# 29 gallon tank lighting



## daverock1337 (Mar 14, 2010)

i am currently running 85 watts on my 29 gallon planted tank. i have a substrate of peat moss under gravel, and a DIY co2 setup. using two 2l bottles, staggered and changed every two weeks. 65 watts are compact fluorescent, and 20 watts are from the regular light that came with the tank. i also have flourish tabs in the gravel.

i just ordered a 130 watt compact fluorescent light. that'll bump me from 2.93 watts per gallon to 4.48 watts per gallon.

do you guys think this will help my rotala rotundifolia turn red? also i want to do a foreground carpet, last time my glossostigma did not turn out well. i am hoping the new lights will help, but i may have to get new bulbs. it comes with daylight and actinic. the bulbs i am considering are Dual Daylight 10,000/6700K Compact Fluorescent. 

current plants i have are hygrofila angustifolia, rotala rotundifolia, and crytocoryne walkerii.

the tank is being setup for apistogramma agassizi's. 

ph is 6.5, and nitrate is 5 ppm i think.


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## killacross (Apr 29, 2010)

...wish I could help but Im in the same boat...

what fixture did you order?

Im planning to upgrade to a 29g tank but cant find a good light for the (apparently) odd 30" length, but I want a light that will grow a thick carpet of dwarf hairgrass and an undecided something else that will grow up very leafy and overtake the middle of the tank like a good amazon sword etc. (I want big leaves for my fish hide in or spawn on)

Ill retire my 10gal shrimp tank (aka give it away to my nephew probably), change my 20L into a shrimp/harlequin rasbora mix tank probably and start a tiger barb tank in the 29g.


otherwise...what fixture/light-ballast combo + height above tank would you all recommend for a 30g (36"x18"x12") tank to grow the same plants? Im not afraid of DIY either...wouldnt mind if this was a whole DIY project minus the tank and filter...stand, lighting, substrate, CO2 reactor etc


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## daverock1337 (Mar 14, 2010)

i wanted a current usa satellite fixture, but could not find one, so i got a coralife 30 inch 2x65 watt light strip. it was $125 plus shipping from ebay brand new.


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## killacross (Apr 29, 2010)

you know...I was being kinda nosey and looking at your other posts...some things I noticed

with your new light system (i hope you got the fixture that has them spread on each side instead of the fixture that has them side by side on one side), your glosso will easily take off and THRIVE (read, take over everything in the tank!)

also, if youre going to grow glosso, you need to plant it properly first: cut it into strips of about 3 leaf stems with matching roots. lay them flat on the substrate and using a straight edge, push the roots deep into the substrate so that only the leaves are barely showing. Wait about 3 days and you should see new growth. glosso is a very aggressive plant tho so youll be thinning it out constantly (it doubles about 3x a month...aka 1-->2-->4-->8)...but when done correctly...its very pretty...planting it properly shouldnt take long because its so willing to spread and multiply that you can plant about 6-7 stems to carpet the tank within a month (I have a 20L, same footprint) and by about 1.5 months it will be a THICK carpet

also, if youre gonna run such a strong light youll probably need higher, more consistent CO2 concentrations than your DIY 2 liter bottles can make...not to mention your delivery method may need some work (did you use the UV light as a spray mechanism or no?)

to answer your original question...YES it will turn your plants red as long as youre using the correct color spectrum bulbs which Im sure you are...but look into something higher than the 6700k it comes with, they wash out colors...I personally like the 8000-9500k range (it has a blueish/white hue but it brings out the green in plants, and colors in your fish)

jus my $.02

....plus $99.99 non-refundable consultation fee

so, $100.01 plz
...I accept Paypal only


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## daverock1337 (Mar 14, 2010)

the uv sterilizer was sucking the bottles in and crushing them, causing a lot of mixture to run into my snot bottle. i am using a hagen step ladder right now while waiting on a mini elite to come in that i can modify to disperse the co2. i am going to see if my current co2 setup will be sufficient, but if not it may be time to upgrade to a pressurized system. i am not tickled about spending the money on that, because i am currently saving for my new tank (75 gallon) which i will be turning into a planted discus/apisto tank (gonna grow out the discus in a bare bottom 55 gallon tank until they are about 4 or 5 inches before putting them into the 75). maybe i could add two more 2l bottles if the current set up is not enough. i am not sure if i am going to get more glosso, last time it did not survive, but i do want something as a carpet just have not looked into my options as of yet. i will be adding more crypt walkerii's and maybe some cabomba. i also need a good midground plant about the same heigth as my walkerii's if not shorter. i have been considering getting rid of the hygro angustfolia because it takes up a huge portion of my tank, and needs trimmed weekly. not excited about pulling up the roots on it, they are deep in the peat moss under my gravel.


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