A question of lighting...

S

snytiger_92

AC Members
Jan 31, 2005
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Odessa, TX
I need some advice on a lighting issue. To begin with, I have a 58 gallon tank (36” wide) with two fluorescent bulbs (I think about 30 watts per bulb). My LFS told me that the lights I bought from him would allow me to grow live plants. However, after finding this site and reading a little bit, I have become a little leery of the information I have. I don’t think I have enough watts per gallon (or even the proper substrate) to really grow plants in that tank. I read that I should purchase power compact lighting to effectively grow flora in the aquarium. The cost of these lights is a little daunting to say the least.

Now, to my question: I am about to begin a 10-gallon tank (a gift from my girlfriend). I would love to grow live plants successfully and efficiently in this tank. I need some quality information so that I can purchase the correct lights from the beginning. I don’t want to buy another set of lights, learn that they are not exactly what I need, and then have to buy another light fixture – I am a teacher, don’t make enough money.

Please help….

PS. As far as lights, is Energy Savers a good company? Current USA? Lunar Light?

Also, and I apologize for the length of the thread :D , I want to grow [foreground] Dwarf Hairgrass (Eleocharis acicularis), Anubias barteri round leaf (Anubius barteri), [mid-ground] Java Fern (Microsorum pteropus), Ozelot Sword (Echinodorus ozelot), [background] Temple – Narrow Leaf (Hygrophila corymbosa), Anacharis (Egeria densa). Will this selection of plants be ascetically pleasing in a ten gallon tank with some small bits of driftwood and a bit of rock?
 
What I did with my 10g is buy screw-in type compact fluorescent bulbs to use in place of the incandescents that came with the hood. This is a very inexpensive way to get a good amount of light over a 10g - different hoods will take different sizes of these bulbs. Mine has a small space for the lights so I've got two 'super mini' 15W bulbs - I think there are other people here who have incandescent hoods with more room and use 23W bulbs. Spirals don't yield as much light per watt as straight PC bulbs, but they seem to provide enough light to keep my plants very happy :)

Check out ahsupply.com - they sell retrofit kits for standard fixtures, which are much more affordable than buying a new PC fixture - this might help out with the 58g tank :)
 
Thank you for the tip on the ahsupply. I'll definitely check it out. By the way your tanks are great. I would love to have a lush, green 10-gallon tank in my bedroom. I think it would mellow the room out. The only problem is that the room has two windows and in the summer can get up to around 75-80 degrees. Can you forsee any major issues there? I've heard that plants keep algae at bay....
 
Fast-growing plants can out-compete algae for nutrients, but I don't have experience with planted tanks exposed to windows (mine are on the far sides of the living room and bedroom, away from the windows) so I can't say how well it would work in that case. If you can keep sunlight out of the tank (with blinds or curtains), hopefully algae wouldn't be a problem. I keep my tanks ~80F, I don't think a room temperature of 75-80F should be too much of an issue.
Thanks so much for the compliment, I'm still pretty new to plants so everything's a work in progress, but I think I'm getting the hang of it :)
 
I went to the site and found just enough information to lead me to ask:
1. how hard is it to put these light kits together?
2. how hard would it be to build an enclosure to house the lights over a 10-gallon?

I called the man at the company and he was very optimistic. Your opinions?
 
I forgot to mention that if it is not too big a deal, I might go back alter and construct a 1x96 watt light to use in conjunction with my 2 30 watt flourescent bulbs for my 58 gallon.
 
I found this light strip at Big Al's. Is it strong enough for a ten gallon tank? I was told that I would have to take the atinic out and buy another daylight bulb (I think about $16-18). What kind of deal am I getting there? Good for the plants in a 10-gallon?

Coralife 20" Aqualight Power Compact Strip Light- 1X28Watt

Thanks!
D
 
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