To much light?

Matt101905

Matt101905

Love Guru
Feb 11, 2009
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Arkansas
I wish I could start a planted tank but I'm most likely going away to college so i don't have much time to start one. Anyways I was wondering I have this lighting kit from AHsupply and its 2X55watt 6500k and I made it in a canopy (with the ballasts and wiring on top, it looks cool) and it fits perfectly over my 20 gal. Do you think this would be to much light, I have a co2 kit that I would run with it. Or should I just get some 10000k bulbs for a possible reef setup? Note this tank wont be set up for a couple of years but I was just wondering. Thanks!
 
for a 20 gallon i would say that is way to much light (unless you want to do a SW reef tank) also with the CO2 is it pressurized? if not, i would not risk it and cut it down to one bulb.

in the end though it's up to you about wether you want ot set up a planted tank or reef tank. personally i've found it's relativly easy to keep a tank in a dorm. i have a high tech 30 gallon that not that hard to deal with.
 
Cool, well what do you do when you go back home during the summer, or even at christmas time? I would love to do a reef tank something simple with some zoas and shrooms. But I love planted tanks too. Yea the Co2 system is pressurized. I have a 10lb tank with the setup. I believe I got the 10lb tank, regulator setup, in line reactor, Milwaukee Ph monitor...everything you would need I believe.

--Matt
 
well for going home for summer i get some big buckets and break the thing down. put all the fish in one plants, substrata in the other and plants in some sealed plastic bags. so far i have never lost a fish driving from Indian to NJ (only done the tripe twice with fish though). breaks a bit harder usually may tank is fine by it's self for a week or two. but over Christmas break the power went out in my dorm building so tank crashed lost all my inhabitants (except the betta and one pond snail) and quite a few plants. what this means is i get to rebuild better witch is fine by me because i was bored of my scape.

that reason actually is why i wouldn't do a reef tank in a dorm to much to loose if you have somehting like that happen. also transporting corals is a pain over more than 700 miles in and old sentra.

still i always get the urge to build an all in one tank some times. bloody anoying but i know i'm not getting a reef tank till i'm settled down for more than 6 months.

sounds like you have the right idea with CO2. just a not though you will probably need a dropchecker for the tank if you do go high tech planted or low tech with CO2. this is just to check how much CO2 is actually in the tank so you don't kill the fish.
 
Oh ok thanks about the dropchecker....I'm not really sure what all came with the kit its been in storage for so long but I don't believe I have one of them. I do have a bubble counter on my regulator lol.

Thanks cool and breaking apart your tank and everything, you have a long trip to make! I only have to go about 4 hours away. You said that on break your only gone for a week or two? Well at my school for christmas break we get out for little over a whole month. I wouldn't want to leave my high tech planted tank on timers and stuff for that long. Thanks!


--Matt
 
no problem, and Christmas break was about a month for me too i just set my tank up before hand and was expecting to come back to it algae ridden no a complete crash. also good luck in the future with any tank you set up.
 
Ozymandias said:
no problem, and Christmas break was about a month for me too i just set my tank up before hand and was expecting to come back to it algae ridden no a complete crash. also good luck in the future with any tank you set up.
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Cool thanks! If I do setup a tank in the dorm room it'll prob. be a little 10 gal planted. But it all depends on space and what size dorm I get...you never can really make plans until you know what your working with. Anyways thanks!

--Matt
 
I agree that it is way too much light over a 20 gallon. I also go to college 4 hours away from my home. during the thanksgiving and spring break, I have a automatic fish feeder because they are only a week long. During winter break which is about a month long, I drain almost all the water except enough to keep my stem plants wet. I put all my fish and floating plants in a 5gallon bucket and cover the top so my car doesnt get soaked. I use a dolly to get the tank from my room to the car because it is so heavy with the substrate and some water. I have only had one otto ever die on the ride. I use the water in the 5 gallon bucket to fill some of the tank and use dechlorinated water with the rest.
 
that's a lot of work it may be worth investing in just a cheap bare bottom plain tank and cheapo filter to leave at home(parents i'm assuming) and have your good set up in your dorm. that way you can just pack up the fish and the bio filter, leave the plants and everything on a timer and be good to go
 
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