Lighting for 29 gal tank

[justchillin']

Hello all. I am new to the forum.

I had a 10 gallon tank for 2 years, and plants seemed to thrive in there.
When my fiancee moved in, she brought her 10 gal, so we combined them in a 20 gal.
My Plecostomos Outgrew the 20 gal, so we recently upsized the tank to a 29 gal, still using the equipment from the original 10 gal tanks (undergravel is new). My plants that used to thrive, are now not growing at al.

I am sure that my problem is the lack of proper lighting. At the 3 watt/gallon rule, I would need 90 watts. Would this be sufficient if I like lots of plants?

Also, I was reading some other threads that were talking about kelvin temperatures? What does this do to plants and fish?

Are there any tips on the best places to by lighting?

Thank you for taking the time to help.

[livingword26]

I am going to use this on my new 36 bow:

https://www82.safesecureweb.com/webaquatics/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=CL58121&Category_Code=CLT5


They are t-5 bulbs so they put out a little more than regular bulbs. I think that they will work well for a low to medium light requirements without co2. I will be using Flourish Excel for carbon.

[Rex Grigg]

A couple of tips. The internet and this forum have members from many countries. So going into your Profile and letting us know where you live helps us help you. I personally think that filling in the location in a profile should be required.

Second tip. If you are going to have more than 60 watts over the 29 gallon tank then you will need CO2.

I have always felt that the 30" long tanks were the hardest to light as most decent lighting options are either 24" or 36" long, note I am talking about the bulbs/reflectors here and not the length of the enclosure.

That being said an AH Supply www.ahsupply.com 55 watt kit will allow you to grow a surprising number of plants. However it's not a perfect solution as the bulb/reflector is 22" long and the tank is 30" long. So you will end up with some parts of the tank not being as well lit.

Take a few minutes and read my Guide and my work in progress FAQ.

[Mgamer20o0]

you could also look into the power compact screw in bulbs. i see more and more people using them and they come out with higher watt bulbs. they now make a 42watt bulb.

[happybob59]

When I used to use our well water it was really hard, so in turn my plants never grew. But when I switched to our tap water they really took off! Maybe you changed your wateR?

[critter333294]

If money's not a big object, big als has a Coralife 30" PC fixture($159) that has 2 65w bulbs, putting you a bit over 4wpg. I'm thinking about getting it for my 29g.

[will5]

If money's not a big object, big als has a Coralife 30" PC fixture($159) that has 2 65w bulbs, putting you a bit over 4wpg. I'm thinking about getting it for my 29g.

Yes but with out a great deal of knoleg on planted tanks and how to care for them justchillin will have an algae farm on his hand.

Here is a better light option which is also what i have over my 29 gallon.

http://www.aquabuys.com/miva/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=aqualight_1x65_30&Category_Code=d2&Product_Count=7

Which will give you 2.2 wpg and if you have a glass lid you can also use the 20 watt strip light taht came with the tank. But i would not add the extra 20 watts untill you got a pressurized Co2 setup. Because Diy co2 is not going to cut it with that amount of light.

Take a look at REX'S is site. There is a lot of great info there and EVERY NEWBI SHOULD READ THROUGH IT.

[GirlieGirl8521]

I am sure that my problem is the lack of proper lighting. At the 3 watt/gallon rule, I would need 90 watts. Would this be sufficient if I like lots of plants?

Do you know what plants you have? They all fall into different lighting categories, as some plants need more light than others to thrive. That would be the first place to start. Also, if you want alot of light regardless of what plants you have, shooting for 3wpg or more is good, but you have to consider CO2 at that point. With around 4wpg over a 29g, I'd go with pressurized CO2.

Lighting for a 29g is hard to find, as most 30" power compact fixtures are 65w or 130w. 65w would give you alot of options, but its still just medium light. Depending on what plants you have, it could work for you, if you dont want to get into CO2 yet. With the 130w fixture, you'll need atleast DIY CO2, but pressurized would be best IMO.

If you are handy, you could build you an enclosure and mount 2 55w kits into it to give you 110w.

[critter333294]

Yes but with out a great deal of knoleg on planted tanks and how to care for them justchillin will have an algae farm on his hand.


Would that amount of light work with timers and daily siestas, w/o creating a lot of algae?

[Mgamer20o0]

if you want to go the cheap way go with what i said. if you have more money to spend i would go with Rex Grigg said. ahsupply.com has the best reflectors around.

[will5]

Would that amount of light work with timers and daily siestas, w/o creating a lot of algae?


Yes as long as you have Co2 and a good dosing Dosing Regime. Here is a link that will tell you how to does your tank and alot of other good info on planted tanks. This works great and it how i does my planted tank.

http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/water-parameters/21944-_dosing-regimes_.html

[justchillin']

Thank you all for you help and insight.

I hadn't heard of using CO2 until this site. I would like to get the wattage up to that 4wpg. If I'm going to plant, I want to do it right.

Where would I research CO2-Tank systems? Are the expensive?

Also, I hadn't thought about the algea growth. If I set up the CO2 and the 4wpg, are there cleaning and control issues to worry about?

[Mgamer20o0]

thats a lot of light so you will need a co2 set up and ferts. it would also be a good idea to start with a lot of plants.

http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=12585
topic in ferts. i would just get them from http://www.gregwatson.com/

[GirlieGirl8521]

Where would I research CO2-Tank systems? Are the expensive?


You can try searching for "co2" or "pressurized" on this forum. They are pretty expensive (or atleast I think so) to begin with.

You'll need:
Co2 regulator (thing with gauges on it)
Cylinder (for a 29g I'd go with a 5 or 10lb)
Tubing (Rex has good tubing for sell on his site)
Good quality check valve, not the plastic ones (Rex sells these as well)
Diffusor or reactor

I know I probably missed something....a rough estimate for everything is around $150-200. But the maintenance cost is just whatever you pay to refill the cylinder (at a welding or beverage supply shop).

[Rex Grigg]

A basic manual CO2 system can normally be assembled in the US for around ~$150.

The more work you are willing to do with assembling a CO2 system the more you save.

At a minimum you need:

Regulator
Needle valve
Check Valve
Tubing
Diffusion method