Light my aquarium

Caius

Caius

AC Members
Apr 13, 2007
105
0
16
New Jersey
Hi all,
I just got a 29 gallon tank from Petco's $1/gallon sale (rectangle, 30" length). I'd really like this to be a planted tank, but I've had no luck with plants in the past. Seriously, I've even killed java fern.

I bought the tank but have not yet gotten a hood or lights, because I wanted feedback and suggestions first. Budget is up to about $100. DIY hood is not really an option as I have limited tools, but I think I'd be comfortable installing a ballast kit into a separately bought hood.

Someone will undoubtedly ask what type of plants I want, but I don't have specific things I'm looking for. If I end up with 2-3 watts per gallon, I'll work within those parameters when selecting plants. That will probably be a second "help me" thread :grinyes:

Thanks!
Caius
 
Zenz said:
Here's a recent thread of mine on the same topic. I agonized over this decision and am very happy with the coralife that I chose. It's 65 watts which should be pretty good for a 29 gallon planted tank.

http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=163938
Click to expand...

With 2 wpg and change you will be at the low end of growing about any plant you want. I have 3.7 and with pressurized Co2, the plants grow right out of the tank. Are you adding Co2, ferts? The combination of the 3 is the big key for growing plants ... wpg is certainly important but can surely be enhanced.
 
Are you adding Co2, ferts?
Click to expand...

Not yet, but I'm not opposed to it. I need to learn more about what all it involves and if I need it. For now, I chose low and medium low light plants to be safe.
 
Thanks! Went with the T5 HO 1x6700 1x10000, only 48 watts but I can live with low light plants. I'm thinking of reading up on ferts but I'm not planning on CO2 if it's not necessary.
 
Certainly a good plan to start out with lower light and lower light plants. More light will mean more plant growth; but also brings balancing more algae into play. Plants compete for the same nutrients that algae does ... so a heavily planted tank that takes off will help "choke out" the algae. But you do need to be patient and learn how to "balance" the tank.

I thought the same thing about Co2 when I started - didn't really want to mess with it. Boy, glad I did. Co2 is basically steroids for plants ... just makes them grow quicker.

This is a quick shot of my tank with 3.7 wpg, pressurized Co2, and ferts (I can trim it back significantly and within a week it's back to this):

picture.php
 
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