Good morning!
After a year of contemplating and a month or so of reading everything I can about planted aquariums, I have decided to just go ahead and jump in. This board has been most helpful.. even more so than some of these books I've paid tons of money for! I can't thank you all enough for sharing your experiences on this board. Your messages have provided me with a lot useful information. When I first got interested in planted aquariums, I started doing a little reading and realized at that time I just didn't have the wherewithall to even think about it but, I believe now I have a better understanding of how it all works. Since I've seldom done more than shop by measurements to replace bulbs in my aquariums, the lighting options for planted tanks are still a little mindboggling though. Who knew, so much thought went into light? WOW!
I do however have one question and I apologize if the answer is obvious. My question is:
If a planted tank requires 1.5 - 3 watts of light per gallon and I wanted to grow plants that require high light, would 3 watts per gallon provide the high light required or would I need to exceed the recommended watts per gallon? In other words, is the 1.5-3 watts formula the general guideline with 1.5 watts being the minimum to grow low light plants and 3 watts being the maximum for growing high light plants?
I don't know if you will need further information regarding my tank to answer this question but, just in case:
-it is a 29gal all glass and is 16" tall (I measured only the glass portion);
-I intend to use a mixture of Eco complete and Flourite to form a 3-4" substrate;
-I have an Aqua clear 200 filter and hope to leave it in place... I may "cut the lip" so the water pours straight down.
-I will employ some type of DIY Co2 injection.. either 2L bottle or one of those Co2 fizzy tab kits I've seen on the net.
I haven't really decided which plants to put in, yet. I like them all! I figured that would be the "easy" part once I get all this technical stuff worked out.
Thanks again for being here and I really appreciate any insight you can offer.
After a year of contemplating and a month or so of reading everything I can about planted aquariums, I have decided to just go ahead and jump in. This board has been most helpful.. even more so than some of these books I've paid tons of money for! I can't thank you all enough for sharing your experiences on this board. Your messages have provided me with a lot useful information. When I first got interested in planted aquariums, I started doing a little reading and realized at that time I just didn't have the wherewithall to even think about it but, I believe now I have a better understanding of how it all works. Since I've seldom done more than shop by measurements to replace bulbs in my aquariums, the lighting options for planted tanks are still a little mindboggling though. Who knew, so much thought went into light? WOW!
I do however have one question and I apologize if the answer is obvious. My question is:
If a planted tank requires 1.5 - 3 watts of light per gallon and I wanted to grow plants that require high light, would 3 watts per gallon provide the high light required or would I need to exceed the recommended watts per gallon? In other words, is the 1.5-3 watts formula the general guideline with 1.5 watts being the minimum to grow low light plants and 3 watts being the maximum for growing high light plants?
I don't know if you will need further information regarding my tank to answer this question but, just in case:
-it is a 29gal all glass and is 16" tall (I measured only the glass portion);
-I intend to use a mixture of Eco complete and Flourite to form a 3-4" substrate;
-I have an Aqua clear 200 filter and hope to leave it in place... I may "cut the lip" so the water pours straight down.
-I will employ some type of DIY Co2 injection.. either 2L bottle or one of those Co2 fizzy tab kits I've seen on the net.
I haven't really decided which plants to put in, yet. I like them all! I figured that would be the "easy" part once I get all this technical stuff worked out.
Thanks again for being here and I really appreciate any insight you can offer.
