Lighting Question

[Chri$]

I have recently bought a new rena tank (20 ukg) which i have not setup yet. The lighting setup is all built in. I would like to plant the tank with low light requiring fast growing plants. The tube supplied with the tank is a basic osram 18w. Do i need to upgrade the tube? I have seen flourecent and T5 tubes and if i need to upgrade are confused about which i need?
Any help and advice would be greatly appreiciated

 

[Themuleous]

I would add a second 18w T8 bulb, that'll give you 1.5WGP (WPG is always done using US gallons) that should be fine. I would also replace the existing tube with a plant specific one, and of course the new one should be plant specific too. Also get a plant specific substrate like eco-complete, or one of the other commonly available ones. Have you thought about adding CO2?

I would like to plant the tank with low light requiring fast growing plants.

That's a bit of an oxymoron BTW you can't have one without the other. Fast growing plants will do ok in low light but they wont be 'fast growers'

Sam

 

[Chri$]

I would add a second 18w T8 bulb, that'll give you 1.5WGP (WPG is always done using US gallons) that should be fine. I would also replace the existing tube with a plant specific one, and of course the new one should be plant specific too. Also get a plant specific substrate like eco-complete, or one of the other commonly available ones. Have you thought about adding CO2?

I would like to plant the tank with low light requiring fast growing plants.

That's a bit of an oxymoron BTW you can't have one without the other. Fast growing plants will do ok in low light but they wont be 'fast growers'

Sam

lol.
I am looking at the hood now and because of the way it's designed i wouldn't know how to add another tube, have to have a think about that one. I've seen T5 tubes up to 24w, would these be suitable to replace the existing tube? I have thought about co2. It would have to be a diy setup tho. Would co2 be neccersery (sp)

 

[Themuleous]

No the T5 wouldn't fit the existing setup. The T number of the tube relates to the size of the tubes, i.e. T8's are 8/8ths of an inch diameter. T5's are 5/8th of an inch diameter. So you cant put a T5 bulb in a T8 fixture as its the wrong size. Also there is the difference in wattage. Its best to put the right watt bulb in the corresponding ballast. If you tried to put say an 18w bulb in a 40w ballast you'd probably burn out the bulb and/or the ballast, which is probably a major fire risk.

CO2 isn't essential for this tank, but as always it helps with any tank. Perhaps just set it up and add CO2 later on if/when you're able or have the money.

Sam

 

[Chri$]

Thanks sam.

So for now i'll just upgrade the existing bulb to a plant specific one. Could you reccomend any good ones?

I've heard about DIY CO2. Is this expensive/difficult to setup?. Although not essential would it be benificial to add to the tank? regarding plant growth/algae levels etc?

 

[Themuleous]

Check the lighting article for examples of plant tubes

DIY is easy and cheap, although I would say that the nurtafin kit at around 20quid gives you everything you need in a nice easy package. But it depends on your budget.

I would always advocate the addition of CO2, plants in any tank will appreciate it, although increases in growth rates are unlikely to be that massive, they should improve, and there maybe a case for the plants just looking better if not actually growing much more.

Sam

 

[Chri$]

Thanks again Sam.

 

[Chri$]

I have been looking at plant specific tubes. The one that came with the tank is 18w/24 inch. I can only find 20w/24 inch. Is this ok?

 

[Themuleous]

In a word - No, have a look here

 

[Chri$]

Brilliant - thanks sam all sorted now.

 

[Themuleous]

Glad to hear it

 

[Chri$]

Actually one last thing
Which tube would you reccomend out of the 2?
the origional tropical lamp or the freshwater lamp?

 

[Themuleous]

For plants definitely the freshwater, much better light spectrum

 

[Themuleous]

For plants definitely the freshwater, much better light spectrum

 

[Themuleous]

For plants definitely the freshwater, much better light spectrum

For plants, definitely the freshwater, much better light spectrum