School me on light fixtures...

[Civicman86]

OK well I never knew there were so many different kinds of lights.

Someone school me on this? I want a planted tank like....

More info on the tank here....
http://showcase.aquatic-gardeners.org/2004.cgi?&Scale=258&op=showcase&category=0&vol=0&id=151

It says he uses a "6700k 36 watt compact fluorescent (10 hours)" light? What kind of light do you all suggest for my tank? (10 gallon)

What are the advantages of moon lighting?

 

[Karnaaj]

Typically you want to observe what is known as the watts per gallon rule or wpg. In most tanks you want ~2.5 to 3.0 wpg. Small tanks and large tanks need more than this. Also it is likely that the tank in the picture is being supplemented with CO2. My recommendation would be to visit this website Rex Grigg. It won't take you but 20 minutes to go through all the info he has but it will put you on the right track. The two best forums for planted tanks are Aqua Botanic and Planted Tank .

Good luck on your endeavor and as always, we want pics!

 

[happychem]

Keep in mind with the wpg "rule" that it refers to watts of normal, T12 fluorecent lighting. T12's are the 1.5" diameter tubes. Narrower ones like T8's and recently T5's put out more light per watt, indeed more light per equivalent bulb (a 4ft. T5 produces more light than a 4 ft. T12). The type of ballast running the bulb also makes a difference. Magnetic ballasts use more power and produce less light than electronic ballasts.

You get into yet another ball game with compact fluo (PC) or power compacts. If you're keen, check out www.ahsupply.com , while I've never ordered from them, several of the planted tank folks around here have and have nothing but good to say about them. Their reflectors live up to the hype as well. Another thing to note about PC bulbs is that while with NO bulbs you need to replace them every 6months, PC bulbs are good for about 2 years, so factor that in when you're passing out from the price of the bulb.

www.plantgeek.net has great profiles as does www.tropica.com

Check out the planted tanks forum in this forum, there are lots of very knowledgeable folks. Read the stickies.