Lighting...so confused :(

[houndour]

I've just spent £40 on a hood so I can fit more lights under it. I've now only just found out about T5 lighting and realised I could have got one of those to use on my old hood.

I don't regret buying the hood cos it looks so much nicer than my old metal one

But now I have the dilemma of what to do about lights...

Do I spend £28 on a Twin unit to hold 2 x 18Watt 1 inch by 24 inch long bulbs?
Plus have my old light (which is 20 Watt 1.5 inch by 24 inch long).
Total = 56 watts
or

Do I spend £50 on a single T5 unit to hold a 54 Watt T5 bulb? And just have that (for a 19 uk gallon tank). i think thats around 22 US gallons.

or

Do I spend £60 on a twin 24-39 Watt T5 unit and have 2 24 Watt bulbs (or 2 36 watt bulbs) (or can you have 1 24 and 1 36 = 60 watts??)

I'm thinking that considering the future I eventually plan to get a bigger tank which will no doubt be planted, it maybe worth forking out the £60 now.

By the way, can you have 2 different watt bulbs in the twin units as I put above??

Thanks,
Sam

 

[George Farmer]

Personally I would go for the best I could afford if you are serious about going planted. Generally the more light the better but bear in mind that you will need to inject CO2 if you have more than 2 Watts per Gallon.

Have you considered the new T5 Power Compacts from Interpet - just to confuse you a bit more LOL!

http/www.aquatics-online.co.uk/listsecti...retp=404&rets=X

Personally I still use T8 as I find there is a lot more choice out there (and I'm not spending any more money than I need to)


BTW I don't think you can mix sizes.

 

[houndour]

ok, yeah, you've confused me more!! These interpet ones are a bit cheaper than the ones I was looking at.

I was originaly going with 2 x 18 watts but someone said for a 22us gallon tank that wouldn't be enough. Putting the third bulb means putting on the inside of the lid and if I'd rather avoid this if I can. So maybe a single 55 Watt unit would be best? A double one would be too much surely? a total of 105 watts over 22 us gallons?!

As for CO2 I'm going DIY on that one. Well at least attempt it

 

[Terrorbyte]

For 22 gallons you'll need roughly 44W of light. Depending on the length of your current light fixture, you should be able to find plenty of 40W+ fixtures available for around $50 USD either locally (at a fish/pet store) or online.

105W of light over a 22 gallon would be overkill. You'd probably run into some difficulty controlling the temperature of your tank with that much light; additionally, your CO2 requirements would be significant in order to maintain proper balance due to the excessive amount of light and the potential for serious algae growth.

I have this 96W fixture sitting on top of my 40 gallon tank (6700K full spectrum bulb) and it is plenty bright. I threw together my own DIY CO2 generator system (2L soda bottle, common air tubing, 1/2 tsp of yeast and 2 cups of sugar, CO2 is diffused very well by my power filter) and all of my plants are thriving in my aquarium. DIY CO2 is very simple, don't be fooled into spending too much time or money on a fancy CO2 setup, especially considering the size of your tank.