check out this light.

[tap]

I'm in the process of setting up a 10 gallon planted aquarium. I have a 3inch bed of eco complete so that's gonna be perfect, i just wanna know if this light is good enough, also if i should hook up a co2 system or not.

Its a 5500k Tropic Sun Daylight @ 15 watts. and im planning on buy a complete plant set from the marketplace on this site or aquabid. I"m gonna need easy plants though cus this is my first shot at a planted tank.
just throw me out some tips and pointers
THANKS

 

[bluekrissyspike]

looks good. you might be able to find similar bulbs at a hardware store if that one was pricey. my local hardware store has 5700k bulbs for like $2. if you already got the bulbs those are good too, just wanted to help save some $$. this is an expensive hobby.
for a first time planter i recomend easy to care for plants like bocopa, water sprite, anubias, java moss, java fern, crypts, there are lots more to choose from. i don't have too much other advice but don't leave the light on for too long or you'll probably get algea. how many of those bulbs are you planning to use over the ten?

 

[tap]

im just going to use that one. I could put another strip on their tho for more wattage but another 15 watt bulb would be 3watts per gallon which is alot isnt it??

 

[Sploke]

You probably won't need ferts or CO2 with 15w over a 10gal. Even 30w over a 10gal, even though its technically 3wpg, isn't that much light.

 

[67chevelle]

2 bulbs is probably more than you need.But it depends on how fast you want your plants to grow,if you want to mess with dosing ferts,and setting up a CO2 system.If you stick to lowlight plants,that will grow slowly,the bulb you showed will be fine.

 

[p rez06]

3 watts per gallon is generally considered moderate to high lighting. i usually aim for 2-4 wpg on my FW tanks. i would also highly recommend buying a $3 automatic timer from wal mart, so you dont have to worry about lighting on weekend trips, etc.

 

[dundadundun]

i am running about 1.2 wpg on my 50 gal with the lights almost floating on the water and i have to use co2 (at a rate of bubbles per minute, but it's the only way to continuously keep algae down)

my 30 gallon is only half full of water and about 3' above that i have a 15" t8 ge chroma 50 (idk, about 12? watts and sold as sunlight 5500k). about 2' above water line i have a ge 6500k cfl 26watts (100 watt incandescent replacement). on the other side about 6" above the water i have a ge 6500k cfl 10watts (40 watt incandescent replacement). with all this light i don't have co2 on this tank cause i can raise or lower each light to get the results i am looking for. also the 30 gal is a 30 gallon snake breeder kinda converted that has bamboo growing out of the back (hence the lights being all over the place so i can get good light on them as well as the tank).

i don't know if this will help at all (i was thinking it would but now that i think about it... hmmm?).

but if it is going directly on top of the tank one bulb should be more than enough for a starter tank with easy/low light plants. in fact, if you see algae you might want to raise that light a little bit until the algae goes away. if your plants don't grow over the course of a month then add some light. it's simpler than it sounds and many things can confuse a person, but these seem to be the rules of thumb.

 

[tap]

cool cool thanks guys, ill just get a plant pack and if they arnt growing good ill just add another strip. I think im just thinking to hard about all this haha. I shouldnt have to add any Co2 though??

 

[dundadundun]

no co2 should be necessary, especially if you can raise your light a little higher if you get algae. your water will be the deciding factor on whether you have to add ferts also. i make a liquid stock of kh2po4 and csm+b with about 1 tblsp per 250ml bottle per each. i dose about 2ml per week in my smaller tank (with no co2). so for about $10 plus shipping i have a lifetime supply of ferts for that tank. this will probably not be your routine, but it's an idea of what may be to come... many people don't dose anything and have good results.

 

[stratusfearrr]

i use the floral sun and one tropic sun on my tank, and they are excellent lights. no problem with them at all.