# Best lighting for med to high light, low tech



## faeriefish (Nov 13, 2012)

Hello! I've been running an almost empty eclipse aquarium for nearly a year now, unable to decide how to stock it... I'm glad that I didn't, because I called the college I want to attend and asked about bringing a 29 (30x12x18") instead of a 10 gallon, and they gave the okay. That means that I can actually run a planted tank with more than low light (and I can keep more fish), so I'm so happy about that!

Of course, I'm a plant killer by trade and have no idea what I'm doing... This is all very confusing, and I'm not entirely sure where to start. I think I've got down some of the basics, but I'm not entirely sure... I suppose I'll learn more as I try to decide on my plant stocking list-- I know I sure did for fish. (And now I have to remake it from scratch... Should be fun )

Right now I'm trying to figure out what lighting I can put on it and still keep it low tech. I'm looking at the Glo (or any) double 24-watt strip T5 HO (48 watts total). I really want to be able to grow higher-light plants, but I don't want to get into CO2 and all that because I don't have any experience and, being a future college student, don't want to spend the extra time and money.

I believe there are suppose to be certain products that can be used at least partly, such as Seachem Flourish, but I don't know if they're considered adequate as complete substitutes to CO2 injection. I also plan to have the tank at least semi-heavily stocked, which should provide more CO2 for the plants in general, but I just don't know if it's enough. Does it depend on the plant and lighting?

I'm aware that 48 watts may be a bit low, but I also recall reading that the watt per gallon rule is outdated... Is there a lighting fixture that would work better? In your guys' experience, what works best for this setup? Basically what I want is the highest amount of light possible without going high-tech.

Thanks!

EDIT: Oh, I forgot to mention! Is there a T5HO or similar lighting that comes with a lid? Better yet, is there a way that I can put a glass cover over the tank and still leave room for the lamp to clamp on? I think it would be too much hassle to suspend the lighting in a dorm room. Would a glass lid cause the tank to overheat? As much as I love the look of a tank where the plants and driftwood can go above the waterline, having a lidless aquarium severely limits the variety of fish that I can keep, especially because I'm fond of gouramis. I think that a glass top would be less obtrusive and not take away so much from the display, though.

Also, I'd love to do LEDs, but I have no idea how many watts I would need per gallon (as a rough rule of thumb), or if I could even find anything that wasn't overly expensive. Could anyone possibly explain LED lighting in more detail to me? It's something I'm thinking of trying in the not-too-near future. I'm really hoping not to spend much over $100 on lighting, though if there's a "perfect" light I may be willing to go a bit higher.


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## Michael (Jul 20, 2010)

Two T5 HO tubes over your tank will give you plenty of light, maybe too much without CO2 supplementation. You can use Excel as a substitute for CO2, and it will help control algae as well.

I can't help you with LEDs, there is so much conflicting information. People who have success with them tend to be electronic tinkers who build their own. We hope to have more PAR measurements of commercial LED fixtures in the future.

Glass lids will not cause a problem.

If you have had problems with growing plants in the past, you might read up on the Walstad method, a.k.a. "El Natural". I think it is one of the easiest ways to have a successful planted aquarium--personal opinion of course!


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## faeriefish (Nov 13, 2012)

Thank you! So the 48 watts would be plenty, then? Would that be equivalent to medium or high light? I'd like to know if I can grow some plants that may traditionally need 3-4 wpg.

And the Excel works as a complete substitute for CO2? Any estimate as to how much it costs per month?

I'll keep that method in mind... Funnily enough, I was just reading about it. I am thinking of using some sort of finer-grained fertile substrate such as soil so as to benefit bottom-dwellers.

My biggest problem with plants is forgetting that they're there, though, which should be harder to do in an aquarium. I put them in the wrong spots in my room for viewing... It's a miracle that my spider plant is even alive (I put it in a shady corner of my room after reading that it doesn't like direct sunlight). I think the ones in the aquarium should be alright unless they all need individual fertilizer tabs, since I'll be taking care of all of them at once (and they don't need watering).

Still, if I'm finding it too high maintenance or having trouble then it's definitely something to keep in mind.

Do you know what the best T5HO system would be for the money? The first one I came across was Glo, and Amazon has it available for around eighty dollars, but ZooMed has a sixty dollar one (also am I correct to believe that for the Glo system the reflector must be purchased separately? Hagen's official site lists them as DIY...)

I'm relieved about the glass lids-- for a moment I thought I'd have to give up gouramis. Actually, perhaps a plastic "fence" around the top would serve the purpose as well without preventing me from growing plants above the waterline... That may be awkward and unwieldy, though. Would the clamps still be able to attach if I put on a lid the right size for the tank, or should I go a bit smaller? Do glass lids only work for rimless tops? I'm sorry if these are odd questions, but I'm a bit of a newb, so I'm not entirely sure.

Again, thank you!

EDIT #2: Any way to have dim lighting that still provides a high amount of photosynthesis for the plants? I suppose this is an odd thing to ask, but looking at my fish stocking list here, most of them do best in dimmer setups. The angel's colors in particular may wind up fading with too much light, the gourami would probably prefer low light as well, the apisto could become nervous... I'm pretty sure it wouldn't be too hard to shade the bottom part of the tank for the apisto, but what about the others? I'm not really sure how I can do this now... Any ideas? I would also want a good number of floating plants... I'm not so sure I should be going with high light in that case, but some of my favorite plants like medium to high light...

I'm assuming the T5HO fixture would count as high light, though... Maybe too much?

Any ideas?


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## faeriefish (Nov 13, 2012)

Whoops! Would somebody move this to the lighting forum for me, please? (If it needs it?)


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## Michael (Jul 20, 2010)

I can't answer most of your questions about specific fixtures, but I can move the thread to Lighting where it will get the attention of real experts!


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## faeriefish (Nov 13, 2012)

Michael said:


> I can't answer most of your questions about specific fixtures, but I can move the thread to Lighting where it will get the attention of real experts!


Thank you!


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## Flear (Sep 29, 2012)

i've got a 30 gallon myself
running 4x24" T5HO (6500K) bulbs

well only half that now and the tank still gets enough light
have a layer of duckweed ontop and the plants still get enough light

got the lights from this site
http://www.aquatraders.com/

high light plants will get enough light i'm sure.


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