I have a 46 gallon tank that I want to plant. I currently have a Fluval 304 filter. If that going to be enough or will I need a bigger or secondary filter? Also how much light? I was thinking 96 watts would be good. That would put me at 2.08 wpg. Also, what type of bulb would I need? I see a lot of lights that come with a 50/50 combo bulb (half 12,000K Daylight, half 03 Actinic).
Settup for a planted aquarium.
- Thread starter jujubee
- Start date
the Actinic does nothing (or at least not much) for plants. what you want is something in the 6,500K to 10,000K range, these are ideal for planted tanks.
2 watts is a pretty good amount of light and you will be able to grow lots of plants with that. Some people use T5 but I use compact florescents from ahsupply.com. Ozymandias is right, try and stay away from actinic and between 6,500k and 10,000k.
I'm not sure about your filter, I've never used a fluval.
I'm not sure about your filter, I've never used a fluval.
I am having trouble finding a light that provides what I need. The ones that are the right wattages have the actinic. The ones that I see that are 36 inches for freshwater have either way too little light, or way too much. anyone know a good place to find aquarium lights?
Edit- ok, so I just found this light listed on a website. Can someone take a look at the link and tell me is this light is what i am looking for. thanks... http://www.aquariumguys.com/36satellite.html
Edit- ok, so I just found this light listed on a website. Can someone take a look at the link and tell me is this light is what i am looking for. thanks... http://www.aquariumguys.com/36satellite.html
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what kind of light fixture do you have over your tank. Is it the regular tube florescent bulbs that come with the tank? That will make a difference.
Look through Ebay stores or www.bigalsonline.com
- assuming a 36" long tank
http://www.bigalsonline.com/BigAlsU...fefreshwateraqualight36powercompactlight1x96w
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yes, its a 36 inch tank. and right now i have just the light fixture that came with it. can anyone let me know if the light at this link would work, cause if it is the right kind of light then i am going to buy it. i just dont want to end up with a light that wont work well for growing plants. thanks for all the help everyone.
Which link are you talking about? The one you posted earlier for the "36" Satellite 1x96W SunPaq w/Lunar Light"? That light will work but you don't want Actinic bulbs over your tank because they don't do much for plants. They can be switched out after you buy the fixture.
The link Riiz provided for the "Coralife Freshwater Aqualight- 36" Power Compact Light-1 x 96W" will work too. It also has more appropriate bulbs with it.
Was there another link you wanted us to look at?
The link Riiz provided for the "Coralife Freshwater Aqualight- 36" Power Compact Light-1 x 96W" will work too. It also has more appropriate bulbs with it.
Was there another link you wanted us to look at?
cool. yeah, i am going to go with the one riiz posted the link for. thats exactly what i was looking for. thank you.