New setup? What lighting/filter would you use?

[WestFish Eugene]

Hi All!
I'm new here to the forums though I've had quite a few years experience with Fish Keeping in general. My questions are rather open so all of you can reply. Here-tis
I am thinking of setting up a 38-45 gallon tank with base D's of a 20G long. What lighting would you use and why? Also; do you use filtration or not for most species of plants? Hope all is well and thanks for input.
TJourd

 

[Blinky]

Hi, welcome!

Hope some of this is helpful - I'm a newbie when it comes to plants, so this is just based on my personal experience.

If it will be 38 or 45g with a footprint of 30" x 12" you're going to have a deep tank, which means you will probably want more light than you would for a shallower tank. My 45g tank is 24" deep, all the plants are doing well with compact fluorescent lighting (9325K bulbs) at 2.5 watts per gallon.
If you want to grow plants with very high light requirements and you have extra money to spend, you might want to look into metal-halide lighting - I have a book on aquarium plants that says MH is ideal for deeper tanks since the light penetrates deeper (~26") into the water than fluorescent.
I guess lighting choice partly depends on whether you want to meet the plants' requirements for adequate lighting or have a tank with lots of light, ferts and CO2 where plants grow very quickly.

For me, filtration is important; I like to keep a lot of fish with my plants. I started out with two HOBs before I converted from artificial to real plants, and kept them on for a bit afterwards, but recently I bought a cannister because I feel it's more suited to a planted tank - it doesn't disturb the surface so the CO2 isn't flushed out of the water. I also like that a cannister doesn't have to be constantly cleaned like my HOBs did, and it has so much more area and flexibility when it comes to filter media.

 

[WestFish Eugene]

Hi, welcome!

Hope some of this is helpful - I'm a newbie when it comes to plants, so this is just based on my personal experience.

If it will be 38 or 45g with a footprint of 30" x 12" you're going to have a deep tank, which means you will probably want more light than you would for a shallower tank. My 45g tank is 24" deep, all the plants are doing well with compact fluorescent lighting (9325K bulbs) at 2.5 watts per gallon.
If you want to grow plants with very high light requirements and you have extra money to spend, you might want to look into metal-halide lighting - I have a book on aquarium plants that says MH is ideal for deeper tanks since the light penetrates deeper (~26") into the water than fluorescent.
I guess lighting choice partly depends on whether you want to meet the plants' requirements for adequate lighting or have a tank with lots of light, ferts and CO2 where plants grow very quickly.

For me, filtration is important; I like to keep a lot of fish with my plants. I started out with two HOBs before I converted from artificial to real plants, and kept them on for a bit afterwards, but recently I bought a cannister because I feel it's more suited to a planted tank - it doesn't disturb the surface so the CO2 isn't flushed out of the water. I also like that a cannister doesn't have to be constantly cleaned like my HOBs did, and it has so much more area and flexibility when it comes to filter media.

Thanks so far only one opinion. Hopefully more will come around. I have a couple of Q's now since you mentioned the chemistry of the tank. I kept tanks with plants for years but never really go into the chemistry of it all and things worked very well. Do you have a "need" to adjust for the chemistry of your tanks or are they pretty self maintained? Have you tried with no special testing and seen the differences?
ThankX Again
D

 

[djlen]

Welcome to the board!!
Blinky's advice, except for the MH lighting is sound. MH lighting tends to get very hot and must be elevated above the tank to keep from over-heating it, IMO. This causes much wasted light and a glare from above the tank that, to me is unsightly.
Compact Fluorescent lighting is very effective and pleasing to the eye. I would say that the majority of hobbyists use CF lighting.
Also, most of us use filters of one type or another and most types are amenable to growing plants, with the exception of under-gravel filters(again, my opinion).
Light intensity plays a large role in chemistry needs and observation, as high wattage makes tanks more in need of balance between light - fish load - water parameters and nutrients. Once you've discovered the proper balance of the above they become a bit easier to maintain. A tank under 2 watts/gal. is quite a bit easier to work with than a tank under 4 watts/gal. As stated above, a deeper tank will require more light as the light has more water to penetrate to reach the shorter plants in the tank.
The amount of light you want also depends on the needs of the plants you want to grow and the amount of work you intend to put into the tank.

Len