How To Figure Out Wpg

[EliteFishy]

i dont know how to figure out my watage per gallon. I have a 29 gallon tank and i need 2-4 wpg. How many watt light should i get?

 

[EliteFishy]

And also, does anyone have any reconmendations of what type of light i should get?

 

[Discomafia]

To get your wpg, simply divide the number of watts you have by gallons.

To get 2 wpg, since your tank is 29 gallons, multiply 2 by 29, giving you 58 watts needed.
To get 4 wpg, since your tank is 29 gallons, multiply 4 by 29, giving you 116 watts needed.

As for what kind of light you should get, the best would be a bulb with the kelvin rating of around 6500K. There's more info on kelvins, and what they are, and why the number I specified is the best for plants, in the pinned topics.

http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=96754

Home Depot sells GE Full Spectrum Daylight bulbs with a kelvin rating of 6700K, and my plants are doing well with those bulbs.

 

[EliteFishy]

what if i get a 20 Watt but the kelvin is like 6700, will my plant still flourish or will they die because its only 20 watts?

 

[Discomafia]

Did you read the pinned topic I included in my last post?

With 20 watts, you'll have nearly 0,7 wpg, which is low lighting. What kind of plants do you have? Do they require low, medium or high lighting?

For examples of such plants, broken down by their lighting requirements, visit this website.

http/www.plantgeek.net/plantguide_cat.php?category=1

 

[EliteFishy]

I have glosstigmas, Riccias, amazon swords, and tiger lilies

 

[Discomafia]

You'll need more light, all those plants, except the sword, require more light than 0.7 wpg... The tiger lilies require high lighting, and it's especially true for the the riccia and glosso, which are commonly used as carpet plants in aquariums.

2-4 wpg is considered medium to high lighting, and if you get that much, you should be all set to grow those plants. When you have more than 2.5 wpg (I think) you'll require CO2, but that's another story in itself. Just wait for someone with more knowledge to pop around and post...

In the meantime, read the links I posted, and the pinned threads in this forum as well.