new tank, new light, daylight bulbs

wataugachicken

wataugachicken

The Dancing Banana
Jul 14, 2005
5,451
1
0
Charlotte, NC
okay, i have my 50 long, and i'm trying to figure out the lighting for it. i bought a regular shop light to hang just above the glass cover of the tank (no more than 1/2 inch of space). i also bought two daylight bulbs (40 watts, 6500K). the tank is only 13" deep and the light goes the whole length of the tank (4'). i'm not doing a heavily planted tank, just a few plants here and there for looks. probably heavy on the anubias, as they seem to thrive in my 10g tanks with stock lights.

is there anything you can recommend? i know any aquarium light would be better than something that is supposed to be used in a garage, but i honestly can't afford a $150++ fixture at this point, or specialty $30 bulbs.
 
I think that for a low light/low tech tank which you seem to be leaning towards, the shop light is a good option at this time. The light is adequate for Anubia, Crypts., Java Fern etc. and I'd bet that you will be able to grow Tenellus (a low growing 'ground cover') in the foreground with no problem.
The tank is shallow which will aid light penetration.
Lots of luck keeping things planted with those Plecos:).

Len
 
i have a bunch of bioballs, and i was thinking of somehow securing each individual stem between the spikes of the balls. i'm hoping that the balls will keep them at the bottom of the tank and eventually the roots will grow around the ball so that there will be a stable cluster. even if it gets knocked around, it won't break loose and float to the top like they usually do. it would be much easier to just stick them back down in the substrate that way.
 
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