# [Wet Thumb Forum]-Cheeper or AHsupply



## Lazaro (Jul 22, 2004)

I came accross this light for a 10 gallon. I was wondering you're oppinions of either that or biting the bullet and spending a few extra bucks on a hood and an ahsupply retro fit kit.


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## Lazaro (Jul 22, 2004)

I came accross this light for a 10 gallon. I was wondering you're oppinions of either that or biting the bullet and spending a few extra bucks on a hood and an ahsupply retro fit kit.


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## nino (Oct 2, 2004)

I use the 2x36 watts on my 10gl and have to tell you that it's a dissapointment. The legs are useless. Low quality. Not as bright as I thought also. I wonder if it has something to do with the ballast. I still prefer AH Supply or overdriving NO.


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## imported_baj (Aug 5, 2004)

I dont have these things and I am already disappointed with the store, I wont rant about it though. I went ahead and ordered from hellolights, their service was exceptional! They are cheap too, but I cant say about quality compared to AHsupply as I havent ordered from them, but I'll tell you this... their service was exceptional! (did I say that already?).

ps: Rob if I am out of line, please let me know and I will edit/delete the post. thanks in advance.


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## Paul Higashikawa (Mar 18, 2004)

baj, how large is your tank? Personally I don't know what that light of ninob is(I've seen it before on D&S), but 2X36W on a 10 gal seems to be an overkill~ Also, the amount of light you need for a particular tank really depends on more than one factor. Number of plants, type of plants, size of the tank, CO2 injection or not, etc..... Cautionary measures taken beforehand is always better than later tryings of remedy(such as algal outbreak)

Paul


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## imported_baj (Aug 5, 2004)

Hi Sur(sir), I didnt buy those -insert expletive- lights from that -insert expletive- place. I have an 18G tall tank and I bought a 1x65W PC (Coralife 
Aqualight, 24") from hellolights.com. The 24" light is 4" longer than the length of my tank, but the length of the bulb itself is about the length of my tank, and I dont need the top outer surface of my tank to look sec-c. So I have that and a sawed up plastic hood holding 2x10w 6500k screw on CF lights. Nothing is setup yet and my tank is empty but this is where I start.

BTW, Short answer for lazaro:
I would advise you to go for the AHsupply kit. You have a lot of flexibility and lot of people have done amazing things with those 13w fixtures, I think you can cram atleast 3 of them (staggered) in a hood for the 10G (dont spend on a hood, make your own)


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## Paul Higashikawa (Mar 18, 2004)

18 tall eh~ I had one but then gave it to my friend. I think a 65W by itself would be pretty sufficient to grow most anything you want. I guess another 2X10 screw-on wouldn't be too bad but I think it's just heat coming off these two that are gonna be kindda burdensome. For one, your room is gonna be hotter. But overall, I guess your lighting is pretty much taken care of. What plants and in what quantity are you planning on having? Any blue map drawn out yet? It would be wonderful to hear what you have in mind









Paul


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## imported_baj (Aug 5, 2004)

Hi, Thanks! I wasnt sure if the 65W itself would cut it, but thats good to know. I havent had the time to do any planning but I have a driftwood for the corner of the tank on which I plan to wrap a Anubius Nana and some Moss(Java, Christmas). I am thinking of having some vallisneria and the Crypt. Balansae for the back, and some stem plants surrounding the driftwood. The other back corner I was planning on having a terrace and grow some stuff on that (havent thought what, any ideas would be appreciated), I read up on the triangle pattern and the reason for golden ratios and I like that setup. For the foreground I would like some dwarf hairgrass - microsword combo (or perhaps stick with one?). I learnt a lot from trying to plant in a small 2g tank, but as Rex noted the dynamics are different so have to adapt. In terms of fauna, I ultimately would like to keep a pair of Rams in there, but initally I will stock it with some c. japonica (love them), some black mollies and some SAEs(if I can find them). I plan to have a DIY co2 with the bubbles fed into a chamber stirred up by a fluval1. I already have the substrate set for more than 2 months now - laterite layer in the bottom (1/2 cm)with root tabs in the corners and middle and topped off with 2&1/2" of fluorite.


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## Mavvy (Sep 11, 2004)

I actually lucked out on the situation with my first 10-gallon planted. When I was first starting out, a reefkeeping friend gave me a Coralife 28-watt 20" unit with legs in exchange for doing a webpage for his business intranet. It's got a 50-50 bulb, the tank has about 3" of laterite and gravel mixed, and a LOAD of plants (most of which I can't pronounce the names of) and DIY CO2, a pleco, a cory, two black tetras, one ticked-off red wag platy, and Frank the Betta. So far, all is well, which given the 50-50 surprised me; the light reaches everywhere. All plants are flourishing and get pruned once a week to keep them from taking over my apartment. I'm almot afraid to convert to a 'straight' 65K CF at this point.


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## Mavvy (Sep 11, 2004)

...Forgot to add...I'll post a pic as soon as I figure out how...


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## Mavvy (Sep 11, 2004)

Dang. Sorry. Didn't mean for the doggone thing to post so big. Mea culpa.


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## imported_baj (Aug 5, 2004)

Thats amazing, a couple of questions: how long have you had the tank? How do you dissolve the co2? Do you dose any macros or micros? Whats the water change schedule? 

Perhaps the 10,000K white in the 50-50 is enough for these plants, its only 2.8W / gallon, I think theres a little anacharis, a lily on the left corner, some aponogeton ulvaeceus and some crypts in there, I dont know about the lily but the rest are low light I think? Theres some cabomba or hornwort too in there, I think its hornwort. I cant ID the 2 large plants - one in the middle (darkj veins and a purple leaf-tip?) and the other in the right corner. Hmmmm, congratulations anyway, it looks cool. Perhaps the gurus can explain the lights aspect?


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## Mavvy (Sep 11, 2004)

Sorry for taking so long. I've had the tank about three months. I've both purple and green cabomba, there. I have NO idea what the red plant on the right is-there's another by the pump. The plant in the middle is a melon sword, believe it or not. It won't stop growing, and has turned red under the light. That's the first tank in which I've been able to grow anacharis successfully. I change 25% of the water every Saturday without fail. I just planted some glosso in the lower right corner-the 'bare' patch, there-I'm looking forward to seeing how that pain-in-the-*** to plant stuff grows. Hopefully it'll blanket as opposed to growing tall. I only dose Flourish twice a week and Flourish Excel once a week (with the water changes). The CO2 goes directly into the intake of the HOB. Surprised the heck outta me too, the way it's succeeded.


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