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houndour said:lee, the hagen kit is fine and is what most us use, or at least start out with.
But you may not need CO2, if you have less than 2 watts per gallon of light, you probably don't need it. But you can still have a heavily planted tank without CO2. You just need to pick low to medium light plants (if you have less than 2 wpg) that will thrive in your conditions.
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Light Levels
Light measurement is a complicated subject so I will just explain the basics.
In a regular style aquarium i.e. rectangular with a depth of 24” or less, lit with fluorescent tubes and reflectors, the Watts per Gallon rule can be used to good effect. Note – This applies to tanks of more than about 20 US Gallons, less than this and generally more light is required. Watts per Gallon (WPG) is calculated simply by adding the total wattage of the tubes and dividing by the tank volume in US Gallons i.e. a 50 Gallon tank with 100W light gives 2 WPG. It is only a rough guide and does not allow for the many differences in quality, spectral output etc. of the many manufactured tubes available. It is also worth noting than in larger aquariums i.e. over 70 US G the WPG rule is more leanient.
The following increments are widely used to describe lighting levels;
0 to 1 WPG – Very Low
1 to 2 WPG – Low to Medium
2 to 3 WPG – Medium to Medium High
3 to 4 WPG or above- Medium High to High
Over 4 WPG – High to Very High
lee8040 said:ok reading that i have roughly 1.5wpg. so chances are that i dont need a co2 unit then
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