# 65watts or 130watts over this 29gal.



## javalee (May 8, 2006)

I just wanted to do a final check for opinions before I shift all my tanks around. I have a Katrina-cockatiel moving in with me soon so I'm suddenly cutting back on all my tanks since I can't manage cat, bird, fish and plants! Here's the change in plans: My 10g plants and fish will be put in my 29g and I'll plant it. My tiny tanks will probably go too, just when they're looking beautiful . I'll have to preserve them with photos.

Anyway, I was about to click on "purchase" for a 65W Coralife aqualight for my 29g, but then i wondered if I should get one of those 130W. The tank can be placed either against a window without direct light or can be moved away from the window. I thought the 130 would give me more options for locating the tank farther from the window. Either way it will get some indirect light. Plants I'm betting on are amazons, vals, crypts and floaters. It's an 18" high tank.

Thanks everyone. This is the final plan, I promise.:wacko:


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## John N. (Dec 11, 2005)

65 watt will pretty much grow your selection of plants at a slow/medium pace. 

130 watts might not be a great idea if you want to reduce the workload of having a tank. There will be more troubles with more light, but it gives you the option of going with an entirely different plant selection later.

I would run with 130 watts fixture, and use only 1 bulb at first. And if I see that I need more light later, add in the second bulb. More flexibility. Though the coralife 65w and 130 watts are good lights. I think you are better off at purchasing the AHsupply.com kits, especially if you decide to use only one bulb at a time. You'll get more light in the tank with one (1) AH bulb verse one (1) Coralife bulb.

-John N.


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## javalee (May 8, 2006)

Good point, John. My plants in the 10g are growing too fast to keep up with with only 3watts/g and sunlight, in the same location as the 29g. I don't wanna be having to reach in there and trim back plants every week.

I've looked at the AHsupply, but I'm not sure what combo would work since my tank is only 30" long and the 96W is 34.5" long. I don't think the 56watt would work either since the lights are so short, it seems that I wouldn't get good coverage, and then I don't know if the wattage is right. I do hear that these reflectors pack an extra punch that ups the actual lighting, but I have no way to know if that would be adequate for my tank. Basically, I need something quick and easy to set up too since I'm not to able to fiddle with electronics and don't have anyone who'd be willing to spend much time doing so either.

Thanks, 
Javalee


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## Laith (Sep 4, 2004)

Just wondering: aren't we in the El Natural forum? This usually means low light/low tech.

Even 65 watts over a 29g is over 2.2 wpg which I had always assumed was too high for the El Natural method...

If you really want to go low light/low tech I wouldn't push it that much past 1.5wpg, maximum 2wpg. Over 2wpg and CO2 becomes pretty mandatory and once that happens, ferts also become necessary...


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## John N. (Dec 11, 2005)

Javalee, the AH kit is easy to install and use. If I can do [URL="http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/forumapc/do-it-yourself/14555-diy-experience-ah-supply-building-enclosure.html]it[/URL], you can too. 

I agree with Laith, running one bulb will be sufficient as stated before for an El Natural tank, but I'm always stressing flexibility, because everyone always changes their tanks and it's nice to have options running 1 bulb verse 2.

With that said, you can purchase a 2x55 watt kit, create a hood for one reflector and save the other for future use. Centered right above the aquarium will provide the amount of light I think you are looking for. Positioning the light demanding plants under the light and less demanding plants on the outside will solve the issue with the bulb not fully expanding over the 30" tank.

The coralife 65watt will do the same thing, but you'll just get more light and power to flexibility to grow more things. I'm using a 65watt over my 29, and growing all the similar plants fine under it. So if you don't want to deal with it, go for the coralife. Growth is slow and steady, but I now that I also have 2x55 on another tank, I see the dramatic difference between the two, even running with 1 bulb. Growth is a bit faster and plants look less leggy and better.

-John N.


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## javalee (May 8, 2006)

Laith,

Thanks for your reply. Actually, Diana Walstad's method does not presuppose low light; it's more like "low maintenance" not necessarily low light. As I mentioned, I have a beautiful, thriving 10g "el natural" tank with 3watts/g plus it sits flat against a southwest window, and while the plants are growing a bit fast for me, they are healthy and do not need any supplementation with fertilizers or CO2. However, the 130W would give me upwards of 4w/g, and while I have more than that in a healthy 2.5g, I have not pushed a large, deep soil tank into that kind of light yet. So I'm not convinced that it would be a problem.

The 65w would have the "pro" of being cheaper which is always nice.


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## javalee (May 8, 2006)

Thanks, John. I really don't have the option of doing any AH stuff myself since I'm disabled, so it's gonna come down to one of the Coralifes. It helps just to hear that you are running a 65w set up successfully. I don't mind slow growth as it means less maintenance, but I admit, even though my other tank is ramped-up a bit high for my pruning abilities, it sure is fun to watch plants take off like that.

