Setting up planted 10g light advice/opinions plz

[ravensangel]

So I'm getting the equipment together to get my 10 gal, planted, sorority tanking going. But can't decide on lighting. My budget is extremely tight, so I need a lot of bang for my buck. [emoji6] I'm doing this low tech, for now.

I've been reading about lighting for weeks and can't make a decision. So I figured I'd ask

This LED unit, cost about $27.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01MZ93I3S/?tag=ff0d01-20

Normal old fluorescent with grow bulb, around $30-32.

Incandescent strip with 2 daylight CFLs, about $25ish.

Advice? Opinions? I plan on keeping low/med lights plants(not sure which yet). And having a few female Betta.

So nothing fancy.

 

[StevenF]

The Led you are looking at should work fine. For medium light levels you want to target about 20 Lumens per square inch of substrate area. I personally would target 30 lumens per square inch of substrate area and equip the light with a dimmer so that I could adjust it as needed from bright to low light. However a LED light bright enough with a dimmer will probably exceed your budget.

 

[Fishmanic]

StevenF

a 10 gal tank has about 240 square inches so that led light would put out about 5 lumens per square inch... result doesnt agree with your recommendation ....

 

[ravensangel]

Good point. I've just been reading so much and there's varying opinions, so I thought I'd ask.

Would the incandescent with cfls work?

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[StevenF]

a 10 gal tank has about 240 square inches so that led light would put out about 5 lumens per square inch... result doesnt agree with your recommendation ...

I didn't make a recommendation on the light he listed because I don't know the surface area of the substrate. The surface area is dependent on the deapth of the tank not the volume. Also the link he provided listed a number of different size options for different size tanks. Each with a different brightness. Again I didn't know which one would fit his tank. So I just listed the the number he should target for a medium light setup which should be capable of growing most plants.

Would the incandescent with cfl work?

Yes they do work but you might have problems fitting a bright enough lamp in an old hood made for incandesent bulbs. Also some old hoods don't have enough vents which can cause the cfl's or LED's to fail. I used CFl's and then LED screw in bulbs in an old incandescent hood although I did have to modify the hood to improve its venting and pop out an old reflector that interfered with the installation of CFL bulbs.

 

[Toney]

The newer 13w cfl's fit right in the old hoods, the earlier bulbs didn't clear the reflector.

 

[VladVenger]

I have 2x 15 watt bulbs in my 12.5 gallon ( i only use 1) My plants are growing nicely. You don't need a lot of light if you get the right plants

 

[Byron]

Personally, I would go with an incandescent hood and two 9w CFL bulbs in 6500K.

If the hood is being bought new, it will not have venting problems (or shouldn't). I have this over both my 10g and 20g tanks, and plants thrive. I use two CFL Daylight 6500K bulbs in each. I have been using this for several years now, six, maybe seven.

LED would work, but you need to know what you are getting. I don't know if the cost savings in electricity between CFL and LED would be much here, if that is a concern. The initial cost will be; LED is way more expensive, but then you need a decent spectrum which is not at all easy. I've tried and sent back several LED's.

Byron.

 

[ravensangel]

Sorry I haven't been around. I've decided to try out a shop light with a 23 watt cfl (6500k).

I have both laying around. If it doesn't work out, I can always buy a light later.

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[ravensangel]

So, the Carp crew has gotten the ball rolling in the Sorority house. Not what management had planned, but the crew was being kicked out of their previous home (niece tired of them). So they got to stay for a while and get the cycle started.

They will be out before the ladies move in.