Low Light Suggestions?

U

uncskainch

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Feb 13, 2005
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I have a new 29 gallon planted tank with just one flourescent bulb in it (the one that came with the hood). I started off with a few plants from the local PetSmart (java fern, swordplant, cabomba, and wisteria). Having done more reading and learning, I now realize that some of the plants that I initially bought are not going to thrive in the low light conditions. I also plan to set up either a DIY or commerical biological (much like DIY) CO2 system sometime in the next few weeks.

Having just paid for the expenses of a tank set-up, I'm inclined to stick with the low lighting that I have for now, and try to choose plants that will work well with the light that I have rather than replacing my cover, lights, etc. anytime soon. I would welcome suggestions for low-light plants that will thrive with a modest CO2 system. (I would like to add some low-light crypts to the foreground sometime soon, so I would especially welcome suggestions for low-growing, low-light crypts or other foreground plants.)

Other possibly relevant details (I'm new, so I don't know):

-- Substrate is one bag of flourite topped with and lightly mixed with one bag of black aquarium gravel
-- Our water is quite hard and alkaline (ph around 8.0)
-- Current tank inhabitants: 6 zebra danios
-- Possible future tank inhabitants: swordtails, khuli loaches, ghost shrimp, and otoc. catfish

Thanks for any ideas for plants to add!
 
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The usual low light suspects are Java moss, Java Fern, anubias, hornwort and if you are doing fine with your cryts, then stick with those. Just what is the wattage of your light? My 29 came with a 17 watt bulb. If that's what you have, it's really not even low-light and you may have some issues with that later on.
 
Bulb

The bulb itself doesn't seem to say what the wattage is. It looks to be a 24" bulb (would that be right for a 29 gallon?) and I certainly wouldn't be averse to replacing it with one of the 20w bulbs designed for plants. If I'm going to replace the bulb, any suggestions?

Edited to add: I called the place where I got my tank and they said the bulb that comes with it is only a 15 watt! Egads! Guess I'll really need those "What 24" bulb should I buy?" suggestions now, huh?
 
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Well, the bulb is likely 14-17 watts and replacing it with a twenty still isn;t going to do much. Low light is around 1WPG and keep in mind, you have what is considered a deeper tank. Also, with flourescent fixtures it is the ballast and endcap that control how much wattage you can use, not the bulb. So, improving the bulb might not do much more than cost you money. Here is a link to Big Al's for a light that could grow low-light plants over your 29. I don't know for certain because I didn't see a wattage listed, but I had an all glass strip light with an all glass 24" bulb in a 30 inch hood and the bulb was 17 watts. So, if this is 34 watts, you'd be in the low-light business. For twenty bucks more you could order a 65 Watt PC Strip light and have a lot more choice in the plants you grew. It's what I use and the link is here.
 
Maybe a dumb question, but...

Does getting a new light fixture mean also needing a new cover for my tank? And, in the short run, would adding a Coralife or similar 20 w full spectrum plant bulb help me out any? Having just spent the money to put the tank together, my aquarium budget needs a few months to recover before I spend a good bit of money on new lighting.
 
It depends on the cover you have right now. Is the light built in to the hood or is there a strip of clear glass upon which a strip light rests? Also, a little more light may help, but likely not by much, like I said, if you're only stepping it up 3 watts and money is tight, you're better off saving that 8 bucks for a new fixture in my opinion.
 
Hood

The hood is black plastic. There's a full-length hinged lid across the front, then the light strip (it lifts up to reveal the flourescent bulb, which sits over a piece of acrylic that faces teh water) then behind that is a plastic piece that can be cut to make room for the filter, heater, etc.

The light assembly seems to be about 4 1/2" wide (measuring from front to back) and the aquarium itself is about 30" wide (the fixture takes 24" bulbs).

So my question, I guess, is would a 2-light strip fit in the space where the light strip is, currently, or am I going to have to replace the hood when I replace the light?

Thanks for the tip on the bulb -- I'll save my money and upgrade my lighting sooner rather than later if I can swing it.
 
No, if you upgrade to the all glass strip light it will fit. The coralife will be a bit too wide for it, but it will still work, mine rests on the little lip around the glass section.
 
Thanks

Thanks -- Good to know that the 65w Coralife will work on my setup without the need to buy a new hood/cover for the tank. There's no problem with it resting on the little lip around the clear glass/acrylic portion of the hood? If that's the case, I'll save my pennies for the 65w bulb and be able to grow a wider range of plants.

In the meantime, I guess the best thing to do is stick with the few plants I have and hope they make it for the next few months until I can make an upgrade?
 
Well, I've had the coralife fixture for over a month now and my plants are really doing well. You can look for yourself in the link in my sig.

You can hope, or you could hedge you bets a little. If you had a desk lamp say, that took stadard bulbs, you could place it to the side of the aquarium with a spiral compact flourescent pointing at an angle into the tank to get as many plants as possible. Those little spiral compacts that fit regular sockets are around 15W and that might be a temp fix. Not pretty, but it could keep the plants going.
 
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