Is the lighting enough?

P

pennylinx

AC Members
Dec 14, 2006
66
0
0
I have a 2.5 gallon tank and purchased a 10 watt, 2700K, compact flourescent light for my tank. It did not have any kind of specification if it was daylight type of light, all i know is that it is a compact flourescent with a wattage of 10(made by GE and is model T2, purchased at the local Wal-Mart). Is this enough lighting for my tank? I am wondering about this because a person told me that I should have 6500K for the 2.5 gallon tank and that the bulb should be 10watts, but the only compact flourescent that I could find that had that many K's was a 20 watt, if I used this wattage for a 2.5 gallon tank would it be too much?

The reason I am asking these questions is because I am looking to successfully keep plants that require high lighting, such as babys tears and hornwort. I have the CO2 down, but not the lighting.

Thankyou, for any responses. I am looking forward to keeping a planted tank in the near future if i can get the lighting right.
 
Last edited:
I wouldn't suggest getting the 20 watt, as it would probably overheat. I know hornwort doesn't need a lot of light, but I'm not sure about the baby tears. It's probably best that you get a bulb within the 5,000 to 6,000 range. I'm not sure that it matters to much, though I could be wrong. The Walmart by me sells CF 10 watt bulbs in the fish section now with that sort of range. Have you checked Walmart's fish section or department store for bulbs? Or is that where you meet the lady that told you that you needed another light spectrum?
 
yes I have checked the Wal-marts fish section for bulbs, but they dont have anything that could fit my tiny 2.5 gallon tank. The lady in the light section just kept giving me a bunch of specialized plant lights that I couldn't even put in my tank, however I noticed that you (Sammie) said that hornwort could live in low light do you think that it could survive with this type of lighting that I have asked about above?
 
do you think that the 20 watt bulb would be too hot? b/c I thought that the flour. lighting has the ability to keep cool.
 
I had it in my 5 gallon hex with 10 watts CF and it grew about an inch a day! Mind that was with a bulb that is in the 5,000- 6,000 range of the spectrum. However, I doubt that would make a difference. Just make sure you do not introduce this plant into natural waterways, because it is more than a nuisance. After a while you probably won't even want it anymore, because you have to prune it so much. That's why I don't have it anymore. The fluorescent bulb does stay cooler than incandescants, but it still has the capability of getting hot. More so when you consider your small tank size and ballast.
 
You don’t want to put hornwort in that size tank. It grows too fast and gets too big. I completely filled a much larger tank with that stuff years ago using no ferts or co2 and a shop light with two normal fluorescent tubes. Within a few months it was a tangled mess.
 
could i put some crystalwort in the tank it is so beautiful, but would it survive in these lighting conditions? 10 watt CF, 2700K
 
yes hornwort is a very massive plant. here you can see how much it grew in a week.

my-tank-08-13-2006.jpg


my-tank-08-20-2006.jpg


i really liked it for fry but it just keep getting way to big to fast. still trying to get all of it out.
 
well I have descided to not get any of the hornwort, but here are the plants that I am planning on getting for my tiny 2.5 gal tank (10 watt CF/ 2700K): crystal wort, anubia nana, java moss, glossostigma, and water wisteria. do you think these can survive with this type of lightitng?

PS: now I understand what you guys are talking about with mgamers good pics, its good to be warned.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
AquariaCentral.com
Top Bottom