Perhaps I should just use the 65w, as I was thinking earlier, save money, and adjust light as needed by the position of the tank in relation to the window. I had just been thinking that I have a large birdcage to fit in here too now, so it would be nice to have the option of moving the tank further into the room so birdie could be by a window instead. 

Javalee


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## John N. (Dec 11, 2005)

You'll be happy with the 65watt Coralife. I think it will be fitting for your needs and purposes. Plus I think the little birdie would love a window view!

Good Luck!

-John N.


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## Miss Fishy (May 13, 2006)

The 65 watt fixture sounds good to me too. I have a 37 gallon tank with only 60 watts of light over it and only indirect window light, and the plants grow alright. The Duckweed goes berserk, and the Vals have taken over. In fact, they are starting to smother the other plants - their leaves are so long that they form a five inch thick mat at the surface of the water which cuts out a lot of light. Despite this, the four Crypts which grow underneath them do not die and steadily grow new leaves. Although the plants don't grow at breakneck speed like they do in my other tanks, and I can't grow the stem plants I particularly like in it, the tank is easy to maintain, since it only needs pruning every three to four weeks.



Laith said:


> Over 2wpg and CO2 becomes pretty mandatory and once that happens, ferts also become necessary...


As javalee said, Diana Walstad-style tanks do not have to be low-light tanks - in fact, Diana recommends 2 to 3 watts per gallon of artificial light. On top of that, many people put their tanks near windows where they receive some direct sunlight! One of my small tanks (4.2 gallons) has 5.7 watts of fluorescent lighting over it, plus sunlight, and it has excellent plant growth without the use of CO2 injection or artificial fertilisers.

From Alex.


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## Laith (Sep 4, 2004)

Miss Fishy said:


> ...
> 
> As javalee said, Diana Walstad-style tanks do not have to be low-light tanks - in fact, Diana recommends 2 to 3 watts per gallon of artificial light. ...


I stand corrected! 

5.7wpg over a 4.2g tank is not that high as the wpg rule of thumb changes with small (and large) tanks.

I guess I'll have to read her book to get more detail but I'm curious: if the plants have a lot of light, my understanding was that that will push photosynthesis into higher gear. This in turn requires that the plant have access to one of the main components of its tissue makeup: carbon. So where are the plants getting the carbon from if you have high light and no CO2 added (or any other source of carbon)? From the soil?

And if the carbon becomes the limiting factor, why have so much light in the first place?


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## DataGuru (Mar 11, 2005)

In her book Diana recommends a mix of sunlight and fluorescent lighting--one to two watts per gallon if the tank does not receive sunlight, less if the tank receives sunlight. She likes to use a combination of cool white and plant grow light fluorescent bulbs. Avoid tanks taller than 18 inches unless the tank will receive sunlight. She recommends a timer set to 10-14 hours of light per day.


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## Laith (Sep 4, 2004)

So does she recommend 1-2wpg or 2-3wpg?  Sorry, since I don't have the book I can't check.

I can understand 1-2wpg. My question above was related having more than 2wpg...


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## javalee (May 8, 2006)

Laith, the CO2 comes from bacteria decomposing organic matter in the soil layer. Perhaps this is why I do fine with 3wpg plus considerable sunlight. Fishfood and fish waste provide the nutrients (in addition to nutrients in the soil) so there is no need for fertilizer.

Thanks Miss Fishy for sharing your experience too! I'd certainly prefer to have a low maintenace tank. It's the stem plants that I can't keep up with in my 3wpg tank! I have a feeling my curious angel would pull up all those bacopa and cabomba stems that are so @$*% hard to root anyway! It'll be interesting to see which plants he chooses to eat since he thinks he's a silver dollar fish.


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## Miss Fishy (May 13, 2006)

Diana recommends 1 to 2 wpg and less if the tank gets some sunlight in the _first_ edition of her book, but in the _second_ edition she suggests 2 to 3 wpg, and less if the tank gets some sunlight.

With the higher light levels plus the plentiful nutrients provided by the soil and fishfood, it is possible to grow a wide range of submersed and emergent plants in Diana Walstad-style tanks, and at quite a fast rate. I'm growing more than 50 different species in my tanks, and most of the tanks need heavy pruning every two to three weeks.



Laith said:


> 5.7wpg over a 4.2g tank is not that high as the wpg rule of thumb changes with small (and large) tanks.


Very true. On the other hand, you couldn't really say the tank was a "low light" tank, when you take into account the sunlight it receives in addition to the fluorescent light.

From Alex.


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