# Lighting question for 30 gallon Planted tank



## sundragon (Dec 13, 2010)

Hello everyone, I'm new to the forum and to the hobby so please bare with me 

Specs:
Plants Amazon swords, Java fern, Onion plants, Red Foxtail, and Wisteria. 
I dose with Seachem Excel (every other day) , Flourish (every 4 days), Iron (every 3 days) on a weekly basis. 
No CO2, though I've thought of getting some.

I upgraded my 30 gallon x-high tank from the 15w T8 bulb to a Zoomed 48w T5 HO one week ago...

The T8 bulb that came with the starter kit was obviously too low for plants, but the swords, java, and onions survived and grew slowly - The Wisteria (grew well), - the foxtail is dying - I'll probably remove it if it doesn't revive.

I suspect the 30 min to hour of morning sun that hits the tank makes the difference.

I upgraded to the 48w T5 HO to breath some life into the plants - I want a natural planted tank, and I want to add babies breath/foreground plants that are more demanding to cover the gravel.

So here goes: 48w for a 30 gallon tank makes it about 1.6 watts/gallon, a bit on the low side. I have seen a Coralife 65 watt 24" fixture that would increase my lighting to above 2 watt/gallon. The Coralife fixture is also about $40 cheaper after shipping.

http://www.fishtanksdirect.com/2465w...ycoralife.aspx

1. Will the light make a difference, is it worth returning the Zoomed light for the Coralife fixture? I can't find any specs on the lux/lumen output for the 21" compact florescent bulb in the Coralife unit to compare it to the 2 T5 HO 24 watt bulbs in the Zoomed unit.

2. Any cool foreground plants that you recommend for this setup. I want grass like coverage, not too demanding for a newbie.

3. Should I breakdown and do CO2? How much should I spend and what specs should I look for if so. I would do lowtech CO2, but I don't want to deal with stinky yeast - the tank is sitting in my living room and I don't like clutter

Thanks again!


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## jerrybforl (Jul 22, 2008)

Well CO2 is essential for healthy growth if your using high lights. If you want to keep color plants you need high lights as well as CO2. If you plan on doing a low light tank then CO2 is important. hope this helps.


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## sundragon (Dec 13, 2010)

jerrybforl said:


> Well CO2 is essential for healthy growth if your using high lights. If you want to keep color plants you need high lights as well as CO2. If you plan on doing a low light tank then CO2 is important. hope this helps.


Thanks, I guess that's it then.


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## joshvito (Apr 6, 2009)

@sundragon Welcome to APC!

here is my $.02

If you are not adding CO2/excel daily, you should aim for a low light tank. High light with little carbon is the recipe for algae. 
How long is your current photoperiod? Start with 6 hours and SLOWLY increase from there.
I noticed you buried your java fern rhizomes, this can cause die-off, be careful. 

This link will show you how low/high your light levels are.
http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/lighting/105774-par-vs-distance-t5-t12-pc.html

these suggestions are only part of the picture, I also suggest reading about low tech tanks elsewhere, here on APC.


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## sundragon (Dec 13, 2010)

joshvito said:


> @sundragon Welcome to APC!
> 
> here is my $.02
> 
> ...


Thanks, I was at 12 hours with the T8 I'm now down to 8 with the 48w HO. I will do a DIY CO2 first so I can do some reaserch on pressurized CO2. Honestly I don't want a lot of clutter and hassle, DIY seems like a pain and pressurized is very easy once it's set up, but wow, talk about a lot of expensive equipment to hide...

I learned a while back about the java fern. These babies are all tied with dark thread to the driftwood, their roots are above the substrate  I won't make that mistake again.

I'm getting thread algae, which I've read is from excessive Iron, so I'm reducing Iron to every 6 days from every 3 until I get the CO2 going.


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## sundragon (Dec 13, 2010)

Update: I added DIY CO2 and the cheaper, but higher output light (65 w) and the plants are popping... The Wisteria is now growing so fast I can see it on a daily basis. The swords are popping green, and the algae is also enjoying it. I added a few more plants (Micro Swords, Crinium Cal., Cyperus Helferi) to compete with the algae and take advantage of the CO2. 

They showed me another CO2 system from Sicce (Italian Company) called CO2 Life. It uses C02 electrolysis. The unit and cartridge cost was considerably cheaper than CO2 regulator system and the planted tank they were using it in looked amazing. 

Have you guys heard anything about it?


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