just be aware that Most 10 gallon tanks (standard) come with 15 watt T8 lighting, which is actually a good place to start a low to moderate planted tank. Even though it's only 1 1/2 watts per gallon, the shallow depth of this size tank is small enough to allow most light full depth access. They also use T8 lighting which is thinnner tubes which are more efficient at getting more light in the tank than the T12 normal flourescent tubes. Also, you said that you only have 3 plants. Now depending on the size of your tank, and what those 3 plants are, I'd be very tempted to say that your tank is less than even lightly stocked. The only time you would have decent amount of plant growth for your tank is if you had large growing plants like some Amazon Swords or such. If you have a couple of Anubias and a stem of Ludwigia, then even a 10 gallon isn't lightly stocked. I wouldn't worry about considering your tank a planted tank until at least 1/3 of it is planted (personally I'd call that lightly stocked with plants). Most people either have "fish tanks with a few plants" or "planted tanks with a few fish". See the difference? Hope I helped a bit.

[JinxXx0085]

my tank specs are in signature below, ah 29gal one is what I've been referring to. I dont have 2 gal at the moment. I'll give the dimenson of 29 gal in LxWxH --> 30x12x18. The tank came with 17 watt. I've looked in stores and I've only found 20 watts for 24 inch long bulb. Where do I find 60 watt? 2 wgp should work. One of my 3 plants are red melon sword, other two.. i'm not too sure. One might be called something like frill? I checked my light hood and it looks like it will only suport up to 20 watt.. does it mean I would have to get different hood to support a bulb of 60 watt? I defintely am a newbie to plants :soda: Trail and error for me here.
If I try to grow those plants at 17 watt bulb will they still be able to survive and grow slowly? :dive2:

[Kasakato]

Yes you will need a new hood. Here is what you need: http://www.bigalsonline.com/catalog/product.xml?product_id=24075;category_id=1875;pcid 1=1843;pcid2=
Even better:
http://www.bigalsonline.com/catalog/product.xml?product_id=31566;category_id=1875;pcid 1=1843;pcid2=

[JinxXx0085]

Yes you will need a new hood. Here is what you need: http://www.bigalsonline.com/catalog/product.xml?product_id=24075;category_id=1875;pcid 1=1843;pcid2=
Even better:
http://www.bigalsonline.com/catalog/product.xml?product_id=31566;category_id=1875;pcid 1=1843;pcid2=
Money is an issue here. I never knew anything about plants, just put them in my 10 g and added 2 new ones in 29 g when i moved everything from 10g to 29g. Umm... would the plants be able to survive under 17 watts for awhile (for how long?) before I get money coming in? :look: for money for me! :thud:

[Kasakato]

A Red Melon needs med-high light. And right now you have below low. So no, it wont really by ok. You can try, but it may not happen.

[JinxXx0085]

Eww... so what is considered good wattage for low, med, and high lighting plants? I think I might have one plant that needs high lighting requirement.
Any possiblity that I can use ordinary desk lamp like 40 watt set directed above where the plants are? I have this lamp I want to take apart for the heck of it so therefore I could find a use for it umm? :thm:

[dave76]

I have a 29 gallon. I built a canopy and used a glass cover and put two standard light fixtures mounted in the top of the canopy. I put 13w spiral CFL bulbs rated at 13w each but outputting 800 lumens. It is almost equivilent to a 60watt standard bulb. I have had friends use these to grow indoor plants with great success. I decided to give it a try and after 3 days I can already see the difference in my plants. Course I have more plants than you do. I only spent around $30 dollars total on the light fixtures and bulbs. Not to mention that they will save me $ in the long run on my electric bill. HTH. Oh btw my tank now has a nice yellow hue that really shows off my fish's colors.

[Kasakato]

Low- 1-2WPG
Med- 2-3WPG
High- 3+ WPG

Yes a desk lamp will work fine. But taking it apart will be hard. This is because you need the light clip, the bulb, the quick start, and the ballast.

[JinxXx0085]

Low- 1-2WPG
Med- 2-3WPG
High- 3+ WPG

Yes a desk lamp will work fine. But taking it apart will be hard. This is because you need the light clip, the bulb, the quick start, and the ballast.
Mister Smarty Pants, what is ballast? :bowing: Also, why would quick start be necessary? :dive2:

[JinxXx0085]

I have a 29 gallon. I built a canopy and used a glass cover and put two standard light fixtures mounted in the top of the canopy. I put 13w spiral CFL bulbs rated at 13w each but outputting 800 lumens. It is almost equivilent to a 60watt standard bulb. I have had friends use these to grow indoor plants with great success. I decided to give it a try and after 3 days I can already see the difference in my plants. Course I have more plants than you do. I only spent around $30 dollars total on the light fixtures and bulbs. Not to mention that they will save me $ in the long run on my electric bill. HTH. Oh btw my tank now has a nice yellow hue that really shows off my fish's colors.
Its neat! I'll figure something out to ensure survival of my plants. I love the way they look in my tank! :dance: I suppose I won't be adding any more plants until my lightings are sufficent.

[Kasakato]

:D :D I own it all to AC and its members.

A ballast is like a transformer. It will convert the 120AC power line to what ever the light needs. A quick start will let you use the light on a timer. This is because normally you need to hold down the switch to give it a kick start. But a timer only gives it a short blast. A quick start will use that small burst and will turn it into a stinger current that will turn on the light. But this only happens in fluorescent and compact fluorescent lights.

[Bmeasure]

The links Kasakoto listed show some very good options. That would put you right where you want to be. Also, I'd feel free to add more plants as soon as you get more lighting. Unless you are seriously shading a plant it doesn't matter how many you have in there. The more the merrier.

[gman52]

A Red Melon needs med-high light. And right now you have below low. So no, it wont really by ok. You can try, but it may not happen.

wat r u talking about???

those plants can live under that lighting for a while, the wont die, they just wont grow.

[JinxXx0085]

:look:
Thanks guys for your all feedback. Gman, interesting comment. I suppose you have a planted tank of your own. Can you share your experience? :idea:
I came up with an idea. I'll use the lighting I had from 10g on my 29g along w/ its own lighting. I'll set the 10g lighting directly above where the plants are. It'll be interesting to see how the lighting looks when I've got it all set up. 10g lighting has 15 watts and 29g has 17 watts so that would give me 32 watts total right. Now... would this be sufficent to promote some plant growth and keep them healthy? :dive2:

[Kasakato]

They may die. Iv got some high light plants, under low light. Half of the thing is starting to die, the other half isn't looking so good. Took a month to happen.