# Adequate lighting. Watts vrs. K. vrs Lux.



## RYY (Mar 9, 2005)

For a new beginner I am confused really really confused. A very knowlegable and trustworhty Local Pet Shop sold me a few of my plants and a few of my fish and I have collected other plants and fish from other shops. I have a 33 gal tank witha a single 36 " bulb hood. I installed a 18,000k 25 wtt powerglo bulb in it. My current plant growth seems fair but not great. What are my options? Was the trustworthy shop owner also confused. it seems the more I read about LUX, K and watts the more confused I get. Any and all comments and questions would be greatly appreciated.
RYY


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## usafresq (Mar 13, 2005)

Well RYY you have every right to be confused. My main background is with reef aquariums and in that realm its my humble opinion that many of the aquariums out there are over lit. Even though I think they are over lit people have some amazing growth out of their corals, clams, and other inverts. As for the planted realm I'm just getting use to it myself and it seems that having too much light can actually be a bad thing. In general to provide less confusing direction as to how much light is enough many people shoot for about 3-5 watts per gallon of water. For example a 10 gallon aquarium should have a 30 watt light over it. This gives you 3 watts per gallon. Hopefully this answers your question. If you want better plant growth from your light you will need to add 3 more 25watt power glo lights. Also c02 helps plant growth out immensely. Now I'm no expert when it comes to plants but these are just my observations thus far. Perhaps someone with more plant experience could chime in. Good luck.

Kevin


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## eddtango (Mar 18, 2005)

It seems like you need to put in more light on top of your tank. I have a 32 gallon tank, I installed 1 -20 watt Aqua-glo, 1-20 Life-Glo plus a 14 watt T8 full-spectrum bulb fitted unto the Eclipse hood. The plants are doing ok,though I think I can still use more intensity,I'm planning to change the Aqua-glo to a Life or Power glo. Use Life-glo w/power glo. You can also benefit from CO2 injection,I use a Hagen CO2 system,but I bought the yeast and baking soda from the grocery,its cheaper and works the same way. Don't forget to add nutrients and fertilizer use the Seachem products. 3 considerations for good plant growth are lighting,CO2 and nutrients,you'll see the difference in growth.


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## RYY (Mar 9, 2005)

Thanks for that.
At what point do you look at adding fertilizers?
And the same at what point do you look at adding a Co2 injection system?
What are the advantages of both?
Eddtango: What type of applicater is required and exactly how does the yeast and baking soda work?
Are there any picture examples f home made lighting systems and or Co2 injection sytems that I may be able to look at? I have a young son and an even younger daughter, but more recently I have been bit by the planted tank bug. Money is tight so anything I could do on a budget is going to get me further sooner.
Thank you both for your info.
RYY


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## eddtango (Mar 18, 2005)

You can try searching the web for DIY CO2 setups and DIY fertilizer mixes,pls look at some postings here in the AQUATIC CENTRAL re fertilization and CO2 setups. Actually the yeast mixed w/ sugar and warm water produces the CO2 gas. You can also try the website of "The Krib",they have a lot of articles there re DIY setups and fertilizers. I started fertilising right away after setup,the more light and fast growing plants you have,the faster they use up the nutrients and trace elements in the water and don't forget to test your water regularly. By the way, I just finished setting up a 50 gal tank 2 weeks ago,I have a 192 watt Compact flourescent setup w/ the CO2,the plants are growing like crazy. I'm getting tired of the yeast and sugar mix and will be starting to use the pressurized CO2 soon. Good luck and have fun.


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## usafresq (Mar 13, 2005)

You can do ALOT of things DIY style with just some web surfing and some innovative thought. It took me two tries to get one of my aquarium hoods right and I have DIY lighting in it. My planted tank isn't very old at all but I've watched some great plant turn around and growth. I started dosing and c02 right off the bat from day one. I dose once a week with kent plant fertilizer and c02 in a smaller bottle. I add 1 cup sugar and about 1/2 tsp yeast. I then fill up the bottle about 3/4 of the way with warm water, put a cap on it, shake it up, then take the cap off and attach my cap that has the tubing in it. For diffusion I cut the very very top off of a 20oz soda bottle, drilled to really small holes in it and drilled a hole in it to run the tubing through it. Its held there by two rubber bands on either side and buried under about 2.5" of substrate. So far so good.
I have plenty of pictures but no way to get them onto the computer b/c the transfer chord has something wrong with it.

Kevin


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## RYY (Mar 9, 2005)

USAfresq: Where did you get your original DIY plans for you Co2 injection system? Are you having to refill each week with the mixture? How often are you having to shake up the bottles? You also mention difusio what is that exactly?

eddtango: You have been using the sugar and yeast method, where did you get your DIY plans from? You say you are gettting tired of it what is the differenc between a pressure system and the yeast and sugar system?
You mention testing my water: at this point I have only been testing the PH. What else should I be testing for?
How do I know if my plats are lacking light or fertilizer?
RYY


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## usafresq (Mar 13, 2005)

The original plans for my DIY c02 came from just searching on the web and on chat forums such as this one. The original recipe is a 2 liter soda bottle with 2 cups of sugar and 1tsp of yeast I think. I just cut it down to my tank size and did some experimentation on my own until I found that magic mixture. I have to refill about every 3-4 weeks. You don't reshake the bottle once everything is set up and going, not sure why, but everything I read said it was bad ju ju. Diffusion of the bubbles is just simply, as I take it, spreading the bubbles apart to help spread the c02 through out the aquarium. Many people just run their c02 line into the intake of their filter. I don't like the "burps" that produced so I just thought up my current method.

Your water chemistry tests should include: PH, ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrate, C02, GH, KH, and some times Iron. I test for everything but the iron. 
Right now reading your post I can tell you your plants are under lit and I bet if you add more light you'll see a definite difference and if your not fertilizing then you need to fertilize. Once you start doing these things you will see your plants grow and possibly send out runners. Its a neat thing to see once you get it right. I've attempted plants before but this is the first aquarium I've actually got things going semi right.

Kevin


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