20 gallon lighting

J

Jacob928

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Jan 8, 2012
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Hi Everyone, new here to Aquarium Central and to planted aquariums as well. I have a 20 gallon planted aquarium I am currently setting up, which has been running for a little over a week now, waiting for it to cycle before I add RCS. I have Java Moss, Narrow leaf Java fern, Brazilian Penny Wort, and some species of Crypt. Most of the plants are doing fairly well and showing new signs of growth, esp. the Penny Wort and Crypt. Anyways, like most newbies I'm confused about lighting. The lighting looks great, but i am not sure if it adequate for a 20 gallon planted tank. I have photos of the light i'm working with. Hopefully they will be clear enough for you to help, Thank you and i appreciate all of the help.IMG_1539.JPGIMG_1538.JPG

Jacob

IMG_1538.JPG IMG_1539.JPG
 
With stock lighting like that it can be okay for the very low light tolerable plants, which seems to be what you have at the moment. If you want to expand your range of plants then you would need to upgrade, but if you are good with where you are at then I don't see a need to change. Keep an eye on things in case they take a turn for the worse...a week isn't a whole lot of time.
 
What you have is a nice fish light that will work for low light plants.
A question is how tall is your tank? A 20L is about 12" tall. A 20H is about 16" tall. That four inch difference matters when you get to medium and high light plants.

My favorite lighting for small tanks, is an incandescent strip light with Sylvania, 23 watt, daylight, "now smaller than ever", spiral, compact bulbs.
 
Thanks for the replies! It's 16" high. I have another tank which I plan on growing a few low light plants but also medium- high light plants such as Dwarf Baby tears. It is also 20 gallons (same dimensions) and has the exact same lighting. I have an incandescent light strip for a 10 gallon tank i am not using. If i put 2 CFL lights on that light strip, would it be suitable for the 20 gallon?
 
Which "dwarf baby tears"?

Most carpet plants like that only thrive in high end light and with ample CO2 levels. You would most certainly need to upgrade for that tank.

The 10g strip is going to end up being about 4" shorter but may make up for that depending on the CFLs' output. You could try it...
 
Hemianthus callitrichoides


It'll be a few inches short, but i care more about being functional than fashionable. I will see how well it goes, I have flourish Excel for carbon, which may not be the best CO2 input, be we'll see.

EDIT: The output is 60W on an incandescent light
 
Incandescents are so out of style with this hobby that 60w of that type of lighting means nothing, really. Go with what the actual wattage is...

When it comes to the HC I highly doubt either of your lighting situations and Excel (which is a carbon supplement, but not CO2) are going to cut it...
 
I wouldn't be using incandescent lighting, I would be using CFL's. Which if i have 2 25-watt bulbs would give me 2.5wpg. May not be the best, but is surly a hella better with what I have right now. I will do my best, and hope all works well. You need the right attitude brother
 
wpg is an outdated measurement based off of using linear T12 bulbs, which are not used often anymore. It doesn't take into account odd bulb shapes like CFLs (ie. restrike), the quality of reflectors not is it good for smaller tanks. A 10w bulb over 1 gallon doesn't mean at 10 "wpg" you can grow high light plants...they still need a certain amount of light.

It's not me having an attitude here, I'm trying to be realistic. I hope it works out for you but HC is a demanding plant and people have struggled with higher tech setups.
 
Blah, lights are too confusing. What about Glossostigma Elatinoides? Are they less demanding? I want an easy but nice foreground plant.
 
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