Questions about light/filter for first planted tank

ddm0502 · Aug 3, 2006

I'm going to be setting up a small tank and would like to use live plants. The fish I plan on placing in the tank is dwarf puffers or dwarf puffers and ottos, depending on what size tank I end up with. There aren't any specific plants I want, I just want live plants, so I'll probably be going with something easy. There are several options I have:

One option is to use an Eclipse 6. Has anyone had any luck growing plants in this tank? My only concern is if this is not good for plant growth, I won't have many modifications I could do to make since it's a contained system.

The other option would be to get a 10 gallon and getting the proper light and filter separate. The two in-store choices I have for lighting are either a pair of 25 watt incandescent bulbs (which I'd replace with compact florescents) or a single 20" florescent strip that didn't list the wattage. I could also make/order a different hood, but would rather not go through that trouble. For filtration, I'm thinking an internal Whisper power filter, but don't know enough about proper filtration for planted tanks to know if that would work well or not.

Thanks in advance for your advice.

djlen · Aug 4, 2006

ddm0502 said:
The other option would be to get a 10 gallon and getting the proper light and filter separate. The two in-store choices I have for lighting are either a pair of 25 watt incandescent bulbs (which I'd replace with compact florescents) or a single 20" florescent strip that didn't list the wattage. I could also make/order a different hood, but would rather not go through that trouble. For filtration, I'm thinking an internal Whisper power filter, but don't know enough about proper filtration for planted tanks to know if that would work well or not.

I like the 10 gal. tank idea better because it offers more options in every category than the 6.
If, by the 'in-store choices', you mean a hood with two incandescent sockets in it, that would be the way I would go from a convenience perspective. You could then pick up the wattages you want in screw-in CF bulbs and you're in business.
Or you could build a box and retro-fit it with lighting from www.ahsupply.com/
The 20" strip probably is only 15 watts. NO fluorescent. You can buy screw-ins in wattages from 8 - 28 watts so the possibilities are almost endless.

If you do get an internal filter, look for the smallest one you can find because you don't have a lot of room to begin with in a 10.
I have 4 fluvals of all sizes and the oldest one has been in use since around 1975, so I am a real Fluval fan. They are also very easy to clean. Check them out.

Len

Ms.Bubbles · Aug 4, 2006

I also like the 10g idea, primarily because I'm familiar with this setup.

Swapping CF bulbs for incandescents is one way to go, but a 15 watt fluorescent strip is also great for a 10g. I've got a similar setup myself and I can grow anubias, cryptocorynes, hygrophila, and several types of java ferns. Very easy, low-maintenance.

I've heard many good things about the Whisper internal filters, but have never used one myself. I've got a Fluval 1 Plus internal in my tank, and I'm happy with it.

paku · Aug 4, 2006

if you have a cheap 10g hood with the regular screw in bulbs i would use these.. they are a cheap lighting option and look great.

With two of these that is a total of 20watts (2w per gallon or more depending on how much substrate you have in) and last you 18 months or more before you need to replace.

And in a 10g standard tank they look like this.

reiverix · Aug 4, 2006

If you go with the screw in bulbs, look for Something around 6500K. I have one (not in a tank) that was made by GE and got it at Lowes for a few bucks. The one on the photo above is more for a SW tank, although the photos is quite nice.

plah831 · Aug 5, 2006

reiverix said:
If you go with the screw in bulbs, look for Something around 6500K.

yeah, something in the 5000-7000 K range simulates natural daylight, is more available for plant photosynthesis, and looks best in my opinion. the 9300K that came with my tanks is too pink to my eye, but plants can also use it OK. I also have a screw-in mini compact flourescent bulb (made by All-Glass, 6500K, that's supposed to be as bright as a 50W incandescent but only consumes 10W of energy) and it looks great!

plah831 · Aug 5, 2006

oh yeah, unless you plan on getting only 1 dwarf puffer (dp), i would recommend 10 gal. i have 2 in a 10 gal and they love it! they're the only inhabitants of that tank, besides about 12 medium to large plants, and it's their palace!

the recommendations on dwarfpuffer.com say 2-3 gal per dp, but i would personally say AT LEAST 3-4 gal each, 5 preferrably. they are aggressive little buggers and will definitely fight if kept too cramped.

also, if you end up going with dp's, an internal filter would be perfect. i have a Whisper hang-on-tank filter that is recommended for 10 gal (circulates 95 gal per hour), but the current is too strong for them. dwarf puffers are not very strong swimmers and are so small that what seems like low current to other fishes will toss them around. i'm probably going to switch to an internal filter myself. I have a Whisper 10i for a betta tank and it creates almost no current at all (bad in most situations, but perfect for those two species as neither like strong flow).


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Questions about light/filter for first planted tank

ddm0502

AC Members

djlen

Fish?.......What Fish?

Ms.Bubbles

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paku

Gimmie a snail. NOW!

reiverix

Aye

plah831

Am I mod enough?

plah831

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