I plan i purchasing a 2x65w for my 30g planted tank and was curious what temp bulbs you will be using. and for those who have a 2 bulb pc setup, what combo did you use?
thanks, darren
thanks, darren
which bulb temps?
- Thread starter darren
- Start date
That is an IMMENSE amount of lighting (4.3wpg)!
Are you going to be moving these to a bigger tank eventually? I can foresee big algae blooms. I used to have a 29g tank with a 2x55w PC lighting kit from Kim at AHSupply and all I did was battle algae. And I had DIY CO2 also!
-Eric
99RedSi - imho, 4.3wpg isn't "immense." Granted thats a lot of lighting.. perhaps more than normally needed, but it is indeed quite managable. With improper maintanence (via. CO2 injection and nutrient management) any kind of lighting will result in an algae bloom... be it 2wpg, or 4wpg. I'd suspect the reason why you got algae blooms were because of improper nutrient levels and bad CO2 concentrations (a common trait among CO2 DIYers). I have a 15 gallon tank with 55 watts of CF lighting over it. That comes out to about 3.67 wpg, but considering how shallow a 15 gallon tank is, that is a lot of light exposure. I haven't had an algae bloom yet.
darren - If you want to go with 2x65watts of lighting for your 30 gallon, all the more power for you. However, 99RedSi does have a point, thats quite a bit of lighting. One 65 watt bulb should do quite well for your tank. I'd recommend using bulbs with a kelvin rating between 5000k to 6700k.
HTH
-Richer
darren - If you want to go with 2x65watts of lighting for your 30 gallon, all the more power for you. However, 99RedSi does have a point, thats quite a bit of lighting. One 65 watt bulb should do quite well for your tank. I'd recommend using bulbs with a kelvin rating between 5000k to 6700k.
HTH
-Richer
Thank you for the replies,
yes it is a lot of light, infact i will probably install 2x55w instead. i have kept a good planted tank for several years, and have become adept at controlling all the nutrients inlcuding Fe, PO-, NO-, C02, Ph, and buffer. Unfortunately, my thumb is only mildly green, and while everyone that looks at my tank oohs and aahs, i just cant get it to look like takayashi's amano!
anyways, my original question was about bulb temps and cri index for PC lighting. is there a website that compares these bulb characteristics, and more importantly, what do you all use?
Thanks, Darren
ps. over my 30g i was runnng 4x20w fluorescent bulbs (trident and GE 50's) but even with new bulbs i was showing low growth and i think that is b/c the budget ballast i got is dead or close. anybody have exp with lifespan of a e-ballast?
yes it is a lot of light, infact i will probably install 2x55w instead. i have kept a good planted tank for several years, and have become adept at controlling all the nutrients inlcuding Fe, PO-, NO-, C02, Ph, and buffer. Unfortunately, my thumb is only mildly green, and while everyone that looks at my tank oohs and aahs, i just cant get it to look like takayashi's amano!
anyways, my original question was about bulb temps and cri index for PC lighting. is there a website that compares these bulb characteristics, and more importantly, what do you all use?
Thanks, Darren
ps. over my 30g i was runnng 4x20w fluorescent bulbs (trident and GE 50's) but even with new bulbs i was showing low growth and i think that is b/c the budget ballast i got is dead or close. anybody have exp with lifespan of a e-ballast?