Another Lighting Question

[suzanne]

I have a 48 litre planted tank, the standard bulb that came with it is a pl 11w energy saving one that apparently equals 75w it also has a reflector.

Is this enough ?

(ps have looked on the pinned lighting thread but that is in US Gallons for larger tanks)

 

[Themuleous]

Those bulbs will be next to useless for planted tanks. If you want to get plants to grow, even undemanding ones, I would think you'll need rip out whats in there and replace it for something better. Just get a starter, reflector and new bulb it should be easy to attach under the hood.

Sam

 

[nry]

You have to go by the actual rating when looking at watts per gallon, so you are getting a bit under 1 watt per gallon.

Possibly some really low light plants may grow, but I think you'd need something of a higher wattage if you want to grow most things.....

Does your hood have any existing clips, mountings etc for light tubes?

 

[suzanne]

thanks,

I'm thinking of taking out the existing light unit & putting in a interpet ccompact power T5 with one daylight bulb & one beauty bulb, or would this be overkill ?

also while interpet sell 12 inch bulbs none of their reflectors is under 24ins - does anyone know if these can be cut down to size ?

 

[nry]

Arcadia do loads of refector sizes, they would work aswell.

I have just put an Arcadia 36w 18" Power Compact T5 unit into my 15 gallon with an Interpet Daylight Plus tube in, it is a superb upgrade from my previous 15w tube, and was pretty cheap at £35 for the lot including a reflector.

 

[Themuleous]

Two bulbs would be ok, but you'll need do lots of other things, like have CO2, a decent substrate, do weekly 50% water changes and dose ferts daily. This isn't a problem but it might be more than you want to put into the tank. Aim for getting between 15 - 20w over the tank, this will give you a low light tank and it'll be far easier to cope with. Upgrade the lighting again once you've got the hand of planted tanks. High light tanks are far more demanding.

Sam

 

[suzanne]

thanks
I've got a DIY co2 set up running & tetra complete substrate with a layer of gravel
so far I have riccia slates, java moss wall, 1 x annubia barteri, 1x amazon sword & some eloda - they have all been in a week when I realised that the light was just not up to it, so am going to upgrade this week ..
I don't mind spending the time to look after the tanks ( I also have a 22l ) but it is very much a learning curve.. as I've only ever had fish only (Oscars) or plastic planted community tanks before...

so appreciate all your help...

 

[SuperColey1]

NRY what reflector did you use?



I wouldn't fancy tetra under gravel!! you'll have so many nutrients leaching into the water column that you either need to cram in 1000 plants or prepare for a green block of algae.

I put my Tetra Complete under playsand to form a barrier between the water and the nutrients.

The idea is for the roots to use the TetraComplete and the rest of the plant to use ferts.

Maybe too late now, but thats my 2 pence (I refuse to convert to Euros or dollars as they aren't worth as much. lol)

Andy

 

[Themuleous]

I wouldn't fancy tetra under gravel!! you'll have so many nutrients leaching into the water column that you either need to cram in 1000 plants or prepare for a green block of algae.

That wont matter quite a much is lower light tanks, as there isn't the light for the algae to go mad.

Sam

 

[suzanne]

I wouldn't fancy tetra under gravel!! you'll have so many nutrients leaching into the water column that you either need to cram in 1000 plants or prepare for a green block of algae.

That wont matter quite a much is lower light tanks, as there isn't the light for the algae to go mad.

Sam

the instructions on the tetra substrate say to cover in a layer of gravel ...
if this is wrong should somebody point this out to tetra !!

 

[Themuleous]

No, its right cover it with a layer of something, gravel or sand would be fine.

Sam