Sufficient Lighting in 29gallon

ALoha mai Kakou, I recently changed my light setup in my 29 gallon community tank. At one point I had a 42w 6,500k CFL and 24w 5,500k CFL hanging over the tank on the right side and a 42w+14w 2,700k CFL hanging vertically behind the tank. I was concerned that the back lighting through the tank would not be efficient due to the spectrum changing as the light penetrates through the glass. So yesterday I MacGyvered a setup that allowed for the two 42w cfls to hang directly over the right side of my tank, but I noticed that this only lights up the right side of the tank and leaves my Rotala Magenta in partial shade. I do not have room on the other side for another cfl so I was looking into submersible lights that could be placed in side of the tank to provide adequate lighting for my dwarf hair grass and rotala magenta both of which are on the left shaded side of the tank. Could any of you suggest a good submersible aquarium light for a 29g standard tank? Or do you think that the partial lighting on the left will be enough for my Rotala Magenta? Any suggestions or comments are welcomed. mahalo

I do have a jerry rigged hood/reflector set up that I fashioned out of card board, duct tape and Mylar. I am not at my house at the moment but I drew up a horrible diagram of everything. hopefully it will help. I will post a picture of the actual tank when I return home.

i think i figured i out.
i can also adjust the lighting now to fit the mood


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Mahalo ie oe e FreshyFresh. The configuration I set up last night boosted my WPG to 3.4 instead of 2.8. I have a 14w CFL 5,500K on the left and kept the two 42w CFLS (1@2,700k, 1@6,500K) on the right. All three light bulbs are pointed over the tank and are outfitted with homemade hoods (keeping the light concentration over the tank). I am pretty happy with the results especially because when I turn the right side 2,700k bulb off the blending of the left and right side lighting makes for an interesting red-yellow-green color scheme.

this is an update of my 29 gallon. thanks for the info GR. it has not been long but my plants seem to be doing good. the micro sword is spreading out and the spiralis is getting dense in the middle with about 7-8 new blades popping up. I was mostly cocerned with the rotala magenta because it requires a lot of light, however, the roots look super healthy and i will be doing a cutting -transplant session this weekend when i clean the tank (want a dense rotala magenta forrest) i have a build up of algae here and there but it is eaisly wipped off the glass and doesnt spread quick. i also noticed aome brown algae growing on the rocks but its not issue for me yet.


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I was under the impression that algae is very common in the start up stage of most new tanks especially when planted. I read that this (the brown algae) is a species of diatom and that it will go away after time. Besides many other forums that I browsed, I also saw this website dedicated to aquascaping (http://www.aquascapingworld.com/magazine/September-2008/September-2008/Down-the-River.html) and an interview with a gentleman that has some very awesome aquascapes. This is what he had to say about his initial algae problems,
"Q: Describe your initial planting and ongoing trimming techniques for your plants.A: Initially, the tank was planted with as many fast growing stems that I could get my hands on. This was to follow the conventional wisdom that packing the tank with fast growers may save me from “startup algae.” In my case, there was no saving! The algae came, and had to run its course anyway!"

You are correct that there is a definite balance between nutrients, CO2, and light that must be obtained to insure maximum growth. Diatoms are a type of phytoplankton that process sunlight and CO2; converting the latter into glucose for energy. So if there is oxygen (air stone) running on the right side of the tank theoretically there should be a reduction of diatoms, but because of the high concentration of light there are more diatoms which means that there must also be an adequate amount of CO2 from waste (i do not supplement that particular tank with CO2). I am thinking that a denser grove of Rotala magenta would help to reduce the amount of diatoms but using the available C02 in the tank thus starving the diatom of energy. And I have never thought of Watts Per Gallon as a rule to end all rules but it is necessary for an assessment of your lighting needs, available spectrum for plants is the most important factor when considering your lighting. Therefore, for this tank I have included a full spectrum of 2,700k 5,500k and 6,500k. The 6,500k and 2,700k are both 42 watt and stay on the right side, however the 2,700k is only on for 8 hours where as the others are on for 12. I have read that 10 is the max photo period to aim for but its all trial and error. Thank you for the information tho, do you have any tanks set up?