This lighting good enough?

A

Aaron Roberts

New Member
I am trying to carpet DHG, i dont care if it grows slow i just want to make sure this light is good enough. I have a 20L tank. I have a hood with light structure built in. I got a 24" strip bulb from Menards, Verilux instant sun Natural Spectrum Fluorescent. 20 Watt (Color Temp. 6280 Kelvin, Color rendering 94.5, Lumens 800). Is this light good enough? If not, what bulb should i get and from where?(Be exact please thanks!)
 
That is actually quite a bit of light for a 5 gallon tank. I would recommend having it above the tank by 8-10 inches. It is plenty to grow DHG.

Color temp is fine, lumens is a useless measure (PAR is what you are interested in) For comparison, a non CO2 10 gallon tank could grow DHG with an 18 watt 6500k T8.
 
ShadowMac said:
That is actually quite a bit of light for a 5 gallon tank. I would recommend having it above the tank by 8-10 inches. It is plenty to grow DHG.

Color temp is fine, lumens is a useless measure (PAR is what you are interested in) For comparison, a non CO2 10 gallon tank could grow DHG with an 18 watt 6500k T8.
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By 20L I meant 20 gallon Long tank. Sorry for the confusion :). So is this amount of light still enough? I have CO2 btw
 
DIY or pressurized CO2? That is an important distinction. With DIY or no CO2 I would go with one 24 watt T5. With pressurized CO2 I would use two bulbs on a 20 gallon.
 
Most T5 lighting systems have two bulbs. A cheap one I have used on a 20 gallon is the zoomed Aquasun T5. It has a switch for each bulb allowing for more control over how much light you are using. With pressurized CO2 you could use 2 T5 24 watt bulbs. You don't need more light, but you could have it if you wanted.

Things will grow slowly with the 20 watt bulb over a 20 gallon tank, may not carpet too well or quickly.
 
ShadowMac said:
Most T5 lighting systems have two bulbs. A cheap one I have used on a 20 gallon is the zoomed Aquasun T5. It has a switch for each bulb allowing for more control over how much light you are using. With pressurized CO2 you could use 2 T5 24 watt bulbs. You don't need more light, but you could have it if you wanted.

Things will grow slowly with the 20 watt bulb over a 20 gallon tank, may not carpet too well or quickly.
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Thanks I appreciate it! So you order that online im guessing?
 
Aaron Roberts said:
Thanks I appreciate it! So you order that online im guessing?
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I have the same light, same tank, and with DHG. I use both lights bulbs with DIY co2 and I have algae galore :notworthy: It is an awesome light for the price. I really should use just one of the bulbs, but I use both (2). I get mine from amazon, from Petco. The local Petco stores carry the fixures and bulbs as well.
 
InfinityMinus1 said:
I have the same light, same tank, and with DHG. I use both lights bulbs with DIY co2 and I have algae galore :notworthy: It is an awesome light for the price. I really should use just one of the bulbs, but I use both (2). I get mine from amazon, from Petco. The local Petco stores carry the fixures and bulbs as well.
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How do you control the algae?
 
ShadowMac said:
Most T5 lighting systems have two bulbs. A cheap one I have used on a 20 gallon is the zoomed Aquasun T5. It has a switch for each bulb allowing for more control over how much light you are using. With pressurized CO2 you could use 2 T5 24 watt bulbs. You don't need more light, but you could have it if you wanted.

Things will grow slowly with the 20 watt bulb over a 20 gallon tank, may not carpet too well or quickly.
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So if i kept the light that I have now, the plants will still grow just not as fast? I dont mind it growing slower, it will probably cut down on algae growth anyway
 
In infinityminus's case the algae is caused by having too much light and fluctuating inconsistent CO2 levels. I do not like DIY CO2. I only recommend it as a supplement to a non CO2 oriented setup. Its output changes and cannot be increased beyond a certain level. I don't know all of Inifinity's setup so there may be other reasons as well, but too much light and not enough CO2 is probably the primary cause.

The 20 watts of your T8 might not be ENOUGH light. A single 24watt T5 is what I would recommend for Infinity, not the two. Since you have pressurized CO2, you could use the two. But if you want just use the one. A T5 is more intense than the T8 you have.

Good flow and filtration is important for a healthy planted tank. I use an eheim 2215 on my 20 gallon. (I just set it up again yesterday as a plant holding tank) I'm running the eheim 2215, pressurized CO2 through an inline atomic atomizer, and the zoomed aquasun with two 6500k daylight bulbs.
 
ShadowMac said:
In infinityminus's case the algae is caused by having too much light and fluctuating inconsistent CO2 levels. I do not like DIY CO2. I only recommend it as a supplement to a non CO2 oriented setup. Its output changes and cannot be increased beyond a certain level. I don't know all of Inifinity's setup so there may be other reasons as well, but too much light and not enough CO2 is probably the primary cause.

The 20 watts of your T8 might not be ENOUGH light. A single 24watt T5 is what I would recommend for Infinity, not the two. Since you have pressurized CO2, you could use the two. But if you want just use the one. A T5 is more intense than the T8 you have.

Good flow and filtration is important for a healthy planted tank. I use an eheim 2215 on my 20 gallon. (I just set it up again yesterday as a plant holding tank) I'm running the eheim 2215, pressurized CO2 through an inline atomic atomizer, and the zoomed aquasun with two 6500k daylight bulbs.
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I have a tetra whisper 20 gallon filter. With no carbon or bioscrubber in it. I was told to just have filter wool/fiber in it and do 30% water changes weekly
 
I do recommend a canister filter. Less breaking of the surface so off gassing of CO2 is minimized. You want 10x tank volume in flow and/or filtration.

The tetra would be adequate for a slow growing low tech tank. If you want to speed things up with 2 bulbs I say get a larger canister style filter. When I've used HOB filters I like to put some bio filter media in the compartment like seachem matrix or small lava stones. I use a sponge and filter floss to ensure it doesn't leave the compartment and get into the impeller area. It increases bio filtration capacity. You don't need carbon or any chemical filtration, but I think the biomedia is a good idea.
 
ShadowMac said:
I do recommend a canister filter. Less breaking of the surface so off gassing of CO2 is minimized. You want 10x tank volume in flow and/or filtration.

The tetra would be adequate for a slow growing low tech tank. If you want to speed things up with 2 bulbs I say get a larger canister style filter. When I've used HOB filters I like to put some bio filter media in the compartment like seachem matrix or small lava stones. I use a sponge and filter floss to ensure it doesn't leave the compartment and get into the impeller area. It increases bio filtration capacity. You don't need carbon or any chemical filtration, but I think the biomedia is a good idea.
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Hi ShadowMac,Your Info Rock,s (y) The way you explain things is truly extraordinary :cool: Love It(y) Sorry to but in on this thread :( But could not help it ;) Regards Roy
 
ShadowMac said:
I do recommend a canister filter. Less breaking of the surface so off gassing of CO2 is minimized. You want 10x tank volume in flow and/or filtration.

The tetra would be adequate for a slow growing low tech tank. If you want to speed things up with 2 bulbs I say get a larger canister style filter. When I've used HOB filters I like to put some bio filter media in the compartment like seachem matrix or small lava stones. I use a sponge and filter floss to ensure it doesn't leave the compartment and get into the impeller area. It increases bio filtration capacity. You don't need carbon or any chemical filtration, but I think the biomedia is a good idea.
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If I bought a big lava rock(3-4 inches around) can I break it up into smaller pieces and use it in the filter? If so do i stick it underneath the filter wool and how much should i use? Thanks
 
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